Why doesn't meat taste like it used to?

tigs78

Hi

I have a joint of belly pork which I am just about to cook and make a nice roast dinner....

My silly question - Do I leave the string on when I cook it? It is more of a mesh than just string going round it...

If I do leave it on then how will that affect my crackling as the mesh already seems quite tight and is digging into the layer of fat?

Thanks in advance

Bogof_Babe

Yes I would say you should leave the string on - it will stop the joint falling apart. It shouldn't affect the crackling. Remove string before serving!

Lillibet_2

I agree with B_B;)

tigs78

Thanks for your speedy replies, string on it is then...

cheap_plastic_spoon

Leave the string or whatever on so joint will cook evenly skin will crisp up still.

Lulubells

yes - I agree, leave the string on.

tigs78

Thanks for all your replies, I left the string on and it looked lovely but...

It tasted horrible (not because of the string though). My mum used to do belly pork and the meat was juicy and tender and I just loved the bit with the fat on.

Why does meat taste so manky nowadays? I guess it's all the rubbish that's put in it, it was only 15 years ago that my Mum made it taste so lovely... Potatoes were gorgeous though!

Debt_Free_Chick

tigs78 wrote:

Thanks for all your replies, I left the string on and it looked lovely but...

It tasted horrible (not because of the string though). My mum used to do belly pork and the meat was juicy and tender and I just loved the bit with the fat on.

Why does meat taste so manky nowadays? I guess it's all the rubbish that's put in it, it was only 15 years ago that my Mum made it taste so lovely... Potatoes were gorgeous though!

Where did you buy it from? And how did you cook it?

tigs78

I bought it from Morrisons and it had 5 days left on the sell by date. I cooked it at Gas 6 for 1 1/2 hours, only half of it was cooked properly so I put the other half in for another half an hour.

Not only was the meat manky but the crackling was not very crackley to say the least! I did all the scoring and salt rubbing business with it too.:(

Debt_Free_Chick

tigs78 wrote:

I bought it from Morrisons and it had 5 days left on the sell by date. I cooked it at Gas 6 for 1 1/2 hours, only half of it was cooked properly so I put the other half in for another half an hour.

Not only was the meat manky but the crackling was not very crackley to say the least! I did all the scoring and salt rubbing business with it too.:(

I rather suspect it was cheap intensively reared pork - was it a pale colour or pink?

Pigs, in particular (like poultry) really don't take to being intensively reared, where they are caged up and fed artificial feed (pig nuts). They need to be free-range and grown slowly.

Pork and poultry are the worst meats you can buy in a supermarket. Try and find a local butcher and ask him about the pork he's selling - avoid the butchers that simply buy their meat from a wholesaler. You want one who goes to the market/abbatoir and personally selects his meat. He can tell you the breed of the animal, how it was reared and where. If the butcher can't tell you these things, then go elsewhere.

We are very lucky to have a great butcher who raises and butchers his own pork. It's so good, we buy half a pig at a time and freeze it (it's butchered, of course )

Avoid supermarket pork ... really

aliasojo

I've often thought this lately. I've been finding a lot of the meat I buy to be tasteless.

I wish I could afford to buy organic or farm fresh, naturally reared stuff all the time.