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By Root 506 0

breeds are making a comeback, with pigs reared the old-fashioned way to give them a good layer of fat and lots of flavor, most of our pork is lean. That may be good for our waistlines but it does nothing for pork’s taste. Cooking pork on the bone is one way of keeping its lean meat juicy, as the bones hold in the moisture. Pork, like any meat, is more flavorful when cooked on the bone, and the bones enrich the cooking juices or sauce. (The pig is especially lucky, because it has a second set of bones. Pork also gives us cured bones.)

Bones are just as important with hams or any cured meat as they are with the fresh. Meat cured on the bone has much more flavor. The finest hams always still have their bones—some even have even the foot attached. The bones keep the ham moist and flavorful as it ages. So always choose a bone-in ham. Sliced ham should be cut to order from a ham on the bone. And a ham bone can have a second life. Use it to flavor soups or to add a creamy richness and depth to dried beans and lentils.

When you are buying pork or ham, a knowledgeable butcher is essential. Cuts on the bone will be expertly prepared, with the chine or pelvic bones removed where necessary to make carving them easier. A good butcher can also provide less common cuts such as pig’s feet and tails. Carefully prepared and cooked, these neglected bony extremities make succulent eating for the adventurous. Pig’s feet can be added in place of calves’ feet to any stock; a rich source of gelatin, they will add body and substance.

This ham bone, far from being a melancholy reminder, is still a treasure …

—EDOUARD DE POMIANE

The pig is a unique animal in that we can eat it all—as the old expression says, “Everything but the oink.” For the bone lover, the first step in enjoying both fresh and cured bone-in cuts is understanding the animal’s skeleton. How you cook all these cuts depends on which part of the animal they are from.

The free maides that weave their thread with bones.

—WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE.

Twelfth Night, Act 2. Scene IV

The Front End

When a hog is butchered, the foot is often removed (see “The Extremities”) from the front leg, which is then divided into two cuts. Closest to the shoulder is the Boston shoulder roast, also called the blade roast or pork butt. This meaty cut consists of several muscles and is marbled with fat. It is sold whole, cut in half, or sliced into blade chops or steaks. Country-style ribs are cut from the shoulder. These meaty ribs are actually butterflied blade chops and are sold individually. Despite its name, this cut, and its chops, are better braised than roasted.

It is unforgivable to take anything out of your mouth that has been put in it except dry bones …

—EMILY POST

The lower section of the front leg is oddly named the picnic shoulder. It should be braised or barbecued.

I have a reasonable good ear in music; let us have the tongs and the bones.

—BOTTOM IN SHAKESPEARE’S

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 4, Scene 1

The Middle

The muscles in this part of the pig do the least work and, as a result, the meat here is the most tender. This is where the rack of pork, or pork rib roast, sold with up to eight ribs, lies. Your butcher can prepare an impressive crown roast with two complete racks cut from the same animal. The roast can also be cut into individual rib chops.

Closer to the back leg is the center loin roast. Here the bone divides the meat into the loin and the tenderloin. The chops cut from this roast resemble small T-bone steaks, with a piece of loin meat on one side of the bone and a small piece of tenderloin on the other. Cuts from the loin can be roasted, and the chops sautéed or grilled.

Bare bones are the framework or the essential part of something such as a book.

The ribs that bend around to form the pig’s chest become spareribs. In a rack with up to thirteen ribs, the spareribs that come from the front of the animal are longer than those toward the back. What are called back ribs, with from eleven to thirteen bones, are cut higher on the animal, closer to the backbone.