Top pork entrées and sauces on Canadian menus

Canadians go hog wild for pork
By Laura McGuire
June 6, 2011

Top pork entrées on Canadian menus

Pork ribs are by far the most frequently listed pork entrée on the menus of both Top 250 chains and leading independent restaurants in Canada. According to MenuMonitor data, the dish appears in 46.4 per cent of pork entrées—more than twice as many entrées as the next most common listing. Operators find pork ribs appealing because they are versatile to work with and can be baked, grilled or smoked. ABC Country Restaurant features dry garlic Canadian pork ribs as a starter, and a half or full rack of slow-cooked baby back ribs basted with honey barbecue sauce as a dinner entrée. At Bâton Rouge Restaurant & Bar, pork ribs are slow-cooked and basted with a housemade barbecue sauce. The chain offers its pork ribs as a standalone entrée or as part of a mixed grill paired with a grilled chicken breast or a skewer of black tiger shrimp.

Asian-inspired pork entrées have the second highest showing on Canadian menus. The 34 Asian pork dishes listed include pork sautéed with sauces, herbs and spices such as curry, basil leaves, ginger and sweet-and-sour sauce. Other pork entrées include chorizo, pork belly, and braised wild boar. Many of the “other pork” dishes feature Mediterranean influences. Jimmy the Greek serves a Pork Souvlaki Dinner with a Greek salad, rice and roasted potatoes. At Nickels Grill & Bar, the Pork Souvlaki Platter comes with two skewers of marinated pork served on rice with tzatziki sauce, Greek salad and homestyle potatoes.

Pork chops, sausage and pork loin/tenderloin are other common types of pork entrées featured in Canada. Pork chops and pork loin are often marinated and served in individual portions. Sausages – cooked, smoked or dried to preserve flavour – are menued in a variety of classic Canadian dishes but also appear in ethnic offerings. The Firkin Group of Pubs offers Bangers, Beans & Mash featuring English-style Palethorpe sausages, sautéed onions, baked beans and whipped potatoes. Casa Barcelona, an independent restaurant in Toronto, offers a dish of fried chorizo sausage with onions and garlic.

Ham, alone or served with eggs, rounds out the list of most featured pork entrées on Canadian menus. Ham, typically cured or fully cooked, is used as an ingredient for sandwiches and pizzas. Smitty’s, Albert’s Family Restaurants and Perkins Restaurant & Bakery all offer ham and eggs for breakfast. Top 10 sauces on pork entrées Sweet-and-sour sauce is most frequently paired with pork, appearing with 5.6 per cent of pork offerings listed by MenuMonitor. This sauce is used as a marinade for grilled, baked or fried pork in stir-fries. Manchu Wok’s Sweet & Sour Pork features lightly coated strips of pork tossed with peppers, onions and pineapple chunks in a sweet-and-sour sauce. Following sweet-and-sour sauce is curry sauce, which is used in five pork entrées. Curry sauce, with its strong flavour profile, is commonly featured in Indian and other South Asian dishes. Barbecue sauce accompanies many grilled pork entrées, such as baby back ribs and pork chops. It comes in a variety of flavours, including honey (2.2 per cent), smoky (2.2 per cent) and tangy (1.7 per cent). In British Columbia, The Keg Steakhouse & Bar menus Honey BBQ Ribs both as an individual entrée or paired with chicken. Also in Western Canada, Ricky’s offer Big Bronco Ribs with a choice of Bourbon, Sweet Bayou or Southern Smoky BBQ sauce. Applesauce, chili sauce and soy sauce each appear in two pork entrées listed by MenuMonitor. Applesauce, a traditional pork pairing, appears with pork chops at Husky House Restaurants. Adobo and black pepper sauce round out the list of sauces featured with pork. Adobo sauce, made from ground chilies, vinegar and an assortment of herbs, is used to spice a pork tenderloin at Stella’s Tap & Tapas Bar in Vancouver.

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