Author Topic: Fresh Whole Pork Leg  (Read 13226 times)

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Offline LostArrow

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Fresh Whole Pork Leg
« Reply #-1 on: September 12, 2013, 05:28:05 PM »
In honor of Hispanic Heritage week a grocery in New Orleans has a Fresh Whole Pork Leg $1.29/ lb
Ideas on cooking & would this freeze in Saran Wrap for 2-3 weeks before cooking at LA.
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Offline TentHunteR

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Re: Fresh Whole Pork Leg
« on: September 12, 2013, 06:02:43 PM »
That's a pretty decent price, LA (especially right now - pork prices are up).   I'm guessing you're talking front leg (whole shoulders) and not the back Leg (ham). 

I just cooked three whole pork shoulders for the Marching Band cookout about 3 weeks ago (wish I'd gotten pics). I buy whole shoulders quite often because that's where I usually get a better price.


Sometimes I leave them whole, and sometimes I ask the butcher to cut them in half to separate the butt end & picnic cut.


If you have them cut in half you can cook either one or both roasts as normal. If the skin is still on, I prefer cutting it off first.

Otherwise, I treat/cook whole shoulders exactly the same as butts. Both sections are both great for pulled pork, or you can cook them to around 165°-175° and slice.

Leaving them whole, they take a little longer to cook, but boy do they have a lot of "WOW" factor. When the kids were lined up at the band cookout, I open the MAK to take one of the whole legs off to pull it, and when I opened the lid...  there was this unison "Whoa!"  Yeah, you bet I loved it! ;)

I freeze shoulders (whole and cut) all the time with no problems.  Again, whole shoulders will take a little longer to thaw.

Hope this helps, LA! :)
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Offline Pappymn

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Fresh Whole Pork Leg
« Reply #1 on: September 12, 2013, 06:16:47 PM »
Great write-up Tent. I have two of the pice in the left in my freezer that I picked up at RD. One of those impulse buys....no idea what to do with it. Could I cut steaks from it?

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Offline TentHunteR

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Re: Fresh Whole Pork Leg
« Reply #2 on: September 12, 2013, 08:55:02 PM »
Great write-up Tent. I have two of the pice in the left in my freezer that I picked up at RD. One of those impulse buys....no idea what to do with it. Could I cut steaks from it?

To do it yourself, you'd need either a band saw (with a dedicated meat blade), or a hack/meat saw.  The butt end is from where pork steaks are normally cut, but there's no reason the whole shoulder couldn't be cut into steaks.

Sometimes I'll go ahead and buy a whole shoulder and have the butcher slice the butt end into 3/4" - 1" steaks, leaving me with the picnic ham to cure into a ham.  It's very economical to do that.
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Offline Rummm

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Re: Fresh Whole Pork Leg
« Reply #3 on: September 12, 2013, 09:22:49 PM »
In honor of Hispanic Heritage week a grocery in New Orleans has a Fresh Whole Pork Leg $1.29/ lb
Ideas on cooking & would this freeze in Saran Wrap for 2-3 weeks before cooking at LA.

Pigs have four legs..........two in front and two in back   :D

If it's the front leg, you are pretty well covered with the replies above :)

If it's the hind leg, you have a couple of options.....splitting it in half or leaving it whole. Then you could either cure and smoke it or else cook it as a regular pork roast. Not much fat in the hind leg, so it's not optimal for pulled pork. I bought a whole hind leg last New Years for around $1.29 lb, btw.

Yes, a couple weeks in Saran Wrap won't kill it.
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Offline sliding_billy

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Re: Fresh Whole Pork Leg
« Reply #4 on: September 13, 2013, 04:36:46 AM »
I was assuming he meant hinds since he didn't say shoulder, but what the heck do I know?
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Offline Rummm

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Re: Fresh Whole Pork Leg
« Reply #5 on: September 13, 2013, 05:08:41 AM »
I was assuming he meant hinds since he didn't say shoulder, but what the heck do I know?

Same here :)
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Offline TentHunteR

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Re: Fresh Whole Pork Leg
« Reply #6 on: September 13, 2013, 11:05:55 AM »
I was assuming he meant hinds since he didn't say shoulder, but what the heck do I know?

Same here :)

Normally, that's what I'd think too, but at $1.29/lb I was guessing "front leg" in my first post.  If it is a hind leg (fresh ham), then that's an even better price than I thought, at least compared to pricing around here (especially the last several months).

If it is a hind leg, then that puppy would be getting injected, brine-cured then smoked (like Rummm said).
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