5 Pork Chop Cuts

A pork chop is a pork chop is a pork chop... right?  Well kinda.

According to Pork Be Inspired, "pork chops are the most popular cut from the pork loin, which is the strip of meat that runs from the pig’s hip to shoulder."  However, since the chops come from this strip of meat, pork chops can have several different characteristics determined by where they came from in the loin which determines their actual name.

Source:  www.porkbeinspired.com

For years, when you went to grocery store to buy pork chops or ordered pork chops in a restaurant, they were simply labeled or listed as pork chops or used names like Top Loin Chop, Rip Chop, or Loin Chop.  Meanwhile, most of us are familiar with names like Porterhouse, New York Strip, and T-Bone that have been used to describe the different steak cuts over the years.

So a few years ago, pork decided to follow suit and provided specific names for the 5 different cuts of pork chops that mirror the beef steak names so as consumers we know exactly what we are buying or ordering.

Source:  www.porkbeinspired.com

New York Pork Chops are boneless pork chops and are located toward the head of pig or the top of the loin.  These chops are still sometimes called Center Cut Chops and in my opinion are often the most perfect and uniform looking cut of pork.  "The 1¼ inch-thick top loin chop is also called an “America’s Cut.”

Porterhouse Pork Chops are from the lower back portion of the loin (just behind the rib chop) and have a characteristic T-bone shape. These chops include a lot of meat as well as a bit of tenderloin meat with the tenderloin being the most center part of the loin.

Ribeye Pork Chops originate in the center of the loin in the rib area and include some back and rib bone. You can also occasionally find a boneless option of this pork chop as shown in the picture.

Sirloin Pork Chops come from the area of the loin around the hip and often include part of the hip bone. 

Blade Chops (not pictured above) are cut from the beginning of the loin in the shoulder area. They may contain some blade bone as well as back-rib bone. Blade chops are usually thicker and more marbled. 

Now I realize for someone that hasn't spent a lot of time analyzing the difference in meat cuts, this might be a lot to process.  

But the main takeaway is that as home cooks, we understand that there are different types of pork chops as certain recipes often specify the type of cut to use, even though you can usually use whichever cut you want.  So you can choose the New York Pork Chop for that boneless convenience or you might what the attached bone of the Ribeye Pork Chop to add a visual to your meal.  Either way, the cut doesn't determine the cooking length.  It is the thickness of the pork chop that determines the cooking length.  

So my biggest advice is to always have a meat thermometer on hand when cooking pork chops as cooking them to the correct temperature is essential for having tasty pork and "for tender and delicious pork chops prepare your cut of meat to the internal pork cooking temperature of 145 degrees" followed by a 3 minute rest period before cutting and serving.  

So a pork chop is a pork chop is a pork chop... you can be the judge of that while trying out these yummy recipes approved by the pigpen...

Cream of Mushroom Pork Chops can be made with any of the 5 pork chop cuts.

Garlic Pork Stir-Fry utilizes the whole pork loin which is where pork chops come from in the pig.

Pork Chop Delight calls for thin cut boneless pork chops so your New York or boneless Ribeye would be best for this.

Miss Jent, a fellow pig farmer, over at Farmwife Feeds adds a new twist to those bone-in Ribeye Chops with her BBQ Smoked Pork Chops.

And Miss Jeanette, another fellow pig farmer, over at Fencerow to Fencerow used a loin roast (remember the loin is where pork chops come from) to make her Pork Pozole Soup that just may be in my freezer at the moment thanks to our Indiana Family of Farmer's Freezer Cooking Party.

This post is sponsored by The Glass Barn, but all thoughts, opinions, and recipe recommendations are my own.  

One Pot Spaghetti

One pot.  3 ingredients.  30 minutes.  What more could you ask for in a family dinner recipe that pleases every time.

 Recently I was lucky enough to have Ann-Marie from Chaos is Bliss visit our family farm for a one-on-one tour thanks to Indiana's Family of Farmers.  Ann-Marie and I talked about all kinds of things from the similarities in our families, how we raise our pigs, and my favorite pork recipes. Although my all time favorite pork recipe is a good ole pork burger, I must admit I'm quite fond of this one pot spaghetti with pork Italian sausage and it is definitely becoming a go-to recipe at this pigpen.

I must give props to Ann-Marie's excellent self-timer abilities for this photo.

It was very exciting for me to have Ann-Marie visit our farm.  As you know, I'm very passionate about agriculture and our family farm and love talking about both anytime we get.  I realize I'm probably a little biased when I talk about our farm so I encourage you to visit Ann-Marie's recap of our visit as I assure you she asked a lot of great questions as nothing was off limits.  (You might even find a yummy pork recipe when you visit.)

