Why Does Bacon & Ham Taste So Much Better Than Port Chops?

Discussion in 'Food & Drinks' started by Ken Anderson, Jun 19, 2018.

  1. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I understand that tastes differ but, although I eat it, I much prefer the taste of bacon and ham than I do pork chops. When my wife is asking me whether I want this thing, that thing, or another thing, if pork chops is in the mix, that's never my choice. If we end up with it anyhow, I'll eat it and it's okay but ham tastes so much better.
     
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  2. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
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    Out of all the pork products...Ham is the one I like the least. I can't remember the last time I had it.

    Ribs are my favorite but only eat that about once a year at my daughter's ..

    Don't eat pork or beef at home.

    If I eat any bacon, it's turkey bacon....but I can't even remember the last time I ate that.
     
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  3. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I don't eat much bacon either but I do like it, and I rarely eat ham because my wife doesn't like it, but it's my favorite of the pork products.
     
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  4. Babs Hunt

    Babs Hunt Supreme Member
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    I like to season beans and some veggies with crumbled bacon bits...that's kind of a cajun thing too. My Mom always made the best oven baked ham stuffed with cayenne pepper and garlic powder. Our whole family loved her ham and her homemade biscuits...and everyone has tried their best to duplicate Mom's...but none of us hits the bulls eye on this. In fact I stopped even trying to make hers...and make my own version stuffed with minced bell pepper, onion, and garlic with cayenne pepper which is definitely worth having seconds on. :) We always save the ham bone for making dried navy beans with. That with rice, cole slaw, and corn bread is some good eating for sure.

    I can make a good gravy with sirloin pork chops but the chops aren't my favorite eating either.

    I think the ham and bacon are better tasting because they come from a tastier part of the pig. :p

    The truth about why they taste better is probably for this reason:

    "Ham and bacon are seasoned with an artificial smoke flavor and preservatives. Pork is unseasoned, raw meat from a hog. This accounts for some of the taste difference, much of the rest is from what the animal is fed prior to slaughter. Corn and apples make for a sweet taste, grain such as wheat and barley make for a different flavor."
     
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    Last edited: Jun 19, 2018
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  5. Nancy Hart

    Nancy Hart Veteran Member
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    Maybe it's the salt.

    I prefer a pork shoulder roast (Boston butt roast). You can get it sliced, called pork steaks, and fry them just like pork chops. I like those better than ham, and much better than pork chops.

    Pork chops are cut from the loin, and are too dry for me. Not enough fat. :p

    The shoulder cut is less expensive too. Win, win. :)
     
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  6. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
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    Yeah, I used to like those pork steaks grilled! Also prefer them to the dry pork chop.

    Do like pork tenderloin though if done right.
     
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  7. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
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    This is why you look so slim. BTW, that is a compliment. IOW, you eat right, like a lot Seniors don't. Out of curiosity, have you always been this thin? Just wondering.
     
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  8. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
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    Apparently I cook a pork chop just right, because both of us like the way I cook them. We had a nice pork chop last night and it came out really, really good. Into the broiler first, then into a Teflon frying pan for a few minutes. And, not to change the thread, I've learned that put a packet of Splenda into the pot of water to boil corn-on-the-cob, makes the corn sweeter and very good.

    As for me, I like pork shoulder steak and, when I was single, would use an electric skillet to cook one and make some fried taters at the same time in the same skillet.

    We do like ham and bacon, but more than one piece of bacon and my wife is taking some Pepto. IOW, bacon does and doesn't get along with her.

    As far as pork ribs go, wife had a short stack of them on Sunday night at Ruby Tuesday's Restaurant. "Fall off the bone" kind that were excellent. I had a prime burger that I think is the best burger I've ever had.
     
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  9. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
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    I gained 30lbs when I quit smoking but lost it.

    I also gained more with my first pregnancy but lost that also. Have never been fat but never stick thin either.
     
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  10. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    Well, Ken, ham and bacon are both (usually) smoked and treated with nitrites. There is a dry process and a wet process for both, but most ham and bacon are wet processed. I have found that pork chops (especially) are much better if they are brined for at least 30 minutes prior to cooking. It makes them moister and more flavorful. For years we didn't eat pork because my spouse reacted to the drug residues in commercial pork (she is allergic to sulfa), but one year we bought a hog at a 4-H auction and she was amazed at how good it was. For a number of years after we would buy a couple feeder pigs each Spring and raise them to weight. Butchering one or two hogs by myself was too much hassle, so we had them processed at the local slaughterhouse, then cut and wrapped by a butcher. First year, we had the butcher make the ham and bacon, but the ham was horrible but the bacon was great. From them on, I would have the butcher process the bacon, and I would process my own hams. It worked out great. You can't imagine the difference between commercial pork and home-raised pork fed with left over milk products and locally-raised grain.
     
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  11. Joe Riley

    Joe Riley Supreme Member
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  12. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    You've got to love those nitrites.
     
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  13. Sheldon Scott

    Sheldon Scott Supreme Member
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    Pork chops are one of my favorite foods, right along with ham, bacon, ribs, pork roast, pulled pork and pork sausage.
     
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  14. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    Ham and Bacon do have their almost prefab attributes for the consumer but pork is so much more versatile.
    Smoked, baked, broiled, panee’d, as a roast or braised and enhanced by a plethora of seasonings with a gazillion different recipes from stuffed to encrusted there is little that can’t be done with it.
    The main problem with it is that a lot of folks really do not know how to handle it and cook it beyond recognition thereby winding up with a dry slab of something that could be used to re-sole a soldier’s class A lowquarters.

    For people like us who have a beer pocket and a champagne preference, pork loin is the way to go. A pre-pealed whole loin goes for around $1.89 - $1.99 per pound in our area of the U.S. which is a lot less expensive than buying center cut chops and we don’t pay for the bone. (Yes, we do lose the small value of however much the marrow of the bone adds to the taste but no one but the dog misses it. )

    All I do is take the loin out of the package, wash it in cool water and slice it according to what size of a chop I want to have on the plate. After I’m finished, Yvonne packages them up and decides what to freeze and what to leave out for the more immediate use. Since the shelf life at 38-42 degrees is about 4 days, it’s pretty easy to decide.
    Note: I slice them about 3/4”-1” thick so if I perchance want a quick sandwich at some time, I can butterfly the single chop and throw it in a skillet with my preferred seasonings.
    And, at 1”, they can be stuffed or pounded out for a nice roullade.

    Very often, I will leave a couple of pounds uncut so Yvonne can roast it with veggies (including the trinity) and a nice stock to be turned into sauce.
     
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  15. Von Jones

    Von Jones Supreme Member
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    I have to agree with @Nancy Hart that maybe it's the salt. The difference can't go unnoticed between the two when cooked.

    Myself on pork chops I always feel they need to be dressed up as others have mentioned whereas as ham taste good hot or cold with not much added to it. Bacon always seems to add just the right touch (salt) to most dishes.
     
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