Swine Dining
It’s not called Hogtown for nothing. How to eat your way across the city By Rachel Heinrichs
For the gastro-elite (or the gastro-got-something-to-prove), nose- to-tail eating is practically a competitive sport. With its luscious fat content, the humble pig is tailor-made for culinary thriftiness—its many cuts can be braised, boiled, grilled, roasted and simmered to melting deliciousness. Here, a tasty checklist for going whole hog.
BELLY
Crush (455 King St. W.,
416-977-1234) prizes this
fat-streaked cut, giving it two weeks of pampering—brining, drying, rubbing and slow-roasting—before adding a tangy tamarind glaze.
BLOOD
The pha lau soup at Mi Mi Vietnamese (688 Gerrard St. E., 416-778-5948) is a heart elixir for anemics: slices of intestine are boiled to tenderness in a rich blood broth.
BONES
Ka Chi (612 Bloor St. W.,
416-533-9306) serves bowls of chili-zinged broth holding heaps of slow-simmered pork bones (traditionally spine), potatoes, vegetables and fresh napa.
CHEEK
Guanciale, like pancetta but with more flavour, is rarely made outside Italy, but Cava (1560 Yonge St., 416-979‑9918) cures its own, offering morsels in a starter of amatriciana pasta.
EARS
Ba Shu Ren Jia (4771 Steeles Ave. E., 416-335-0788)
transforms this chew toy for dogs into a delicacy. Paper-thin slices arrive cold with chili oil and green onions
for a Chinese carpaccio.
FOOT
At Langdon Hall (Exit 275, Hwy. 401, Cambridge, 1-800-268-1898), head to toe isn’t just a turn of phrase: a braised trotter is stuffed with slices
of jowl, shoulder and tail.
LIVER
In addition to its venerable blood sausage, Splendido (88 Harbord St., 416-929‑7788) now has sumptuous pork liver sausage that’s seasoned with fresh cilantro and ginger.
RIBS
An order of all-you-can-eat side ribs at Cluck, Grunt
& Low (362 Bloor St. W.,
416-962-5050) brings
a Flintstone-sized rack
slathered in finger-licking sweet barbecue sauce.
SHOULDER
Pulled pork—that rapture-inducing, sauce-smothered
mix of macerated meat,
fat and tendons—is best piled high on a soft bun from
Black Camel (4 Crescent
Rd., 416-929-7518).
WHOLE BABY PIG
At Trevor Kitchen and Bar (38 Wellington St. E.,
416-941-9410), 10-week-
old, milk-fed piglets are
roasted, deboned, pressed flat, carved and plated
with chorizo gravy.
Illustration by Ingrid Gerberick
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