Now that being said, let's get back to this one pot spaghetti.  I'm not lying when I say this is so easy as it truly only uses one pot (OK.  I may have used 2 as I used my micro cooker to brown the italian sausage to speed up the process.) and 3 ingredients.

One Pot Spaghetti

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground Italian sausage
• 7 oz. package spaghetti, uncooked and broken into 1-inch lengths
• 2 24 oz. jars spaghetti sauce

Cooking Directions

1. In stock pot over medium heat, brown sausage for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often.
2. Drain; stir in broken spaghetti. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.
3. Add spaghetti sauce and stir until well blended. Heat to boiling.
4. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer about 20 minutes, until spaghetti is tender.

Print Recipe Here

Enjoy!!

This post was sponsored by Indiana’s Family of Farmers, but all words and opinions are 100% my own.

We grow it, so where can you buy it?

So it is no secret by now that you all know we raise corn, soybeans, wheat, and pigs on our family farm.  We feel very blessed to be able to raise food for our family and all of yours.  So that being said, I'm often asked where can you buy the food we raise and grow on our family farm.

The answer is really quite easy, but it may not be obvious.

You see you can buy the food we grow and raise at the grocery store or mega big box store.  We don't have our own label or anything at the grocery store, but when you buy pork at the grocery store that is helping our family farm and fellow farms just like ours.

Our family sells the majority of our pigs to Tyson Foods who then distributes the pork in the grocery stores across the country.  So there is a good chance when we sell our pigs to Tyson Foods in Indiana, our pork ends up in a grocery store near you especially if you are in Indiana and the Midwest.   

Pork Chops I purchased at Walmart --- could have been ours

My mother-in-law and I also sell some pigs each year under our own private label at 2 local Farmer's Markets, a local orchard, and an online food hub as a way to educate others about our family farm and help pay for Big Sissy, Bubby, and Little Sissy's college education.

The cost of college for the three of them is scary!

So what about our corn, soybeans, and wheat?

Well all of the corn we grow on our family farm is used to feed our pigs so we don't sell any corn.

Big Sissy delivering a snack to my father-in-law driving the combine during corn harvest.

We do sell all of our soybeans; however, we sell them to a local soybean processor that makes soybean meal from our soybeans and we buy soybean meal from them to mix with the corn to feed our pigs.  (Soybean meal is what is left after the oil and hulls are removed from the soybean and is a protein source for out pigs.  The oil that is removed is used for cooking oil and the hulls are used as a fiber source to feed other animals.)

Soybeans in the pod in the field

Actual soybeans

As far as our wheat goes, we only grow a small amount of wheat each year.  But what we do raise, we sell to a local elevator where it is milled and turned into flour.

Partially harvest wheat field

So as a proud Indiana farmer, you can support our family farm and fellow farms just like ours by buying pork at the grocery store or by contacting me directly if you prefer to purchase our private label.  Either way we provide the best care possible to our pigs as they are our top priority.  So whether it is providing a climate controlled barn for pigs to live in to be protected from the elements or predators or using precision when planting or harvesting our corn crop, we truly feel blessed and honored to be raising food for our family and yours!

Is Pork a part of your New Year's Resolutions?

As a pig farmer, we eat a lot of pork around our house and I'm often asked many questions regarding pork.  One question I seem to get a lot is about the nutritional content of pork.  "Pork.  The Other White Meat." really did a lot to get people thinking about pork in their diets.

Although pork really isn't a white meat, a recent analysis by the United States Department of Agriculture found that pork tenderloin contains the same amount of fat and slightly less calories than the same serving of skinless chicken breast.

Thanks to Pork.  Be Inspired for the graphic

That to me is exciting news because pork can be an integral part of the New Year's resolutions that so many of us made.  And as a pig farmer having people eat pork is what it is all about.  So be sure to check out the pork section the next time you are at the grocery store and see how you can incorporate some yummy, nutritious pork into your meal plans.

P.S.  Pork tenderloin is the innermost part of the pork loin and pork chops come from the pork loin.

1 important life lesson

Things we teach our kids...

It is a huge responsibility to be a parent and one I think you are never prepared for no matter how much you try to prepare.  It is a also a huge joy to watch your children grow and experience life; even if, it is very bittersweet.  Now when I can not only have fun with my kids, but also teach them an important life lesson, it is a win-win for all of us. 

Giving back to the community was a lesson I learned early on in life thanks to my family and one that The Farmer and I have tried to instill in our children from an early age.  Yesterday, the kids and I along with my mother-in-law had some fun while giving back to our community. 

