How to distinguish between "front elbow" and "back elbow" when buying pig elbow?

Pig elbow, also called hoof, is the most delicious part of the pig, and it is the favorite of meat lovers and very popular. Pork elbow is very nutritious, and it is especially delicious whether it is boiled, stewed, marinated or boiled. The Spring Festival is coming soon. In the menu of our Northeast New Year's Eve dinner, there should be a plate of tender pork elbow, and everyone should eat a large piece, which means good luck.

Speaking of pig elbow, I think many friends will drool, but do you know? Pig elbow is divided into "front elbow" and "back elbow", which is very different. Making a fat but not greasy, soft and delicious pork elbow is not as simple as you think. Many friends made a mistake when they bought it. No wonder the pig's elbow tastes bad. At present, the price of pig elbow is quite expensive. Buying the wrong one not only wastes money but also affects appetite.

Is the front elbow better or the back elbow better?

As we all know, pork elbow is pork leg meat. Like pig's trotters, pig's elbows are divided into front and back. There is a big difference between the front elbow and the back elbow of a pig, whether it is the taste of meat or the cooking method.

Front elbow (front hoof)

Generally speaking, the front elbow of a pig is more delicious than the back elbow. Because the pig is a lazy animal, it usually exerts force on the front elbow and less on the back elbow. Therefore, the meat of the front elbow is relatively alive, with more lean meat, more tendons and heavy colloid. Often cooked with skin, it tastes fat but not greasy. It is more suitable for roasting, sauced, stewed and marinated, such as braised elbows and sauced elbows.

Rear elbow (hind hoof)

Compared with the front elbow, the back elbow of a pig tastes worse. Because the hind legs of pigs are usually not too hard and have little activity, the meat on the hind elbows will be fat, lean, big bones, old and tough skin, high connective tissue content and poor quality. The back elbow is not suitable for braising, and the elbow will not be chewy. If a friend buys back the back elbow, it can be used to make soup and meatballs, which are delicious, or separate fat from lean meat and cook lard with fat. In terms of price, the back elbow will be cheaper. In our hotel, we always use behind-the-scenes means to get more profits.

In short, in comparison, the pig's front elbow will taste better, with fat but not greasy taste, more lean meat, less bone mass and more diverse methods. Of course, some people only like to eat the pig's back elbow with more fat, thinking that it tastes more fragrant and economical, so they follow their personal preferences, as the saying goes, "each has his own love."

How to distinguish the front elbow from the back elbow?

Just now, Qi Ge shared the difference between pig's front elbow and pig's back elbow and how to do it. When buying pig elbows, friends should know whether to buy front elbows or back elbows. Then another question comes again. How can I distinguish the front elbow from the back elbow? With understanding, many friends can't tell the difference between before and after.

In fact, this is not difficult at all. Brother Qi summed up three distinguishing skills for you. Let's have a look!

One is to distinguish from the head:

Many friends will choose the big elbow when they buy it, thinking it is the best. In fact, from the size point of view, the pig's front elbow is generally smaller than the back elbow, so we can't just choose the big one. At the same time, the front elbow is mostly lean meat, with thin skin and more tendons, less fat and thinner bones than the back elbow. The back elbow not only looks bigger, but also has thick skin, fat and thick bones.

The second is to distinguish between gouges where whole pieces were missing:

Hind leg shin

This is the obvious difference between the front elbow and the back elbow. Generally, there is no gap in the hook on the pig's front elbow, but there is an obvious gap in the back elbow, which is left by hanging the pig during slaughter.

The third is to distinguish from the cross section:

Cross-section of the front elbow

In addition, we can also observe whether the bones above the pig's elbow are cut off. Because the pig's front elbow can't be cut directly along the joint with a knife, the bone can only be cut from the middle, so the bone section is not smooth. The pig's back elbow can be cut directly along the joint with a knife, so the bone section of the back elbow is relatively complete and smooth.

The posterior elbow joint is intact.

The difference between the front elbow and the back elbow can be seen intuitively in the picture below.

Characteristics of high quality pig elbow

According to the above three selection techniques, we can finally distinguish between "front elbow" and "back elbow". When friends buy pig elbows in the future, don't let the butcher recommend them to you. It's true that they can buy the right one, and no one dares to fool you. At the same time, in order to buy fresh and high-quality pork elbows, we need to pay attention to the following two points.

First, the skin of high-quality fresh pig elbow is white and red, shiny, slightly transparent, and the cartilage is as white as jade. If you see the pork elbow on sale, the fat surface is very dirty, and a large area of yellow or black spots have appeared, and the lean meat part is black. This is a stale pig elbow, so it is not suitable for purchase.

Second, a good pig's elbow is tight and elastic. If you press it gently with your hand, it will recover quickly. If the joint between cartilage and hard bone of pig elbow is found to ooze mucus, it means that pig elbow is not fresh, so don't buy it.

The bones in the front elbow are small and thin.

How to preserve fresh pig elbows?

If you want to keep the fresh pork elbow for a long time, you can first remove the bones of the pork elbow, coat the surface with some yellow wine, wrap it with plastic wrap, put it in the freezer of the refrigerator, and thaw naturally when eating.

Delicious eating method of pig elbow in winter

Home-cooked sauce elbow

Ingredients: pork elbow, fragrant leaves, stewed meat buns, tsaoko, aniseed, nutmeg, yellow sauce, cinnamon, onion, ginger, soy sauce, salt, rock sugar and soup stock.

1. Pour a proper amount of water into the pot, put the elbow into the pot with cold water, add the onion, ginger slices and cooking wine, skim the blood foam after the water boils, and take it out.

2. Put the elbow in a pressure cooker, and add the broth, soy sauce, stewed meat bun, yellow sauce, onion, ginger slices, aniseed, cinnamon, fragrant leaves, Amomum tsaoko, nutmeg, crystal sugar and salt.

3. Cover and press for half an hour. After turning off the fire, continue to soak the elbow in the pot and take it out after it is warm.