How to Boil Pork: Step-by-Step Instructions

Pork meat is delicious and versatile to use in many different dishes and soups. There are plenty of methods to prepare pork, but boiling is by far one of the healthiest. However, not everybody knows how to boil pork without stripping off its fantastic taste. Instead of using oil and other methods of cooking, let us learn how to boil pork and serve tasty and healthy dishes with high-quality protein meat.

In this boiling guide, we will describe the step-by-step process of how to boil pork, with an emphasis on taste and texture. If you are trying to do it for the first time, you will have enough information to impress your family and friends.

How to boil pork, step by step

Pork is a versatile type of meat with many different cuts. We have pork loin, shoulders, legs, and we can even use pork belly and the chin. Other cuts with less meat include the feet, head, and tail. However, it is far more common to use pork loin than any of the other cuts. Therefore, in this example, we will use pork loin, but we can apply the same principles and similar steps and ingredients if we are cooking other pork cuts.

The first thing you should do in preparing your pork loin is to defrost, if necessary. This way, your cooking time will be significantly reduced. Prepare your boiling pan with sufficient water to cover two or three times the amount of meat you are going to prepare. For 1 kilogram of pork, we recommend around 2.5 liters of water.

Prepare the rest of the ingredients, including your onion, carrots, bay leaf, black pepper, and salt. You can use others, if you’d like.

Step 1: Bring to a boil and add salt to the water

Pork should not be put in room temperature water. You should boil your water first; this is the first step to consider. Add 1 tablespoon of salt after your water is boiling. That way, it will be easier for it to dissolve evenly.

Step 2: Add pork loin to the boiling water and continue boiling

You should add your pork loin pieces only after the water has boiled and the salt has dissolved evenly. After you do, continue boiling.

Step 3: Remove the foam

After boiling for a while, you will see a film of foam floating around. It is recommended to remove the foam before going ahead to the next step. This allows you to have clear water and prevents any impurities from getting trapped in your mix. In some cases, and depending on your ingredients, removing the foam causes a slight change in taste. You can do this using a slotted spoon.

Step 4: Add vegetables and spices

When boiling your pork is halfway done, it’s the perfect moment to add vegetables and spices. Our recommendation is using one piece of carrot and one piece of onion. There’s no need to slice the onion and the carrots in small pieces, but you can still do it if you want. Recommended spices to boil pork include 2 pieces of bay leaf and half a tablespoon of black peppercorns.

Step 5: Continue cooking on low heat

The rest of the boiling procedure should be done on low heat. This should continue for at least 40 minutes to allow the pork and vegetables to cook properly and reach an adequate texture.

Step 6: Check readiness with a knife

After 40 minutes, it is appropriate to test your pork meat for readiness with a knife. It should be tender and should be easy to cut. If you have not yet reached the desired texture, you can continue boiling by leaving the meat in the broth and allowing it to cook thoroughly.

Step 7: Drain and serve

After achieving the right texture, it is time to drain the pork meat and serve in your dish with your vegetables.

How long to boil pork

If you wonder how to boil pork, the next question is naturally how long to boil pork. You can follow the steps above concisely, but if your cooking time and temperature are not right, you might not get the same results as a professional chef. In many cases, you won’t have a way to measure the temperature of the meat while it is boiling, but the recommended temperature is around 145° F. This can be achieved by using a high temperature in the first stage of the boiling process, and then a low temperature to continue boiling after adding vegetables and spices.

The average cooking time is around one hour, but it highly depends on the weight of the meat you’re boiling. It also depends on the pork cut you’re using, because some of them become tender and cook rapidly compared to others.

In the following chart, you will see a recommendation of how to boil pork and how long, depending on the cut and the thickness of your meat.

Pork cut	Weight	Boiling time
Loin, with or without bone	Up to 5 pounds	30 minutes per pound
Leg, bone in	Up to 8 pounds	40 minutes per pound
Boston butt	Up to 6 pounds	45 minutes per pound
Ribs	Up to 4 pounds	2 hours or until tender