Four Common Mistakes People Make When Cooking Pork

Pork is an in-demand meat in South Africa, and with good reason. It can be cooked in many different ways, including roasting pork fillets, grilling breakfast sausages, smoking marinated ribs. You can almost smell it, right? The last thing you want to do is ruin a high-quality cut of pork by overcooking it or choosing the wrong cut for your dish. Ensure you avoid the following common mistakes when cooking with pork, and you’ll end up with a tasty, tender and flavourful piece of pork every time.

Mistakes people make when cooking pork

Choosing the wrong cut of pork

Each cut of pork needs to be prepared and cook for a different amount of time. For example, if pork is still on the bone, you’d ideally want it to be cooked for longer to allow the flavour from the bone to be present in the meat.

The pork fillet (also known as the tenderloin) cooks quicker and is often served cut into pieces (also known as medallions.) It doesn’t have the same amount of fat as the loin and will therefore lose tenderness if overcooked. One of the best ways to ensure pork loin remains soft and tasty is by letting the tenderloin marinate overnight.

Under-seasoning the pork

Under seasoning pork, especially leaner cuts such as pork fillet, can render it tasteless, stopping the delicious underlying flavours of the meat from pulling through. We’re not saying use every spice and herb in your cupboard but add some salt and pepper (at least) before you start cooking. During the cooking process, the seasonings will mix with the rendered fat and seared meat. Also, consider using marinates and spice rubs to give the pork a distinctive taste.

Transferring pork straight from the fridge to the oven

Meat shouldn’t be left out of the fridge at room temperature for an extended period. However, when it’s time to cook, it’s not a good idea to throw cold pork straight onto a hot pan or grill either. The reason is that the extreme difference in temperature will cause the exterior of the pork to cook too quickly, leaving the inside underdone.

So, it’s best to let the meat sit out to come to room temperature (also known as temper) for a short while before cooking.

Undercooking your pork and risking illness

Raw or undercooked pork has the potential to carry bacteria and parasites, such as tapeworms, that can lead to infections and a variety of other nasty symptoms. It’s recommended that you use a digital meat thermometer to gauge the temperature of the meat throughout the cook.

How to order the best wholesale pork fillets for sale

We’ve entirely restyled our website to offer a fantastic customer purchasing experience and showcase our pork products proudly.

Furthermore, we’ve also completely redesigned our online product ordering platform. You’ll find descriptions of the meats and the corresponding product codes on each page and the order form below them.

Our delivery policy

Our delivery policy requires a minimum order amount depending on the region. You may order from Monday to Thursday. If you order before 12:00 (noon), we guarantee next-day delivery. Should your order reach our sales representatives after 12:00 (noon), it will be delivered to you the following working day. This is only valid for Gauteng stores. Outer Gauteng stores delivery period may vary. If you require any additional information, please contact us.