Male: A pork chop is just a pork chop right? Well actually not, in fact there are three different cuts of chops. The ribbed chop, the loin chop and the sirloin chop. Each of the three cuts comes from the pork loin, which is the tender strip of meat that runs from the pig’s shoulder back to its hip. The whole bone in pork loin contains the loin meat of the tenderloin and the baby back ribs. Pork ribbed chops originate in the center of the loin, a layer of fat runs along the outside edge of chop. Ribbed chops are relatively tender and juicy. It’s now common to see double cut pork chops. These are usually ribbed chops that are approximately two inches thick and include a rib. Since they’re so thick, they don’t dry out as easily when cooking. You can also purchase boneless chops which come from the center of the loin like a ribbed chop but then have the ribs and the bones removed.

A double cut boneless chop that sliced horizontally and opened up is called a Butterfly chop. Butterfly chops could be stuffed with your favorite feeling before grilling for an awesome presentation. Pork loin chops originate further back towards the hip just behind the ribbed chops. They have a characteristic T-Bone shaped. The T-Bone separates loin meat on one side and tenderloin meat on the other smaller side. They generally have less fat than the ribbed chops but are rich in flavor. The Sirloin chops are located all the way at the back of the loin behind the loin chops. They contain some hip bone and back bone along with some loin meat and tenderloin meat. Pork is not given a USTA quality grade like beef, when buying pork, look for meat that is firm to the touch and grayish pink in color. Fresh chops can be refrigerated for two to three days or well wrapped and frozen for up to six months.

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