Fragrant shish kebab with smoke is an indispensable part of a pleasant outdoor recreation. The key to a tender and juicy kebab with a crispy crust is the right choice of pulp. Next, we will figure out which meat is best for pork barbecue, how to choose and prepare the best slices for frying, and which marinades will allow you to enjoy an incredibly tasty and juicy dish.

Which part of the pork is best for barbecue

In order for the slices of the meat with the browned sides to be soft and moderately oily during frying, it is necessary to find out which part of the pork is better for barbecue.

The most delicious cuts for barbecue:

  • Filet mignon (tenderloin) is the most tender part with almost no fatty layers. When boning, it is recommended to cut the film on the underside of the piece with a sirloin knife, as it will become extremely rough during frying.
  • Neck - the next softest part of the carcass, which contains a small percentage of fat. It provides kebab appetizing crust. To taste, excess fat from the pieces can be removed, as well as possibly trapping elements of cartilage.
  • Loin - also refers to the soft parts, but the taste is slightly inferior to the two previous options. The structure of the slices is uniform, and practically do not contain fat. It is imperative to strip the meat from the veins, since after cooking it will be problematic.
  • Ribs - the meat between the bones is extremely tender. For taste, it is worth trimming excess fat, and strip a piece of the films. Such parts are often chosen for barbecue.
  • The ham is part of the hind leg, it is tougher and does not like long frying. When choosing a ham, you should pay special attention so that there is no life on the cut.Part of the ham, the so-called “apple”, is very sinewy and should not be bought for barbecue.
  • The shoulder blade, as well as the ham, contains sinewy layers, and when choosing this piece for the grill, it is necessary to clean the meat well, cutting out the hard parts.

The choice of meat for barbecue depends on personal preferences for the degree of its fat content. It is important to pay attention to the proper meat stripping: to remove veins and films qualitatively, leaving only the loin portion.

How to choose a good meat

It is better to buy meat in specialized farmers' stores or from trusted sellers who legally engage in livestock farming. On farms, special attention is paid to the animal: a balanced diet, vaccination against parasites and veterinary control. It is better that the pieces can be sniffed, so you should refrain from buying products sealed in vacuum packaging.

Criteria for choosing the "right" pork:

  1. When pressing the pulp with a finger, the dent should straighten out quickly. In this case, the piece is fresh.
  2. The smell of the pulp should be subtle, without extraneous chemical impurities. The smell of acid or rottenness indicates that the piece is hopelessly spoiled.
  3. Young pork has a pale pink color. In this case, the pieces from the scapula and ham are a little darker.
  4. Fat should not be gray or yellowish. It is only pure white.
  5. When buying meat in supermarkets, you should focus not on the date indicated on the package, but on the appearance, smell and texture of the meat. You need to look at the piece closer in normal light. The fact is that shop windows are highlighted with special red lamps to create attractive-looking products.

It is not recommended to buy ready-made pickled kebabs, as it is impossible to verify the freshness and quality of the feedstock.

Steamed, chilled or frozen pork

Paired pork is the meat of an animal that was killed no more than 3 hours ago. Many call this an advantage, because the pieces are definitely fresh. However, steamed pork is not suitable for grilling kebab, as in the process it becomes extremely stiff. Even the most tender tenderloin in the form of a piece of barbecue is practically not chewed.

Only chilled raw materials can be tasty and soft in the finished dish. When the meat lies still for 6-8 hours, the muscles and tendons will completely relax. Such a product is quickly pickled, easily fried and it turns out incredibly juicy. The ideal meat for barbecue is fresh, slightly laid in the refrigerator at a temperature of +1 +3 degrees.

It is not always possible to stock up on chilled pork, as its shelf life in such temperature ranges is limited, so most often kebab is prepared from frozen raw materials. It can be tasty only if pork has been frozen once. When defrosting and re-freezing, the finished barbecue will become tasteless, dry and hard. To understand that the meat was frozen several times is simple. You need to press the pulp with your finger. If the pork was frozen only once, a speck of dark color will remain on it, and if the procedure was repeated, then there would be no trace on the surface.

Correct cutting of meat for frying on the grill

To cook a juicy and tender barbecue on the grill, you need to properly chop the meat.

 

Preparation consists of the following stages:

  1. We wash the meat, as during deboning it could leave chips from the deck and other dirt.
  2. We cut off the films, cartilage, small bones and veins.
  3. Pork is cut into oblong slices 5 cm thick and 8 cm long.
  4. It is important not to grind the meat, as the kebab will turn out to be rather dry.

It is important to remember that the smaller the piece, the greater should be the heat of the brazier, since at insufficient temperatures all the juice will come out of the slice and the fibers will become dry.

The best pork kebab marinades

After it has been decided which meat to choose, the appropriate marinade should be selected for the proper frying of pork skewers. Skilled kebabs recommend abandoning the traditional practice of pickling with vinegar or mayonnaise.In this case, the amount of vinegar should be strictly dosed so as not to burn the meat. Mayonnaise sauce makes the dish excessively fat and kills the true taste of meat.

We recommend trying more original recipes:

  1. Citrus. The secret is to replace vinegar with lemon juice. For 2 kg of pork we take 2-3 onions, cut into large rings, 4 tbsp. l fragrant olive oil, a pinch of freshly ground black pepper and a handful of pepper peas, optionally 2-3 leaves of parsley and other spices as you wish. It is important not to overdo it with diverse spices.We put salt immediately before frying, or add salt after laying in the barbecue, so as not to dry the meat.
  2. Coffee marinade does not involve any acid in meat procurement. For 2 kg of pork we add our favorite spices (this can be crushed grains of coriander, zira, Caucasian seasonings), 3-4 tbsp. l vegetable oil, 3 coarsely chopped onions and 1 liter of hot coffee (but not boiling). The meat in the marinade is left to cool in the room for 2 hours, and then transferred to the refrigerator for at least 6 hours. Shish kebab guaranteed delicate taste and original aroma.
  3. Kefir fill. For every 2 kg of lean meat we take 1 liter of fat-free kefir, to taste spices and herbs, and 4 large onions, divided into wide rings. Shake the pork dish well and set it in the cold for 5 hours. This filling is ideal for harvesting chicken, pork and beef, only if the meat is not too hard. The same mixture can be prepared on the basis of Greek yogurt without sugar and fruit additives.
  4. Mineral water. For the same amount of meat, we take 1.5 liters of highly carbonated mineral water, chopped coarse greens, ground coriander, black pepper and sunflower hops, as well as a pinch of salt, and chopped 3-4 onions. Such pouring in 3-4 hours in the refrigerator will turn pork into a fillet of incredible tenderness. It is important not to fill the workpiece with a table-and-mine mineral water, as it has a special smell and taste, which will necessarily be transmitted to pork.
  5. Especially beloved in the east pomegranate pickle: for 1 kg of meat we take 2 cups of freshly squeezed pomegranate juice, 2-3 bunches of any herbs: cilantro, basil or mint, a handful of ground pepper and chopped large onion. In this filling, pork spends in the refrigerator from 10 hours to a day. In addition to pork, such a marinade is good for lamb.
  6. Wine marinade will make the pulp much more tender and give it a pleasant aroma. For 2 kg of the workpiece we take 1 liter of dry red wine, 3 large onions, a bunch of basil and ground pepper mixture. White wine is not suitable for pork, so it is used for turkey poultry.

Properly selected and pickled pork will turn into a flavorful barbecue with toasted crust and juicy pulp inside. Such a treat will be a real decoration of outdoor activities.

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