How do you get rid of that piggy taste that some pork has?!


Question: Sounds like a ridiculous question, but usually pork doesn't have a strong taste. Occasionally, however, I'll cook some pork and it has a noticeably "porky" smell and taste (it's NOT spoiled). Is there a way to get rid of that taste?


Answers: Sounds like a ridiculous question, but usually pork doesn't have a strong taste. Occasionally, however, I'll cook some pork and it has a noticeably "porky" smell and taste (it's NOT spoiled). Is there a way to get rid of that taste?

Marinate it! It will take on the flavor of the marinade, and taste much less "piggy!" This teriyaki marinade is great for making Hawaiian barbecue, or for teriyaki stir-fry:

1/4 c. water
1/4 c light soy sauce
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. pineapple juice
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1 tbsp. minced fresh ginger

Heat all the ingredients in order to dissolve the sugar. Do not boil! Heat until all the sugar dissolves. Allow to cool before pouring over meat. Pour over ribs, chicken, pork etc. and let sit overnight. Marinade is best when used with pork or chicken thighs.

Or, braise it in milk, with bay & rosemary. The herbs and milk somehow help reduce that piggy flavor. Try this recipe:

Tuscan Pork Roast in Milk Sauce

1 (3-pound) boneless pork shoulder (butt) roast, netted or tied
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 cups milk, divided use
1/2 teaspoon crushed rosemary
1 bay leaf

1. Melt butter with oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add roast and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer to 3 1/2-quart slow cooker; season with salt and pepper.
2. To skillet, add onion and carrot and cook, stirring, 5 minutes, until softened. Add 1/2 cup milk, rosemary and bay leaf to skillet; bring to simmer, stirring constantly, scraping up brown bits from bottom of skillet. Transfer to slow cooker along with 1 1/2 cups remaining milk. Cover and slow-cook on low 5 to 6 hours.
3. Transfer pork to platter and keep warm.
4. Discard bay leaf, skim fat from surface of cooking liquid.
5. In medium saucepan bring cooking liquid to boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until sauce is reduced to 1 cup.
6. Slice or chop roast, serve with sauce & with buttered green beans, soft polenta or some pasta, and sliced tomatoes.

Serves 6.

Wine suggestion: Serve with an Italian white: Soave or Pinot Grigio.

Also, trimming off all the skin and as much visible fat as possible helps, since those flavors are concentrated in the skin & fat.

Certain cuts of pork that are higher in fat have a higher "piggy" flavor. So lean cuts like loin will have less of that flavor to them than cuts like the pork butt.

I don't think so-it came off a pig, after all. Why don't you just not eat pork, if you don't like how pork tastes?

I'm not sure why you'd want to? Modern intensive pork production is all based around rearing pigs quickly and cheaply. Consequently, pigs are bred to put on weight quickly - this means they have little or no time to develop flavour (think of the difference in flavour between veal and beef for example). While sometimes it is good to have pork with less flavour (I'm thinking specifically of roast suckling pig), my view is that pork should taste of the animal and not simply be a canvas for other flavours.
Pork is one meat I am quite fussy about - my local butcher only stocks good quality free range pork from old fashioned breeds - such as Gloucester Old Spot or Saddleback for example - these pigs take longer to mature and gain far more flavour in doing so. And it's that flavour that I crave in my pork.

If you want pork with less flavour, I suggest you still buy it from a good butcher, but choose cuts such as tenderloin (fillet) - this has less flavour (as beef fillet has less flavour than, say, rump or sirloin). But beware: tenderloin has no fat around it or through it so is prone to drying out. It benefits from being cooked quickly - frying being the best treatment.

bay leaves are good for that

I believe that meat from female pigs is the best pork to eat. Meat from male pigs tends to have that "porky" smell and a much stronger "porky" taste. A good butcher should be able to verify this and be able to sell you female pork.

THE SMELL IS USUALLY BECAUSE OF THE FAT AND SKIN.
Trim off the fat and skin and prepare the pork while using a little Coke instead of water only.
I fry the pork chops if I do not BBQ them, so when I fry them, I baste them with a little coke.
It adds to the flavor and compliments the meat

I would try making an extremely hot sauce and adding it to the pork. (5 peppers and one tomatoe proportion)





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