For the last few years, several times throughout the year, we have tried to make a 100 pound donation of pork to our local food pantry. (We actually buy it from the grocery store when we see that they are having a great sale.  This time we were able to buy pork chops for $1.28/pound.) Yesterday was the day for one of our donations so we headed to the food pantry with a trunk full of pork

and then watched Big Sissy, Bubby, and Little Sissy fill a refridgerater full of pork

that will now be used to help feed the hungry of our community.  It is sad to me that so many people worry about where their next meal will come from in this country and closer to home, our community.  Although our 100 pounds of pork won't go very far, we are glad to know that we are able to help in  a small way and passing on the importance of giving back to the community to the next generation.

How do you help give back to your community?

6 reasons every day is ag day at the pigpen

Every day is truly ag day around the pigpen.

Let me tell you how...

1.  We start every day with the futures of these 3 amazing kids on our minds.  Truthfully everything we do is so that they can have a bright and wonderful future in agriculture or whatever career path they choose.

2.  The Farmer and I "work" in agriculture every day.  It is is our day job, our business, our lifestyle, and our passion.

3.  It has been the passion for generations before us and we are reminded of their sacrifices, sorrows, and joys daily.

4.  On our family farm, one of our top priorities is raising pigs the best way we know how so that our family and yours can enjoy healthy and nutritious pork.

5.  Each and every day we make the best possible decisions for our environment and the land so that it will be around for future generations as the land is not ours.  It is simply our job to take care of it for the next generation.

6.  Being a farmer is hard work, but we wouldn't change it for anything because every day is ag day and we are truly blessed.

A favorite appetizer from the pigpen

It is no secret that we eat a lot of pork around this pigpen.  As pig farmers it just comes with the territory.

A couple of years ago when I was pregnant with Little Sissy our great friends Troy and Stacy from South Dakota came to visit us.  We had a blast, but when it came time for dinner, The Farmer thought he would just prepare an array of pork dishes for our friends.  Since he was cooking, I didn't want to complain, but I was a little embarrassed that our menu consisted of bacon, pork burgers, sausage patties, and pork chops.  Now don't get me wrong, I love each of these items and serve them a lot at our pigpen, but usually not all at the same time.  The Farmer thought he would just showcase several of the items we had in our freezer and that he did.  And he did buy a bag of potato chips to go with it so what more could I want.  Needless to say it was all very good and filling and has fondly been referred to as Porkapalooza.

Well a couple of weeks ago, we were lucky enough for Troy and Stacy to visit us again.  As soon as The Farmer knew they were coming, he immediately starting making plans for Porkapalooza 2.  I didn't completely want to ruin his hopes, but I told him I would help with a menu.

Our menu consisted of one our favorite pork appetizer, lettuce salad, fresh fruit, and Cheesy Ham Potatoes which seemed to be a little bit more balanced than the original Porkapalooza.

It was so much fun to be able to spend some time with our amazing friends and Troy even helped make the appetizer which was like having a celebrity guest chef in my kitchen so I thought I'd share the recipe for one of our favorite appetizers.  I don't even know what it is called, but we will go with Wrapped Smokies.

Wrapped Smokies
Ingredients
2 packages of Lit'l Smokies
1 pound of bacon
Brown Sugar

Directions
Cut each strip of bacon into 3-4 smaller pieces.

Wrap each lit'l smokie with a piece of bacon and use a tooth pick to hold the bacon in place. (You will probably run out of bacon before you do lit'l smokies.)

Place wrapped smokies onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper

When the cookie sheet is full of wrapped smokies, sprinkle brown sugar all over the wrapped smokies.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes as you want the brown sugar to start to dissolve/melt and form a sauce and the bacon is browned.

Enjoy!

Tip:  I have put these in the crock pot to keep warm for serving as they need to be eaten warm.

My Food Day with a Hunk of Meat Monday recipe

The Farmer's family and mine have been involved in agriculture and essentially food production for generations.

We hope it is something that will be carried on in our family for generations to come so essentially every day is food day on our family farm.

For generations, we have worked hard each and every day to provide the best care possible for our crops and pigs so that we can provide healthy and nutritious food for your family and ours.  That is what it is all about.

As farmers, we not only take great pride in producing food for our family and yours, but we also feel it is our social responsibility to help feed the world.  On our family farm, we take this literally a little closer to home as we donate pork to our local food bank throughout the year.

So how did my family celebrate Food Day today, we celebrated like we do every day by taking the best possible care of our pigs and harvesting corn as we are in full-blown harvest mode at our family farm.

I didn't have time to whip something up in my kitchen so tonight was a real treat as we had pizza in the fields.  My kids love doing this during planting and harvest season each year. I may not have made the pizza myself, but I have confidence that the ingredients came from family farms just like mine across this great nation.

