One culture shock I have about living in the UK after living in Germany is that there's almost no pork that isn't sausage or bacon. No pork steaks, no pork schnitzels. "Pork loin chop" is the only thing in stores, but a pale comparison to anything you might find in a Netto fridge. Where does all the good meat go?
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@Gargron Check out your local Polish shop. Some have meat sections like a small super market. But depends where you live. Lots of Polish, and therefore there shops, in the South of England. Even our local Tesco superstore had a Polish section. That was in Winchester reference. And we left 2018 thanks to #Brexit.
@Gargron "where does all the good meat go?" One of my favorite Talking Heads songs...
jk
@Gargron Where are you shopping? The Waitrose and Tescos I go to have both pork steaks and schnitzels https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/waitrose-pork-schnitzel/992183-1-2
https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/waitrose-free-range-pork-4-loin-steaks/491280-753685-753686
https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/waitrose-free-range-british-pork-4-shoulder-steaks/937363-1-2
https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/products/330752751
https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/products/314832566
@Gargron I'm not much of a pork eater so although I've moved around a lot here, I've not particularly noticed any regional differences to what's on the shelf, BUT in terms of the actual farming Cumbria just isn't big on pigs. We're mostly sheel and cows around here. Our pig farms are, I believe, mostly in the east.
That said, look for a local farm shop. If they have pigs they'll do the meats. We love the Westmorland farm shop at Tebay - there's a northbound and a southbound, both amazing.
@Gargron Food writer here. Theoretically, they HAVE good pork. The Duke of Berkshire, for instance, is an excellent breed. You will probably need to find an artisanal butcher though, or a butchering breeder. The more interesting cuts, sadly, are not really prized over there. Steer clear of supermarkets, though, and you'll find better stuff.
Personal favourites (which should be readily available from a butcher):
* boned, rolled shoulder, for pulled pork
* pork belly, for pan fried pork belly
Neck fillets are reasonably common (for a creamy pork medallion dish).
And - perhaps not quite what you have in mind though - there are often some delicious smoked hams, especially around Christmas time.
Perhaps a bit more specialist (but a decent butcher should still have it) is pork cheek, for braising. But I don't think that I have seen it in a super market.
I also missed my absolute favourite, which is back ribs. I cook then in BBQ sauce in an air fryer, only for 20 mins or so, and they are amazing.
@Gargron You should be overjoyed to not live in Arizona. There are Mexican grocery stores where one can buy different cuts of pork but there is nowhere to buy lamb except - on rare occasions - frozen legs of lamb.
@Gargron Find a butcher.
There is plenty of really good pork. You may be looking in the wrong places? Happy to offer tips if any are needed.
@Gargron A lot of supermarkets have got rid of their butcher counters over the last few years, I know Morrisons still have them but they aren't always well staffed. If you can find a decent local butchers they might be able to get more of what you are looking for, I know where I used to live we had a local butcher that was pretty good for better quality produce than you'd get in the supermarkets and could do pretty much whatever cuts / variety you fancied.
@wild1145 Oh, that's a good shout.
@Gargron @wild1145 maybe it is also an idea to find a local pig Producer and try to make a deal. I remember when I was young my parents and grandma went out to buy "half a pig" and that was the reason that we got the deep freezer. Of course IT was chopped into the appropriate pieces. Maybe there are even sustainable/Bio Farmers that do that.
@Gargron The obvious answer, as others have said, is a local butcher. Where we used to live in Englandshire there was a pork only butcher, Edis of Ely. Then there's ordering online. I've had some lovely pork from Mangalitsa pigs, which produce darker pork than usual. Not cheap mind and delivery costs high if you live out in the sticks.
Any decent butcher wont mind you asking for different cuts, or where they get the meat from, etc.