Is there a difference between pork loin and pork loin?

Pork meat: pork loin and pork loin

Let's get straight to the point. Let's answer the question immediately and put a firm point on it. Yes, there is a difference between pork loin and pork loin: the first is the whole loin, the second is a cut of meat without the bones. In essence, the two words define how to cook fresh Italian pork, or rather they give an immediate suggestion.

The difference however, rather than the skill of the master butcher, depends on the method - and consequent quantity - of "degreasing" that the pork undergoes during processing. This is why the cooking solutions range from the oven to the pan, passing through the grill, then adding various and possible aromas, drugs and flavours.

To elect your preference on a permanent basis you need to carry out two actions:

• learn more about both by discovering recipes with pork
• let yourself be teased by culinary ideas that offer the perfect parterre to 100% Italian meat.

Italian meat: pork loin

By pork loin we mean the cut of pork meat in its entirety: the whole loin rich in flab and a little fat which sizzles during cooking and gives that rich and fragrant flavor which is the undisputed example of a pork steak pan-fried, or grilled, or baked.

In short, the cooking method does little to interfere with the sublime flavor that a perfectly cooked rack of ribs can provide. The dish is considered a symbol of Tuscan cuisine, second only to the Fiorentina steak, something very respectable. There are various cooking methods which reach their peak with milk cooking, although it lends itself very well to being wrapped in lard and embroidered with aromatic herbs.

Italian meat: pork loin

“There's the bone! What do I do, leave?” “No, thanks” And that's how the pork loin was born.

Although birth may not be what is mentioned, the example perfectly illustrates the difference between the two "pieces" of pork. Pork loin is therefore leaner and suitable for quick and easy cooking although it offers different methods and can be used in various recipes with pork.

The sliced ​​version is the most practical and is a common and extremely tasty dish in central Italy where, also called loin, it is seasoned for a minimum of 60 days combined with careful salting. Pork loin is also used for the preparation of cured meats and sausages such as capocollo, another gustatory pleasure capable of complementing last-minute aperitifs.

A gem about the pork loin

Although the rhyme is quite forced, knowing the origin of a cut of meat becomes a real gem to unleash while savoring the loin of pork.

The term arista was born during an ecumenical council in Florence in the year 1493. It seems that during a rich banquet the Greek cardinal Basilio Bessarion immediately after having tasted a succulent slice of roast declared: "Arios" - in Greek, the literal translation is "the best".

The Florentine elected officials present immediately linked the exclamation to a particular cut of meat that the cardinal was eating and, so enthusiastic about the statement, they began to repeat it. Then we know how it works, from item to item, the term maintains the origin and loses the details, or adds them, here you are "siori and siori: his Majesty the Arista!".

In addition to the name, there is an even more historical document - dated 1287 - where the arista is mentioned by Franco Sacchetti who discusses "An Arista in the oven". Now that the story has been revealed, it is necessary to get to the stove and preserve the gem immediately afterwards the cut, and the tasting.

Pork: one name, a thousand uses

If for the Arista there are historical curiosities that link its birth to more or less fictionalized events, the loin owes its popularity to the vastness of recipes that surround it, and as Italian tradition dictates, also to more or less particular names.

The most common variations linked to regional Italian recipes are: scallops with lemon, sweet and sour with plums. To make meat tender there is a perfect technique that adapts to all recipes and preparations. You need to moisten a sheet of absorbent paper and sprinkle the slice of meat, then immediately prick it - using the tines of a fork - ready for cooking.

Alternatively, you can use a meat tenderizer, but all the magic of "meat cooked as it once was" vanishes, leaving room for those useful contraptions but with much less romantic allure. In any case - by the way, as they say today - the desire to get to the stove and taste the cut is always very strong, inviting and even more so if you choose to use your grandmother's loin recipe.