If I would have had the time to cook tonight, it probably would have been a pork recipe so I thought I'd share one with you in honor of Food Day and National Pork Month.

Cream of Mushroom Pork Chops
Ingredients
Cream of Mushroom Soup (I use 2 cans for 8 chops)
Milk
Pork Chops

I love this recipe because you can start with frozen or thawed pork chops and as much as I usually follow recipes, this is kind of an eyeball it/throw it together recipe that I hope you will like as much as this pigpen does.

Place the pork chops in a 9x13 pan.  (I usually use Pyrex for this recipe, but I'm sure any 9x13 pan would work.)

In a separate bowl, dilute the cream of mushroom soup with milk to thin out the soup.  (You can leave this as thick as you want or make as thin as you want.)

Pour the diluted cream of mushroom soup over the pork chops trying to cover all of the pork chops.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for a 2 - 2 1/2 hours or when a meat thermometer reads 145 degrees.

Enjoy this recipe and please let me know what questions you have about the food America's farmers work hard to produce each and every day for your family and mine.

Pork Chop Delight: Recipe #9 Sunday Dinner at Grandma's

This recipe intrigued me from the minute I received my free copy of Sunday Dinner at Grandma's thanks to Gooseberry Patch and their "In the Kitchen" series with The Real Farmwives of America and Friends.  It sounded super easy and used the same ingredients I use to make my sloppy joes:  chili sauce and brown sugar.

So after I found a package of pork chops, possibly from our pigs, on sale at the grocery, I thought it was a sign that we should try these chops and I'm sure glad we did as we'll be making them again at this pigpen.

Pork Chop Delight
Ingredients
8 boneless thin-sliced pork chops
1/3c. water
1/2c. chili sauce, divided
1 1/2c. brown sugar, packed

Place pork chops in an ungreased 13x9 baking pan.  Add water to bottom of pan to prevent sticking.  (I added the water before I put the pork chops in my baking pan.)

Top each pork chop with a tablespoon of chili sauce.

Sprinkle brown sugar over all.

Bake, uncovered, at 325 degrees for one hour; do not turn pork chops over.

Enjoy!!

Special thanks to Gooseberry Patch for providing me with this great cookbook to try and share with you. If you would like to purchase this or other cookbooks, please visit their store. If you would like to see other great recipes, check out www.realfarmwivesofamerica.com .

Pulled Pork with a side of Gooseberry Patch shredded chicken

Big Sissy requested pulled pork for the menu of her First Communion party.  Now as pig farmers AKA pork producers, we love to serve pork at this pig pen and often make pulled pork from a shoulder or loin roast in the crock pot.  However, for busy days like this, we have an even easier option.

As you know, my mother-in-law and I sell retail pork cuts at our local Farmer's Market and other venues to help raise money for the 3 kids' college.  One of our most popular sellers is our pulled pork.  You see it is already cooked so all you have to do is defrost and warm to serve and you have one yummy sandwich.  We sell it plain or with BBQ sauce.  I prefer the plain as you can then sauce it up to your own likings.

So on Thursday night, I took several containers of pulled pork out of the freezer and put it into the fridge to defrost.

Saturday morning, I put it in the crock pot on low for a few hours and then switched it to the keep warm setting for serving.  Besides having to stir the pork a few times in the crock pot, I didn't have to do anything else and it really doesn't get much easier than that.

We served the pulled pork with buns and BBQ sauce on the side.  We also had a few requests for ketchup.

This is one convenient option that this working momma appreciates.

Another convenience for me is the cookbooks I can download onto my Kindle.  Recently I downloaded Gooseberry Patch's Circle of Friends Cookbook Slow-Cooker Recipes.  After downloading the cookbook, I found myself on a long plane ride so I decided to do some menu planning and stumbled upon this yummy chicken sandwich recipe.  Since it used my slow-cooker, I thought it would be relatively easy so what did I have to lose.

The recipe had a few more steps than I usually prefer for a crock pot recipe, but all in all, it was well worth the effort and one that I would especially recommend for the weekends.

Vickie's Shredded Chicken Sandwiches
1/4 cup olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 onion, chopped
10 3/4 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup chicken broth
2 t. soy sauce
2 t. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c. sherry or chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Brown chicken for 5 minutes on each side.

Place chicken in a slow cooker; set aside.

Add onion to skillet; saute' until golden.

Add soup, broth, sauces, sherry or broth, salt and pepper to skillet.

Stir well.

Pour over chicken in slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low setting for 6 to 8 hours, until chicken juices run clear.

Shred chicken with a fork and serve on buns.

Enjoy!