# Red Meat and Pork: let's discuss the names and possible uses of each cut **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 11, 2011, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-meat-and-pork-lets-discuss-the-names-and-possible-uses-of-each-cut/567268 "2011-01-11T21:48:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-meat-and-pork-lets-discuss-the-names-and-possible-uses-of-each-cut/567268/21 "2011-01-12T21:33:10Z")
> [@PaperBlob](#): > > Pork loin and pork tenderloin are two different cuts, and I think a tenderloin is much smaller, more tender, and more expensive. I’m talking about whole pork loin, which is a much larger beast, and is where pork chops come from. Ahhhh, that’s where I was getting tripped up. I thought loin and tenderloin were used interchangeably. > [@PaperBlob](#): > > The “whiter” part, the bulk of the chop, is more firm, especially when cooked, than the “red” part. Towards one end of a whole pork loin, the “white” part narrows as the “red” part widens. The end where there’s a much larger proportion of “red” is what I cut off to use as a roast. > > Though a whole loin is a big piece of meat, and costs a lot to buy, it actually fits pretty well in a standard refrigerator freezer once you cut it up into portions. I buy it on sale for anywhere between $1.49 and $1.99 a pound, so the cost per portion is pretty small. > > Hope this helps! It helps quite a lot 🙂 $2/pound is nothing to scoff at either. PS you should post more often than 200 posts in 10 years! ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-meat-and-pork-lets-discuss-the-names-and-possible-uses-of-each-cut/567268/22 "2011-01-24T19:23:47Z")
Just updating/bumping to say that on a whim I went to a grocery store I haven’t gone to in several years. The meat is the same as the more expensive regional grocery store I go to yet much cheaper. For my typical go-to dinner meat - boneless skinless chicken thighs - I still need to go to my usual store (boneless/skinless was not readily available at this store), but a whole pork tenderloin at the less expensive/nice store was only $3/pound, which seems really reasonable. Pork loin was $2/pound. Can somebody explain the difference between corned beef brisket and regular brisket? What is the former even good for? Any recipes for an “English chuck roast”? That’s what’s on sale this week 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-meat-and-pork-lets-discuss-the-names-and-possible-uses-of-each-cut/567268/23 "2011-01-24T20:35:22Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > Can somebody explain the difference between corned beef brisket and regular brisket? What is the former even good for? Regular brisket is just a cut of beef. It’s one of those not-so-tender-but-tasty cuts. Very good braised or smoked. Corned beef brisket is brisket that’s been cured with salt and various spices. It’s what you eat on St. Patrick’s Day - Corned Beef and Cabbage! You typically braise it with cabbage and other root vegetables, and slice it thin across the grain. I like it, but some people don’t. > [@lindsaybluth](#): > > Any recipes for an “English chuck roast”? That’s what’s on sale this week 😃 Not sure on the “English” thing. Some web sites say that it’s just a boneless chuck roast, which is about all I ever get around here. Very versatile cut, good for pot roast or soup or chili. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-meat-and-pork-lets-discuss-the-names-and-possible-uses-of-each-cut/567268/24 "2011-01-24T21:13:24Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > Can somebody explain the difference between corned beef brisket and regular brisket? What is the former even good for? To expand on Athena’s post– Corning is a wet curing process by which a piece of meat is preserved by a prolonged soaking in a brine. The usual cuts for corning are beef brisket or round. Brisket is usually further divided into two different cuts: the flat and the point. Corned beef flat comes from the flatter and leaner part of the brisket, while the point comes from the bigger, fattier end of the brisket. You can easily make corned beef at home by getting a bucket, filling it with water and a cup of salt to every half gallon of water. A bit of sugar and spices like allspice, coriander, cloves, black pepper, and the such are usual additions to this curing liquid. If you want to keep the meat pink, you add a little bit of curing salts (which contain sodium nitrite) or a little bit of saltpeter (potassium nitrate). Dump the meat in, let this sit for two to three weeks and, voila, you have corned beef. If you then smoke this cured piece of meat, you basically have something similar to a pastrami. So, corned beef has a cured, “hammy” taste to it, while straight beef brisket is just a normal cut of beef, great for stewing, smoking, or any other type of slow cooking (pot roast, for instance.) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-meat-and-pork-lets-discuss-the-names-and-possible-uses-of-each-cut/567268/25 "2011-01-24T21:34:31Z")
