Which part of pork is best for barbecue? How to choose the best meat for barbecue

Which part of pork is best for barbecue?

Traditionally, barbecue is popular in spring and summer. Noisy gatherings around the fire, relaxing in nature will leave wonderful memories. And for these impressions to be stronger, you need to prepare very delicious kebab. There are a lot of recipes for this dish. There is fire-fried fish, lamb, chicken, beef, but pork is the most suitable product.

First you need to choose the meat. Not everyone knows which part of pork is best to use for barbecue. IN food industry There is a special mesh with parts into which the animal carcass is chopped. There are 40 of them. Each part of the pork is used for specific dishes. It depends on the fat content, the number of veins, and the structure of the meat.

The neck(s) are more suitable for barbecue. It has small layers of fat, which, during simmering on coals, saturate the dryish pulp.

It is better to purchase meat for barbecue in advance, since it still needs to be marinated. When purchasing, we focus on color, structure and smell. Frozen pieces, often found in supermarkets, are not suitable, as the pulp will lose elasticity and will definitely be dry. The neck should have a light pink color, without blood or blue spots. You can check the freshness of the product with your finger: after pressing, the dimple should quickly straighten. Regarding the smell, everything is clear: a delicate, barely noticeable smell of meat.

Having brought home the neck, it is better to hold it for a while room temperature while you prepare the ingredients for the marinade. This will take about 20 minutes. Let us remind you that the neck must first be washed and dried, using a towel or napkins.

Then, having slightly crushed the meat in your hands, you can start slicing. The shape and size of the pieces are completely individual. We can only give advice: their parameters should not go beyond 4 x 4 - 8 x 8 (cm). They are borderline. Otherwise, the meat will either burn or be raw.

After the chopping procedure, the shish kebab neck is marinated. There are a lot of ingredients for soaking pork. These can be herbs, vegetables, acids, juices and sparkling water. More often they try to soften the meat with tomatoes or pomegranate juice. To saturate with juice, use sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice. Spices are also chosen at will, but traditionally mixtures of peppers, suneli hops, and tarragon are added to pork. And where would we go without onions, cut into large rings. Several varieties of onions look great: white, purple, red. Culinary experts note that it is better to salt the kebab before skewering it, and marinade should not be used, as this will cause the meat fibers to coarse.

The tips listed above will help you prepare the dish flawlessly.

Among barbecue lovers, pork is deservedly considered “the most the right meat" for dishes of this kind. It is juicy and soft enough, so kebab from it is proper marinating It turns out very tender and incredibly tasty. However, a full-fledged pig is 30-40 kg of meat, the quality of which varies markedly depending on the location, breed and sex of the animal. The part of the carcass from which a particular piece is cut is also important. In a word, the topic of which meat is best for pork kebab has a lot of nuances.

Fat level

One of the main characteristics of pork that you should pay attention to when choosing meat for barbecue is the degree of fat content. Among those interested in nutrition, pork is considered harmful precisely because of its high fat content. Therefore, many people prefer to choose leaner pieces. But in in this case it should be noted that absolutely lean meat best option for barbecue, which in this case will turn out too dry.

It is best to cut a piece from a small carcass for shish kebab. The meat should be light pink in color with a thin layer of fat. This suggests that the animal was young and was slaughtered at the most suitable period of life for this. A dark red tint indicates that the pig is too old.

Part of the carcass

When deciding which meat is best to buy for pork kebab, you should take into account such a nuance as load - the smaller it is, the more tender and juicy the meat will be. That is why experts give preference to young animals, whose muscle fibers have not yet had time to get stronger and harden from constant physical effort.

However, you need to keep in mind that it is distributed unevenly. Certain parts of the body receive the maximum load, while others are practically not involved during movement. First of all, this applies to the upper part of the carcass, the muscles of which perform the least amount of work. That's why best kebab obtained from the neck and brisket The meat cut from here is distinguished by its tenderness and juiciness. But back ham- not the best option. This is the most “working” and, accordingly, physically developed part of the pig.

