HOW TO BUTTERFLY PORK OR BEEF

Steps:

• Various recipes in this book call for butterflied pork and beef. Here's how to do it.* To obtain broad, thick (1 inch) sheets from pork or beef loin or tenderloin, place the meat on a cutting board so one end is facing you. Holding a long, slender, sharp knife parallel to the cutting board, cut the loin or tenderloin horizontally in half, starting on one long side (at the right if you are righthanded and at the left if you're lefthanded) and cutting almost all the way through to the opposite side, stopping about 1 inch from the edge. Open the piece of meat as you would a book, then place it between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound it gently with the side of a heavy cleaver or with a rolling pin to make a rectangle uniformly about 1 inch thick.* To obtain broad, thin (1/4 inch thick) sheets of loin or tenderloin (for dishes like pamplona and poc chuc), first cut the tenderloin crosswise in half, then place each half on a cutting board so one end is facing you. Holding a long, slender, sharp knife parallel to the cutting board, cut each tenderloin half horizontally in half, starting on one long side (at the right if you are righthanded and at the left if you're lefthanded) and cutting almost all the way through to the opposite side, stopping about 1/2 inch from the edge. Open out the piece of meat as you would a book, then place it between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound it gently with the side of a heavy cleaver or with a rolling pin to make a rectangle uniformly about 1/4 inch thick.* To butterfly a boneless pork chop or vertical slice of pork loin, cut it almost in half through one side, stopping about 1/4 inch from the edge. Open the chop as you would a book, then place it between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound it gently with the side of a heavy cleaver or with a rolling pin to achieve a uniform thickness of 1/4 inches.