Belly, Dongpo pork, 88°

Cook Belly as “Dongpo pork” until the centre reads 88 degrees. The mark to keep is 88°. Before you pay, check once that the cut named on the package matches the cut on the slip. If the seam of sinew is badly split, change the slip from a short sear to a long cook. Count clean fat–lean layers; grading stamps are rare — geometry and smell decide quality. At the butcher, open Belly so the slip shows 88° first, 88 next, and “Dongpo pork” beside them.

This week, before you enter the butcher, write the cut, the method, and the core temperature at the top of the shopping slip, and at home keep the heat until the thermometer shows that figure. If the grain is coarse, give more time at the same temperature, and do not time a thin slice and a chunk the same way. The order is Belly, 88°, 88, then “Dongpo pork”. When the thermometer is done, look again only at 88° for Belly and leave 88 on the slip.

Do not call the meat done from color alone, and do not read the temperature as a grade score. Check that the core temperature on the slip and the thermometer match, and do not kill the heat before that mark even if the color changes first. If the seam of sinew is badly split, change the slip from a short sear to a long cook. Match Dongpo pork with 88 at the butcher before you close 88° for Belly. Cook Belly as “Dongpo pork” until the centre reads 88 degrees. The mark to keep is 88°.