Ditto for kebab will do and the notch is an oblong muscle located along the ridge. It works only at the earliest stage of animal development, and subsequently is almost always at rest. The only drawback of tenderloin as a material for barbecue is that there is practically no fat on it. But if there are people in the company who, for some reason, are contraindicated fatty foods, then tenderloin will be an ideal option.

Pig, boar and boar

Today in the markets - and when preparing for a picnic, shopping should be done here - you can find three types of pork in terms of the sex of the animal: pig, wild boar, boar. Which meat is best for pork kebab, taking into account this characteristic?

Experienced butchers claim that the most correct option- pig. The meat of females is more tender. However, practice shows that wild boars that were castrated at a very early age - up to three months, also produce very high-quality meat without any foreign smell or taste. Therefore, there is not much difference here.

But What should be categorically avoided is purchasing boar meat, that is, a boar that was used to breed a herd. This product has a terrible smell. Moreover, it is so persistent that it is not interrupted by even the most aromatic spices. It’s also impossible to say anything good about the taste of such meat.

The main problem here is that disgusting smell appears only during the cooking process. At the market, unscrupulous sellers are happy to deceive inexperienced buyers by selling a boar under the wine of a young pig or a castrated boar. To avoid getting into trouble, it is enough to carry out one simple experiment - set fire to a small piece of the offered meat using a lighter. When heated, boar meat will begin to emit that very specific smell.

Parts pork carcass, which are usually recommended for cooking barbecue, are much more expensive than other pieces. However there is also a kidney part, which is not inferior to the tenderloin, loin and neck in terms of meat quality, but it costs much less. The meat here is quite tender and tasty, and the main problem is that it cannot always be bought at the market or in a store.

Shish kebab is not just tasty and aromatic dish. Every meat-eater values not so much the dish itself as the process of its preparation, which is accompanied by pleasant communication with friends or relatives, inhaling wonderful aroma, mixed with the smell of a forest, meadow or pond.

What you need for a good barbecue

A good barbecue consists of several components. If you know which meat is best for pork shish kebab, the only thing left to do is choose the marinade and prepare good coals in the grill. Why pork?

Pork is a universal option for. It is tender, without a distinct smell, and is quickly prepared and marinated. Beef is inferior to pork in terms of toughness, and lamb - in terms of smell. Beef shish kebab is usually dark and tough even after long marination, although it is less fatty and more healthy. Lamb is quite soft, but has a specific smell and cools quickly, that is, it hardens as it cools, becoming tough.

In addition, buy pork good quality much easier than choosing young beef or lamb, because only the meat of young animals is used for cooking on the grill - it is tender and tasty. The longer any type of meat is marinated, the softer and tastier the kebab will be. Of course, you can already choose ready kebab in the store, marinated and properly chopped, but it is much more pleasant to do all the preparation and cooking yourself.

Which part of the carcass is suitable?

Which part of pork is best to make shish kebab from? To begin with, it should be said that an animal that is going to be slaughtered should weigh 40-50 kg. In such a pig, the muscles do not have time to harden from prolonged stress, which means that the meat will be softer and more tender. The tenderloin should not be completely lean. A small layer of fat must be present so that during the cooking process on coals the fibers are saturated with melted fat and are not dried out from the heat.

The neck region is characterized by the presence of streaks of fat

Which part of pork to use for barbecue - neck and brisket. During the life of the animal, these parts of the body experience the most minimal load, and this is the key to their lower density and rigidity. In addition, the neck part is riddled with thin layers of fat, and if you cut the piece correctly portioned pieces When frying, the meat will turn out juicy.

The part of pork that is located along the ridge is also good for barbecue. This is the so-called tenderloin. It is cut into longitudinal pieces and separated from the fat. Lack of fat is the only disadvantage of such meat. This is the so-called Lenten option, but lovers of richer kebab can string thin slices of lard onto a skewer between the pieces of tenderloin.

Which part of the carcass is not suitable for cooking over charcoal? This is the hip part or the so-called rear end. Here the animal's muscles are the roughest and good result can only be achieved by long and proper marinating.

There is another good one and even budget option choice of meat. This is the kidney part - the upper cut of the ham. It contains a little fat, the consistency of the fibers is dense, but not hard. This part of the pork can be used for barbecue and other dishes, regardless of the cooking method.

