Distinguish between front and back ham hocks when buying pork

Pig's trotters are the ingredients of many delicious dishes such as boiled, braised, stewed, soup... with countless attractive variations. However, if you are not a culinary expert, you will not know how to distinguish between front and back trotters and which type to buy.

Front ham or hind ham is better?

These two legs have different characteristics, suitable for different dishes.

Pigs are quite lazy animals, most of the time they just eat and lie down, occasionally standing up to walk a few steps. When moving, they mainly use the force of their front hooves, so this part is larger than the hind hooves. The meat of the front legs is also relatively firm, has more tendons, and is sweeter.

Therefore, if you intend to cook stewed pig's feet, fake dog meat, or soup, you should choose the front pig's feet, which will be easier to cook and the dish will be more delicious.

The hind legs of the pig are almost only responsible for balancing and supporting movement, so the meat here is quite loose and fatty. The meat is also not as fragrant and sweet as the front legs. With the hind legs, you should use them to cook stir-fried dishes, braise, mince meat or cook porridge...

How to distinguish between front and back ham

Below are the main differences that will help you easily distinguish between the front and back legs of a pig when going to the market.

The front leg has more tendons.

The tendon is one of the most delicious parts of the trotters that many people like to eat. The front trotters usually have very thick tendons, which when cooked will be fragrant and crunchy.

When choosing to buy a ham hock, you can look at the cross section, if you can clearly see the tendons, it is a front ham hock. On the contrary, the hind legs of pigs are less active, so the muscles, tendons, and ligaments are underdeveloped, and the muscles and tendons are not clearly visible.

The front leg is leaner.

Pigs move and exercise mainly with their front legs, so the front legs are usually firm, lean, flavorful, and low in fat. In contrast, the hind legs are often fatty and have looser meat.

To distinguish between front and back ham when buying, you should not look at the size but observe its cross-sectional surface. If the ham has a lot of lean meat, it is the front leg, and if the meat looks fat but loose, with a lot of fat, it is the back ham.

How to buy good pork leg

You should note a few tips below when going to the market to choose the most satisfactory pork leg:

• Check if the ham hock is new or old by touching it: If it is fresh and new, when you touch it, it will feel dry and tight; if it is old, it will feel sticky and slimy, so you should not buy it.
• You should choose pig's feet that are slightly ivory in color. White pig's feet may have been treated with detergent chemicals, which is not good for your health.
• You should choose to buy small and medium sized ham hocks. Do not choose ham hocks that are too big because they may belong to pigs raised with growth hormones or the hind leg, which is not tasty.

Pig's feet is a favorite dish of many people, however you should not eat too much and too often because it will cause nutritional imbalance, excess fat, leading to overweight and other health problems.