Ground Pork Recipes That'll Go Easy on Your Wallet and Still Pack a Flavorful Punch (2024)

FAQs

What is the best meat for ground pork? ›

Fresh ground pork is also best from the shoulder. The loin is the animal's back muscle from the hip to the shoulder. The loin includes some of the most tender and popular cuts. Center cut chops are from the middle of the loin and include rib and loin cuts.

Ground pork tends to be a bit lower in fat than pork sausage, which usually includes a bit of extra loin fat.

Regular ground pork has a 70/30 meat to fat ratio while lean ground pork has a 90/10 meat to fat ratio.

No. Ground pork is simply ground-up mean. Sausage is ground meat with other ingredients, often a variety of herbs and spices, and typically with extra fat added in. This mixture is then usually stuffed into a tubular casing, and is sometimes dried, smoked, cured, or otherwise preserved.

In beef, there is 14% iron per 100g when compared to the 4% in pork meat. Another big difference is that beef has a high amount of vitamin B12 and B6 when compared to pork. Although pork has far more thiamin than beef, beef is highly more valuable in vitamin structure.

WebMD explains that pork still contains high amounts of zinc and iron, as well as niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, selenium, and phosphorus. While both types of meat offer rich amounts of vitamins and minerals, if you compare them side by side, ground beef wins almost every category, except one – sodium levels.

Aside from being rich in high-quality protein, pork contains a variety of healthy nutrients that are beneficial for your muscles. These include taurine, creatine, and beta-alanine. Beta-alanine is an amino acid your body uses to produce carnosine, which is important for muscle function ( 15 , 16 ).

As you can see, the most significant difference between these two meat sources is their fat content. Otherwise, they contain many of the same vitamins and minerals in comparable quantities. The main exception is that turkey usually has a much higher concentration of B vitamins.

While pork belly and processed pork options such as ham and sausage are not generally low cholesterol meats, some pork options may be okay. One example is pork tenderloin. It is a relatively lean cut, and trimming any additional fat before cooking can help limit its impact on cholesterol.

Whereas pork gives a lighter flavor, ground beef will provide the depth of flavor needed in a slow cooked dish.

What is the healthiest ground meat? ›

Ground beef and turkey are both nutritious meats that provide protein, fat, and a variety of vitamins and minerals. Turkey is generally lower in saturated fat than beef. As such, it may be a better choice for heart health. Fat-free turkey is also the lowest calorie option if you're interested in weight loss.

Your dog can eat pork as long as there is no seasoning, sauces, condiments, onions or other ingredients that can be potentially toxic. Pork has a high fat content, which is why it's better suited for treat time every once in a while than added to your dog's diet as a staple.

Description. Package of 1 lb Lean Ground Bork (a combination of both ground beef and pork).

Sausage Patty

Ingredients: Pork, Water, Salt, Spices, Dextrose, Sugar, Rosemary Extract, Natural Flavors.

Instead, it's just a simple mixture of ground pork and spices, ready to be formed into patties and cooked immediately. Breakfast sausage may just be one of the most versatile meats to have on hand. Of course, you can fry it up and serve it with eggs. Or you can place some in a biscuit for a tasty breakfast sandwich.

Pork that is a pinkish-red color will provide a better eating experience. Avoid choosing meat that is pale in color and has liquid in the package. Look for pork that has marbling, or small flecks of fat. Marbling is what adds flavor.

As for cooking your ground pork tenderloin, you can make anything from ground pork tacos, lean Mexican chorizo, chili garlic ground pork lettuce wraps, and ground pork chili to meatballs, burgers, and more. Basically anything you would make with ground meat, you could plug this in.

Ground pork is generally made from pork shoulder or pork butt and sometimes includes some pork loin. Supermarkets or butchers often label it with its fat percentage, similar to the way you'll see ground beef packaged.