For variety, you can take meat on the bone and fry it on the barbecue. Typically this is pork ribs, which evenly combine layers of muscle and fat. They always turn out crispy and juicy.

How to choose good meat

Correctly selected part of pork - another half successful cooking kebab. You also need to evaluate the freshness and quality of the tenderloin. Many people order organic products at home without bothering with shopping. But experts in the business always search for products on their own. It is better to buy meat in specialized stores or markets that cooperate with farms.

So, the meat for pork kebab should be:

young;
cut from the neck, chest or kidney parts of the carcass;
fresh.

The meat of a young animal is always lighter than that of an old one. For pork this is the most characteristic feature. But it is not suitable for cooking barbecue or any other dish, since the fibers are even suckling pig will be hard. The best pork is the one that has lain in a cool place for a day, rested, the fibers have lost their tone, and excess blood has gone away.

The kidney part always has a small bone

The ideal storage temperature for fresh carcasses is from 0 to +4°C. The best meat is the one that has not been frozen or has been frozen only once for a short period of time. The size of the piece of carcass purchased for barbecue also matters. The larger and smoother it is, the better. This makes it easier and more convenient to cut good portioned pieces for threading on a skewer.

To choose a quality piece, pay attention to the following characteristics:

color – light, uneven, without gloss;
smell – pleasant;
The fiber structure is dense; if you press on the meat with your finger, the dent will quickly disappear.

A piece of carcass should not have a suspicious shine or dullness. The meat should not be covered with mucus or film. The structure should also not be too watery. If, when pressed, liquid and blood ooze from a piece, most likely the carcass was pumped with water or even chemicals to increase its weight and shelf life.

Kebab meat from an older animal always has a more intense red color and is likely to be tough and dry after cooking. Experts say that the meat of a pig is most tender, then a young boar, but an old boar that was used for breeding is absolutely not suitable. When passing heat treatment the meat exudes very bad smell, and no one will eat it anymore. By raw meat Determining whether a seller is deceiving his buyer is difficult, but possible. It is enough to bring the lighter to a piece of carcass, when heating characteristic smell will spread instantly.

Good kebab shops always offer shish kebab from different varieties meat, although initially this dish was traditionally prepared from young lamb. In the Caucasus, even now they do not change traditions, marinating lamb with a large number aromatic spices, onion rings, tomatoes and peppers. Vegetables and spices make the meat fibers more tender and the smell even more pleasant.

A simple marinade recipe for barbecue

What to make shish kebab from is clear, how to choose meat is also clear. The question of how to prepare this dish remains open. First you need to cut the meat correctly. The pieces should not be too large or too small. In the first case, the meat on the outside will brown well and even burn, but the inside will remain uncooked. In the second case, there is a high risk of getting dry, overcooked pieces. Ideally, 6-7 pieces of meat are placed on a standard skewer.

Below is a simple pork marinade recipe:

mineral water;
onions;
spices (salt, coriander, black pepper).

For 2 kg of tenderloin, you usually take 1 liter of mineral water. First, the meat is peppered and other spices are added as desired, then the layers of meat are layered with thin onion rings. Everything is poured from above mineral water and leave to marinate for 2-3 hours. After 1-2 hours, the meat is salted and allowed to stand for another 1-2 hours. The tenderloin can be kept in this marinade for about a day. Pork shashlik this way turns out very soft and really juicy, in addition, there is no vinegar in it.

The choice of marinade options for meat is huge. This is the use of beer, kefir, mustard and so on, but the correct preparation is also important. First, you need to keep the meat on a good fire to seal all the juices inside, and then bring it to readiness on slightly cold coals. You can take water with wine or beer and occasionally pour the meat over it for juiciness. This is how you can easily and expertly cook the most delicious meat in nature.

On the last warm autumn days, you really want to relax in nature with friends or family, warming up by a smoking grill in anticipation of a meat delicacy. Therefore, before the weekend, you need to take care of everything you need in advance: purchase all the provisions, choose a place for a picnic, prepare the car for the trip. And, of course, find out what kind of meat the kebab is made from to make it truly delicious. This article describes possible options products used. The pros and cons of each type are outlined in detail. This will allow you to accurately decide before purchasing everything you need to prepare the main dish of the picnic - barbecue. Then there will be enough impressions for the whole long winter.

