Meat
Pork
Also called pork shoulder, minced pork, ground pork
Meat from pigs. Shoulder and belly bring the fat that keeps mince juicy; loin dries if you cook it like shoulder. Skin and bone are flavour.
Origin
Domesticated across Eurasia and followed grain farms. Modern lean pork is a breeding choice, not a law of nature.
Flavour
Sweet and rich once the fat renders. Lean fillet cooked past done tastes like damp cardboard.
How to use it
Mince with a visible fleck of fat for mapo tofu, mandu and jeyuk — if it is too lean, add a spoon of oil or it crumbles dry. Belly for samgyeopsal wants a hot plate and patience so fat melts before the lean toughens. Shoulder likes a long braise or a marinade of gochujang, soy, garlic and a little sugar. Salt early; pork can take more than chicken. Pancetta can stand in for belly in a stew; subtract salt, and skip bacon unless you want smoke.
Storage
Cook mince within a day or two, or freeze. Keep it sealed so it does not perfume the fridge.
Recipes using it
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