Echine de porc

[BettyK]

I have a few French recipes with 'échine de porc'. I've searched the net and found some say it's pork shoulder and others say it's spareribs. Any idea?

[edm]

"echine" is the part on the back of the animal, between the neck and the fist ribs, above the shoulder.

This part can be roasted or braised, as well as grilled or pan-seared when sliced into steacks.

Pretty fatty, so not as dry as the "filet". Flavourful. But not exactly the top part of the pig though.

[BettyK]

"echine" is the part on the back of the animal, between the neck and the fist ribs, above the shoulder.

This part can be roasted or braised, as well as grilled or pan-seared when sliced into steacks.

Pretty fatty, so not as dry as the "filet". Flavourful. But not exactly the top part of the pig though.

Thanks. I've read this description somewhere but this does not tell me what's the name of the cut. If I ask my butcher 'I want that part between the neck and the first ribs', he might tell me 'Lady, want my apron?'

[Bux]

Thanks. I've read this description somewhere but this does not tell me what's the name of the cut. If I ask my butcher 'I want that part between the neck and the first ribs', he might tell me 'Lady, want my apron?'

Your problem is that your butcher speaks English. I gather he's not a French butcher. He cuts his pig up differently than a French butcher does. In America, it looks as if the shoulder butt is closest to échine, but it's not the identical cut.

[edm]

sorry, i forgot that not everybody has the luxury of a good butcher, who can cut you pretty much any piece of the animal that you'd like.

Anyways, there might not be another translation for "echine" than loin.

Hope it can help...

[Carlovski]

sorry, i forgot that not everybody has the luxury of a good butcher, who can cut you pretty much any piece of the animal that you'd like.

Anyways, there might not be another translation for "echine" than loin.

Hope it can help...

It's not always as easy as that, if that butcher is going to cut up an animal into a particular set of pieces then cutting a different piece from a different school of butchery may stop him producing the cuts of meat he would normally sell.

Unless you are going to buy the whole animal, or at least buy the whole section, it may not be worthwhile him doing it.

[Bux]

Anyways, there might not be another translation for "echine" than loin.

I'm working soley from illustrations in a 1961 English language edition of the Larousse Gastronomic. From these, it appears that the French côtes and filet are the American loin depending on which end of the loin you have and that échine would be shoulder butt and small parts of adjoining cuts. There is some overlap between échine and American loin at the foremost part of the loin, but I think edm's first definition is closer than the second.

It's possible members could be more helpful if they had a bried description of the recipes. Is it for the whole échine or for steaks or slices?

[BettyK]

Ok, one is a 'minotée de porc a l'orange' and the other one is 'porc aux pruneaux'. They both require '18 cubes d'échine de porc de 80g pièce' and they are both for braising. Would the shoulder butt fit the bill here?

[Bux]

80 grams is about a sixth of a pound, if my arithmetic is valid. My math is generally good, it's my arithmetic that sucks, but 18 pieces would be around three pounds and that's a good amount for a stew. I would think 3 lbs of boneless shoulder butt would be most suitable. Where the hell are the real cooks when we need one?

[Margaret Pilgrim]

80 grams is about a sixth of a pound, if my arithmetic is valid. My math is generally good, it's my arithmetic that sucks, but 18 pieces would be around three pounds and that's a good amount for a stew. I would think 3 lbs of boneless shoulder butt would be most suitable. Where the hell are the real cooks when we need one?

First, you gotta love anyone who so succinctly phrases the universal problem: my math is great; my arithmetic sucks!

That said, I think the key to this problem is found in BettyK's latest clue that the cut she wants is for braising. Bux's boneless shoulder butt, or I think commercially called Boston Butt, would be perfect for this purpose. It also comes from the mysterious region on the pig that we have been dancing around.

[Louisa Chu]

Where the hell are the real cooks when we need one?

Cooking? Working!

BettyK, if you were to order echine de porc in France - from your butcher or in a restaurant - you'd get a small slab of spareribs - they're spareribs, but kept in a whole small slab - rather than separated into little ribs, the way you might see if you ordered them in a Chinese restaurant for dim sum. It sounds like for your recipe that you'd actually want to separate the ribs and then cut them into morsels - about 80g - a fair-sized little chunk. You want the bone - and this particular cut - for the flavour, fat, and tenderness - but if you only have boneless, sure, why not.

[BettyK]

Thank you all for your help. I'll try the spareribs and see how it works.

I might try this with pork shoulder too...more meat