What kind of meat is suitable for barbecue?, and which one is not? Expert advice

Regardless of the variety, the meat must be young. Otherwise, the dish will turn out tough and not cooked through. The darker the meat, the older the carcass.

Freshness is a must. When using weathered pieces of dubious origin, there is a possibility of getting foreign “odors”. Try pressing your finger on the pulp when purchasing. Good meat will immediately return to shape, smoothing out the dimple.

Under no circumstances use frozen pieces for barbecue - they will turn out dry and tasteless.

The pulp must be without veins and with sufficient inclusion of fatty tissue to obtain juicy dish.

: pork

This choice will certainly be ideal! Pork has, in addition to excellent taste, another amazing feature: You won't need to worry about marinating ahead of time. Just two to three hours will be enough to soak the pieces before frying. aromatic seasonings and sauce. The best kebab comes from the flesh located on the parts of the body closer to the pig’s neck.

What kind of meat is best for barbecue?: beef

To avoid toughness, place the pieces in the marinade for a longer time, such as overnight. Most good sauce There will be mineral water for soaking. Beef is not as fatty and juicy as pork, so cooks use some tricks when preparing shish kebab from it - they stuff the meat with pieces of lard or bread it in eggs and breadcrumbs to preserve juiciness. Most delicate dish obtained from tenderloin and carcass.

What kind of meat is best for barbecue?: mutton

Despite the toughness true gourmets prefer fried dish“with smoke”, prepared from this very product. In all cookbooks Caucasian kebab of their young lamb is classic dish With excellent taste and aroma. It usually uses ribs, leg or shoulder. But the main highlight is to have time to enjoy hot juicy pieces. After all, any lamb tends to harden quickly.

What kind of meat is best for barbecue?: bird

Some categorically do not recognize such a dish. They believe that this is the same as “ear from a rooster.” But, if you use meat not from tough old domestic chickens, but from “precocious” broilers, the result will be quite tender and appetizing. Carcasses are usually cut into portions and fried on a grill, turning over to brown. Tasty and appetizing!

Greetings, our dear readers. Spring is just around the corner, the first warm days are here, it’s time to fry pork kebabs. As they say: open barbecue season. Shashlik - amazing dish, with very delicious meat. Bonfire, smoke spicy taste meat. Yes, this cannot be cooked in the oven.

Today we will talk about classics, almost. Traditionally, kebab is made from pork. The meat is not expensive, but juicy and soft. You can always please your family and friends with this dish.

There are several simple tricks that everyone should know about. Then the kebab will turn out amazing. Today we'll talk a little about this.

Also in the previous article we already talked about juicy recipes, you can read, there is one awesome recipe, which makes even the driest meat juicy and tasty:

Well, now let’s get started and look at the recipe that we have been using for a very long time and often to prepare delicious pork kebabs.

Subtleties of preparation and cooking.

Meat for barbecue.

When it comes to pork, it is best to use the neck or neck. We usually take collards. You should always choose fresh, chilled meat. If necessary, you can remove films and excess pieces of fat. But don’t remove a lot of fat, it adds juiciness to the meat.

How to cut meat for shish kebab.

It is best to cut the pork into equal square pieces 3-5 cm wide. If you cut the meat too finely, it will be dry. If the meat is too big pieces, then it will remain raw in the middle.

Preparing coals for barbecue.

Wood-fired kebabs fruit trees are especially aromatic. But you can cook excellent shish kebab on regular coals. Moreover, if you don’t buy coals, you can make a fire using birch wood. They produce more heat and do not smoke much.

If you have a barbecue, then everything is extremely simple. If there is no barbecue, then you need to show ingenuity and a little work to organize a place for preparing barbecue. You can start a fire right on the ground.

If you want to cook several servings of shish kebab, then you need to prepare a place that will keep the heat longer from the heat. You can build something similar to a barbecue from bricks or scrap materials. You can dig a small rectangular hole and make a fire in it. It is important to take into account that in order for the firewood to burn out, oxygen must reach the bottom of the pit. To do this, we either make access for oxygen from the side, or stack the firewood in a house (tent).