Cheaper cuts of meat usually need to be braised or tenderized in some fashion. A slow-cooker isn’t necessary to accomplish this. Braising just means browning the meat and then cooking it in a liquid of some sort for several hours. Tenderizing (in the case of a chicken-fried steak, for example) can be accomplished by beating the crap out of the meat with a tenderizing hammer. I braise both pork and beef for 3-4 hours in my pasta sauce, and it just falls apart. It’s the same principle for a pork shoulder roast. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-meat-and-pork-lets-discuss-the-names-and-possible-uses-of-each-cut/567268/26 "2011-01-24T21:50:20Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Dump the meat in, let this sit for two to three weeks and, voila, you have corned beef. If you then smoke this cured piece of meat, you basically have something similar to a pastrami. Wow. Very cool. Presumably you’d leave this in your fridge, right? Room temperature would be bad I assume. Or does the salt take care of that? > [@pulykamell](#): > > So, corned beef has a cured, “hammy” taste to it, while straight beef brisket is just a normal cut of beef, great for stewing, smoking, or any other type of slow cooking (pot roast, for instance.) Ah ha, very cool. I’ve had brisket and I’ve had corned beef before, I just didn’t know the difference in the process. Or that making a regular “brisket” out of a corned beef brisket would be so terrible :p. ETA: > [@Athena](#): > > Not sure on the “English” thing. Some web sites say that it’s just a boneless chuck roast, which is about all I ever get around here. Very versatile cut, good for pot roast or soup or chili. Ahh, okay then. My googling failed me. I think I’ll give it a go. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-meat-and-pork-lets-discuss-the-names-and-possible-uses-of-each-cut/567268/27 "2011-01-24T22:06:57Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > Wow. Very cool. Presumably you’d leave this in your fridge, right? Room temperature would be bad I assume. Or does the salt take care of that? It doesn’t have to be the fridge, but a cool place (under 60F) like a cellar should be fine. But a fridge works if you want to be safe. And it doesn’t have to be a bucket, actually. A big ziploc bag will work, too. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-meat-and-pork-lets-discuss-the-names-and-possible-uses-of-each-cut/567268/28 "2011-01-24T22:19:11Z")
[Here’s one recipe](http://ruhlman.com/2010/03/corned-beef-how-to-cure-your-own.html) for corning your own beef. I haven’t made it, but Ruhlman’s a pretty good bet; I’d be surprised if it wasn’t excellent. He calls for pink salt, but I don’t think it’s necessary (and indeed, he says that). I’ve made it before from a recipe very much like [this one](http://zenreich.com/ZenWeb/cornedbeef.htm), and it’s very good. Mmmmm. Corned beef. Maybe I’ll make some for St. Patrick’s Day this year. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-meat-and-pork-lets-discuss-the-names-and-possible-uses-of-each-cut/567268/29 "2011-01-24T22:27:17Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > He calls for pink salt, but I don’t think it’s necessary (and indeed, he says that). And, just to avoid confusion, “pink salt” in that context is a curing salt (usually sold under the name Prague Powder #1 or something generic like curing salt #1) and _noti_ the increasingly popular Himalayan pink salt. The curing salt is an artificial pink color in order to distinguish it from regular salt. It is a mixture of table salt with a small percentage of sodium nitrite. The curing “pink salt” is used for two reasons: one, the nitrite protects against botulism (although the salt levels should be enough protection against that as is) and, two, the nitrite also retains the pink color of the meat. Beef corned without pink salt will taste fine, but be gray, rather than red, in color. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-meat-and-pork-lets-discuss-the-names-and-possible-uses-of-each-cut/567268/30 "2011-01-25T21:05:48Z")
Haha Himalayan pink salt. Now, I certainly can taste the difference between table salt and kosher salt or sea salt but…man. When salt costs more than a steak, something is wrong :p. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-meat-and-pork-lets-discuss-the-names-and-possible-uses-of-each-cut/567268.md?page=1)