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The Right Temperature

by Jess on September 6, 2011

Lots of exciting things have been cooking this summer in the world of pork!  We discovered that pork can now be cooked to a lower temperature of 1450 F, followed by a three minute rest (for the pork, not the chef, or maybe both).  Cooking to the new lower temperature will ensure your pork is tender, flavorful and juicy. Yes, pork cooked to 145 will be slightly pink in color, but the USDA deemed pork be cooked to the new lower temperature as perfectly safe, following extensive studies conducted across the nation.

Doesn’t that mean that the pork will be raw and too pink?  Nope… Pork is actually supposed to be a little pink in the center.  If it’s white all the way through, then the meat will be dry and overcooked!  Check out the pictures below to see the difference between perfectly cooking pork to 145, opposed to the previously recommended 160.



An Overcooked Roast... Cooking to 160 Degrees is Too Long

This Roast still looks great, but take a close look at the color of the pork.  Pork that is cooked to this white looking color is actually overcooked and dry!  Find this recipe using the right juicy temperature by clicking HERE!

The Pink Color Means It Was Perfectly Cooked To A Temperature of 145 Degrees with a 3 Minute Rest

The pinkish color of this roast will make it juicy and tender to the taste!  Click HERE for the delicious details!

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Fair Favorite Recipes

by Jess on August 23, 2011

Hey Pork Lovers! It’s here in a flash and gone just as quick, that’s right, the Ohio State Fair is all wrapped up!  As sad as it is, most of us only get the opportunity to enjoy some of the most awesome culinary treats, such as pig wings and pork parfaits, during the 12 day stint of the fair, well not anymore!

Below are the recipes for two of the coolest pork dishes available, so be sure to thank us when you are enjoying some state fair excitement in your kitchen….in December!

Pig Wings:

Pig wings include the tender meat around the bone of the ham.  During the Ohio State Fair, we go through a lot of pig wings! Pig wings are available at some specialty grocery stores; we get ours at Gordon Food Service. We like to smoke the wings at the Ohio State Fair.  The wings come precooked from Gordon Food Service, so how you cook them is your preference (grilled, smoked, baked, or deep-fried).  Add some D. B. Yummers Barbecue Sauce to the finished pig wings and you have the perfect meal!

The Famous Pork Parfait

Pork Parfait:

The pork parfait is a perfectly ‘porky’ desert.  It includes two alternating layers of pulled pork and mashed potatoes, and then is topped off with BBQ sauce, shredded cheese and a cherry tomato.  If you need a mouthwatering pulled pork recipe to use for your pork parfait, then check out the Heimerl family’s pulled pork recipe.

Make sure you check out our last post for your opportunity to get a free cookbook full of original pork recipes!

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The Bacon Turtle Sausage Burger

July 18, 2011

HERE IT IS!!! It’s the Bacon Turtle Sausage Burger! If you read our last post (It’s a pig! It’s a turtle! No, it’s a Pig-Nosed Turtle!), then I’m sure you’ve been anxiously waiting for these juicy pork details! Bacon Turtle Sausage Burger Prep Time: 5 mins Total Time: 45 mins Ingredients: 8 ounces ground sausage, [...]

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Quick Dinner for the Busy Porklover

July 7, 2011

Now that we’ve reached the middle of the summer, some people seem to be enjoying the hot days on vacation and others are relaxing next to the pool.  On the other hand, I’ve been busy trying to keep up with the all of the daytime activities of summer.  Coming from a large family, I often [...]

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America’s Hotdog

June 28, 2011

What’s one food that goes great with grilling, camping, tailgating or a late night snack?  The hotdog.  Like baseball and apple pie, the hotdog is enjoyed by many as a classic American tradition.  The hotdog is quick, easy, delicious and works wonderfully as an afternoon lunch or a special campfire snack.  You can make the [...]

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The Flying Pig!

May 17, 2011

(Source) Just when we thought that trotters have a bad rep, The Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati proves us wrong. They have taken great strides in reducing their marathon’s carbon footprint. The city that used to be Porkopolis has moved by leaps and bounds to reduce, recycle, and reuse. They were able to have online registration and promotions [...]

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BLT World Record Attempt

April 15, 2011

Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato. Probably one of the greatest sandwiches on the planet. The tomato and lettuce make the perfect stage for the salty delicious bacon. The BLT even has the power to help reduce man’s greatest challenge after a great weekend…. the hangover. Of course, it has been recently celebrated at Denny’s with the [...]

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My Farm Memories: Pigs and Math

April 14, 2011

One of my farm memories involved learning to do math.  This wasn’t your ordinary math lesson, but my brothers and I learned how to do math while working with the pigs.  When we moved the piglets in our barn from their mothers, the sow, we put them in a cart that moved them from one [...]

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Baco

April 5, 2011

            According to Wikipedia, a Baco can be a lunar impact crater, Celtic god of the boar, or an English monk.  But here at Porktastic a Baco is neither hole, god, or man, but in fact our formula is:             Bacon + Taco = Baco.              This may be the most creative use of [...]

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New Year And a New Game!

January 6, 2011

 As we welcome 2011, Porktastic also welcomes a new addition to our blog.  A New Game has arrived called Pork Picker!  We didn’t want you to get bored of Pork or Dork, so take a look and try out your skills.  Do you have what it takes to be a master of the new Porktastic game?

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