How to grill shish kebab.

Do not turn the meat too often, this can cause it to become dry. Only at first do we turn the meat quickly. You will get a small crust, and then fry as usual.
Periodically sprinkle the meat with the remaining marinade, wine, beer diluted with water... this way the meat will not be overcooked and will retain its juiciness.
Do not allow the flame to appear, otherwise the meat will burn.
If the heat is not enough, turn the coals around or fan them slightly (do not allow the flame to burn). This procedure is best done after removing the skewers from the heat.
You can check the readiness of meat in several ways: cut the meat large piece meat, the juice should be clear; pierce the meat with a knife; if the meat is soft, then it is ready (again, pay attention to the color of the juice).
The temperature from the heat can be checked by holding your hand over the coals in the place where you plan to fry the meat.

A few words about the barbecue marinade.

Today we marinate shish kebab in onions. Onions have the ability to perfectly soften meat. In addition to the technology described, you can use several more of its variations:

Marinate the meat in onion juice. This method of pickling gives excellent results, but it is not always possible to obtain onion juice.
Grind the onion using a meat grinder, blender or grater and marinate the meat in this gruel. The meat is marinated perfectly. But onions have the ability to caramelize, and if you leave pieces of meat in the onion “breading”, it will burn very quickly. A friend suggested a solution - wash the meat in dry wine before cooking.
If you really need quick result, then you can use the recipe described below, but in addition to onions and spices, add highly carbonated mineral water to the meat.

Classic: pork kebab.

This recipe is quite common, but we do it better than anyone, so we’ll describe it first. Quite simple, it takes time to marinate, it’s better to start in the evening in order to cook kebabs the next day.

Ingredients:

Pork neck - 1.5 kg;
Onions - 500 g.

For the marinade:

Onions - 1 kg;
Salt - 2 tsp;
Black ground pepper- 0.5 tsp

For pork kebab, it is best to choose the neck or neck. We cut the meat into equal pieces with a side width of 3-5 cm. If desired, you can make small cuts or punctures along the fibers, but this is not a mandatory procedure.

Peel the onion and cut into large rings or half rings.

Part of the onion can be left for stringing on skewers.

Place the meat, onions and spices in suitable container. If desired, you can add any spices and seasonings to your taste.

Mix the meat and onions well. You need to knead the meat and onions until the onions become soft and acquire a dark shade. The juicier the onion, the better.

The mixing process may take from 10 to 20 minutes.

We tamp the meat and onions into a suitable container and leave to marinate, ideally overnight.

If you need to speed up the marinating process, you can pour highly carbonated mineral water over the meat, then the meat will be ready in 1-2 hours.

Step 6.

The meat can be threaded along the grain onto skewers in pure form, or you can alternate it with onions, tomatoes, bell pepper, eggplants, zucchini, potatoes, or other vegetables of your choice.

We fry the meat with onions, and we use fresh onions not from the marinade.

The onions from the marinade have already given up all their juice to the meat, and they don’t look very marketable, so we cut the fresh onions into rings.

Alternately string pieces of meat and onion rings onto skewers.

Thread larger pieces of meat onto the center of the skewer, smaller pieces along the edges.

It is necessary to prepare all the skewers before sending them to the fire.

We check the temperature over the fire with our hands and place the skewers over the coals.

Important! The fire must burn well so that there are no flames, otherwise the kebab will burn.

As the meat cooks, you need to turn the skewers.

This should not be done too often, as otherwise the meat will turn out dry. During the cooking process, the meat should be periodically sprinkled with the remaining marinade diluted with water, wine or beer.

We monitor the temperature above the coals. If necessary, you can lower or raise the skewers/grill. If it is not possible to adjust the height of the skewers, then depending on the need, the coals can be either lightly sprinkled with water, or mixed and inflated.

The readiness of kebabs can be checked in several ways:

— You can cut the largest piece and check the color of the juice, it should be transparent.

— You can pierce the meat with a knife, if it is soft and the juice is clear, then the kebab is ready.

