Pork chop

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Pork chops, cooked and served.

A pork chop is a chop of pork, a cut of meat cut perpendicularly to the spine of the pig, and usually containing a rib or part of a vertebra and served as an individual portion.

The center cut or pork loin chop includes a large T shaped bone, and is structurally similar to the beef t-bone steak. Rib chops come from the rib portion of the loin, and are similar to rib eye steaks. Blade or shoulder chops are cut from the shoulder end of the loin, and tend to contain large amounts of connective tissue. The sirloin chop is taken from the (rear) leg end and also contains a large amount of connective tissue.

The so-called "Iowa Chop" is a thick center cut. The term was coined in 1976 by the Iowa Pork Producers Association.

[edit] Preparation

Fried pork chops.

The center cut and rib chops are suited to hot dry cooking methods such as grilling. Because of their collagen content, the blade and sirloin chops are better served by slower methods like braising.

Like other pork products, the pork chop has been affected by changing dietary trends. In an effort to reinvent pork as "the other white meat", the pork industry began breeding leaner pigs. The lower fat content of modern pigs combined with pork's already dry texture means that it can be difficult for a chef to cook a pork chop fully without it becoming dry and tasteless. Brining can be used to help pork chops retain their moisture through the cooking process.

Older cooking references may cite a need to cook all pork, including chops, to an internal temperature of 160°F (71°C) or even 170°F (76°) in order to eliminate the threat of trichinosis. This relatively high temperature has the unfortunate side effect of exacerbating pork's dryness problem. However, current US FDA regulations for the preparation of pork state that a minimum internal temperature of 144°F (62.2°C) is sufficient to ensure the destruction of the parasite. This temperature is below pork's temperature for medium doneness, typically around 150°F (65°C). Note that the meat near the bone in bone-in cuts will generally be several degrees lower than the rest of the chop.

Pork chops have earned notoriety in recent years as the supreme filling for sandwiches, due to their lower fat content and their ability to carry condiments well.