And secondly, the temperature to which pork should be cooked, has been lowered from well done or 170 (77C) to medium 160 F (70 C). This allows sufficient cooking to ensure the meat is safe to eat (trichina, now virtually nonexistent in pork, is killed at 137 F /58 C). But the old method of cooking pork to the well-done stage, offered an excessive margin of safety. And since overcooking shrinks meat fibers and squeezes our juices, overcooked pork is tough and dry. It’s well worth investing in a meat thermometer or slender multi-use digital thermometer, to take away the guesswork . While the National Pork Producer’s Council & USDA recommend cooking pork to "medium" or an internal temperature of 160 F (70C), they also suggest removing larger cuts of pork such as roasts, from the oven when they reach 155 F ( 68 C). The meat will rise in temperature as it stands before carving, in a phenomenon known as "carryover cooking."

You’ll find that once you master the art of cooking pork so it’s tender and juicy, you’ll begin to get raves for your roasts, chops, kebabs and braises.

Good Wishes,
Anne & Sue