This is a quick guide for how to cook pastured pork. It will provide insight to the correct internal temperatures and methods to get each cut to have flavorful results every time. Be sure to visit our homepage to see what pork we currently have available. We hope this guide is helpful to cook your pastured pork to perfection. Once you are finished with this guide check out some of our favorite recipes here.
Bacon and Jowl-
Our preferred method for cooking the bacon and jowl is to cook it in the oven. Cook it in the oven at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes on a raised wire pan that allows the grease to drip down. The time may need to be increased by 5 minutes if you specified thick sliced bacon. If you are cooking it on a skillet, place the bacon in the pan cold and turn the pan to medium heat. This will slowly render the fat while making it crispy.
Pork Chops-
Our preferred method for cooking the pork chops is to grill them over charcoal. Our favorite seasonings include using a sage sausage seasoning and Meat Church Blanco. Both of these seasonings will make the chops super savory and taste like ribeye steak. The cook time is around 6-8 minutes depending on the heat of the grill. Use a instant read meat thermometer to temp probe the meat. It is very important to get a good sear to lock in all the flavor but, the internal temperature for the meat should be 135-145. The fat cap will probably read hotter in the 160-170 range. A good base timeline to follow can be seen below. Make sure to let the pork chops rest at least 5 minutes before slicing!
Timeline for Flipping Pork Chops on Grill:
-1 minute 45 seconds then flip
-1 minute 45 seconds flip and rotate
-1 minute 45 seconds flip
-1 minute 45 seconds start checking internal temperature
*Timeline above is for a 3/4″ thick pork chop. The chops may need more time depending on heat of grill.
Boston Butt and Picnic Roast-
Our preferred method for cooking the Boston Butt and Picnic roast is to smoke them at 250 degrees for 3-4 hours. After smoking, place them in a crockpot until the internal temperature reaches 200-205 degrees. The meat will be fork tender at this point and you should be able to pull the bone out with minimal resistance. You can use your favorite BBQ rub or use a Mexican seasoning to make pork carnitas.
Breakfast Sausage-
Our preferred method for cooking the breakfast sausage is in a cast iron pan. With the sausage being packaged and frozen super fresh, it is beneficial to allow the pack to sit thawed in the fridge overnight for the seasonings to work into the meat more. It is crucial to get the pan good and hot before putting the sausage in. This will get a good sear on the sausage to lock in all the flavor. Cook the sausage to a internal temperature of 160 degrees.
Brats and Link Sausage-
Our preferred method for cooking the brats and links is to ensure they are cooked no further than 160 degrees internal temperature. Once the brats and links are cooked past this the juices will begin to push out of the casing. They can be either grilled, smoked, and cooked in the oven on a raised wire pan that allows the grease to drip down. If cooking in the oven cook them at 275 degrees. Regardless of the cooking method just be cautious to not overcook them. When measuring the internal temperature of the brats it is best to not poke a hole into the side of the brat. Instead stick the thermometer into the end where the casing is tied off to try and keep the juices from coming out of the brat.
Ham-
Our preferred method for cooking the ham includes curing and smoking the ham. This can also be cooked in the oven at 250 degrees until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.
Ribs-
Our preferred method for cooking the ribs includes smoking them for 3 hours then placing them into a aluminum foil wrap with butter, brown sugar, and honey. We finish cooking the ribs in the oven meat side down until they reach an internal temperature of 200-205 degrees. They will take around 2 hours in the oven after being smoked and wrapped in the aluminum foil. Once they are cooked remove them from the wrap and glaze with your favorite BBQ sauce either in the oven or back onto the smoker. We recommend these heat resistant gloves to make it very easy to safely remove the ribs from the hot aluminum foil wrap while not letting them fall apart.
Pork Fat-
We use pork fat in two different ways. First, we render it down into lard and use it to cook with. It adds richness to your food and has a high smoke point. This means it will not burn and stink up a kitchen like vegetable oil! To render it into lard cut the fat into small cubes about a inch thick and slowly cook them in a big pot. The oil will render out of the fat and when the hard fat pieces are golden brown, it is finished. You can use a bacon grease jar to strain the little pieces of fat from the lard. The other method includes putting the oil into a mason jar and adding some water. Add a lid and shake the jar. Next turn the jar upside down. As the oil and water separates, any small pieces of fat will fall to the bottom of the jar where the water is. Put the jar in the fridge to harden the lard. Finally, open the jar and pour the water out. This will leave you with clean lard to use. The second way we use our pork fat is to grind it into deer meat or any other wild game.
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