Serve the kebab hot, after removing it from the skewers. It is best to serve meat with bread, sauces and large number greens, bon appetit!

Pork kebabs according to a very quick recipe (video).

Here good video How to make shish kebab quickly, and it will turn out very tasty. Plus there are several secrets on how to make really tasty kebab. Let's look:

Vinegar marinade for pork shish kebab with mustard.

A very aromatic and spicy charcoal dish. For such a kebab, choose pork neck for marinating. Marinade includes fresh vegetables, a little mustard and vinegar. The taste will be amazing.

We will need:

Pork neck - 1.5 kg;
Onions - 2 pcs;
Garlic - 5 cloves;
Tomatoes - 2 pcs;
Red sweet pepper- 2 pcs;
Vinegar 9% - 4 tbsp. spoons;
Mustard - 2 tbsp. spoons;
Vegetable oil - 50 ml;
Salt - to taste;
Seasoning - to taste.

Prepare the meat, rinse and dry. Slice in portioned pieces deleting excess fat and veins. Transfer to a deep bowl.

Do not cut off all the fat, it will only add juiciness.

Peel the onion and garlic. Cut the onion into half rings, chop the garlic finely, and place in a bowl.

Cut the tomatoes into quarters, remove the core and seeds from the sweet pepper, and cut into rings. Add to the pork, mix everything together with your hands.

Then add the spices, I use natural barbecue mix, grill seasoning. Mix well.

Pour in vegetable oil, vinegar. Add the mustard, then mix thoroughly until each piece is coated with the marinade.

Cover the bowl with meat and put it in the refrigerator to marinate for 4-6 hours, or better yet, leave it overnight.

Before frying, thread the pieces onto skewers and fry over coals until cooked. Have a delicious picnic, bon appetit!

Pork kebabs in beer marinade.

Pork kebabs, or rather pork brisket - for lovers of fatty kebab with a lot of fried lard. Fatty meat does not require a special softening marinade, so beer acts as a flavoring agent in this recipe. Lard marinated in beer turns out very aromatic, with the taste of hops.

Everything is prepared quite quickly, it will take about 3 hours.

Ingredients:

Pork belly - 600 g;
Onions - 2 pcs;
Light beer - 0.5 cups;
Salt to taste;
Pepper to taste;
Spices to taste.

Cut the meat into pieces, the onion into thick circles. Combine everything in a container, add salt and pepper to taste, stir, rubbing the spices into the meat.

Pour in cold beer and leave for 1 hour.

Thread the meat and onions onto skewers.

Grill shish kebab from pork belly over moderately hot coals until crusty.

Fatty kebab should always be served hot; when cold it loses its flavor. taste qualities, and not everyone likes frozen lard. Therefore, if such a pork belly kebab has cooled down, it can easily be reheated in microwave oven. Serve pork kebab best with vegetables, citrus slices and herbs.

Awesome marinade for pork shish kebab with matsoni (kefire) (video).

Pork kebabs this recipe we did as shown in the video. For those who cannot get matsoni, like us, we tried it for the first time with kefir. It’s also very tasty, so we recommend everyone try it.

Marinade with nutmeg and lemon juice.

Extraordinarily tender spicy kebabs you can make it from pork if you first marinate the meat in nutmeg with lemon juice. Great snack Being in nature will bring a lot of pleasant impressions.

We will need:

Pork - 1 kg;
Red onion - 8 pcs;
Nutmeg - 4 tbsp. spoons;
Juice of one lemon;
Salt - to taste;
Ground black pepper - to taste;
Seasoning for pork - 1 tbsp. spoon.

Cut the onion into rings and place some in a deep bowl. Place the sliced pork on top. Add spices: salt, pepper, nutmeg, seasoning. Mix everything.

Then, in a separate bowl, mix the second part of the red onion with the juice of one lemon, while crushing the onion until juice forms. Transfer the marinade to a bowl and mix thoroughly. Cover the dish and marinate in a cool place for 6 hours or more.

Fry the meat on skewers on the grill until beautiful crust. Have a good time Bon appetit to you!

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Pork kebabs: best recipes with juicy and tender meat. updated: April 25, 2018 by: Subbotin Pavel