Did you know that pork is the world’s most popular type of meat? It contains important minerals and vitamins, promoting muscle growth and maintenance.

The best cooking methods when it comes to Pork are frying, grilling or roasting. You can go from the simple grilled pork chops, or try an indulgent escalope cut from the pork fillet. And if you are looking for some great meals, then you need to try out the dishes created by the culinary team at Granny Mouse Country House & Spa.

The team have provided some tips on how to best cook the different cuts of meat.

1. Pork Belly

Pork belly is not, as you may think, the stomach. It is the flesh that runs on the underside (the belly) of the pig and surrounds the stomach. It is one long cut of meat with plenty of fat worked into the meat, which is why it is prized for curing and turning into bacon or pancetta. It can also be cooked fresh and is often seen on menus as “roasted pork belly.

2. Pork Loin Chops

Several different cuts can be called pork chops. All are great grilled, or pan-fried. Note that thicker cut pork chops, with the bone still attached, cook up the juiciest and most flavourful.

3. Pork Shoulder Chops

Pork shoulder chops are from the blade roast and are fattier and a bit tougher than other “chops.” They can still be grilled, roasted, or pan-fried to great effect, especially if marinated or tenderized beforehand, but they can also stand up to longer, slower cooking methods, like roasting.

4. Pork Cutlets

Pork cutlets are usually lean steaks similar to sirloin chops, but meatier and boneless. They are best used for making a schnitzel, which is a pork cutlet coated with breadcrumbs and pan fried.

5. Ham

Ham is from the top of the pork leg (the bottom is the shank). It can be sold fresh, boiled, smoked or cured.

6. Pork Loin

Cuts from the pork loin are the leanest and most tender parts of the pig. The most traditional way of preparing this cut of meat is to roast it. But be careful to avoid overcooking any cut of pork from the loin (they usually have the word “loin” in their name, i.e., tenderloin, loin chop, etc). It’s best to slow cook the meat, on a low heat.

7. Pork Back Ribs and Spare Ribs

Pork back ribs are often called baby back ribs, and are lovely when smoked and marinated. They are not as meaty or fatty as Spare Ribs, but they cook faster and are super tender. Pork spare ribs are thicker, meatier and juicier than the back rib.

8. Pork Roasts

Like pork chops, many cuts get sold as “pork roasts.” They can be sold either bone-in or deboned, but any meat with the bone in tend to be juicier and have more flavour.

9. Pork Sausages

Many sausages are traditionally made with pork. Some are fresh and need cooking; others are already cooked, smoked or cured when sold and need heating up.

There are so many more cuts of pork, from shanks to shoulder, butts and tenderloin, and of course lard for cooking. For those who are more adventurous, there are also the cheap cuts from trotters, knuckles or the organs. But when next at Granny Mouse Country House & Spa, you will be sure to taste some of the best pork dishes around.

Creating a space for people to gather is one of the most rewarding tasks you can accomplish, whether during daily meetings or larger conferences. But that fulfillment can quickly dwindle if your audience doesn’t enjoy your conference, says Sean Granger, General Manager of Granny Mouse Country House & Spa. .

If you want to deliver an outstanding event experience, you need to incorporate conference activities that will help with engagement and interaction and have attendees gain lots of value from it and not be wasteful to your budget.

The Granny Mouse team have some great ideas to break the ice and get the conference started on a constructive and fun note.

1. Charades in 30 Seconds: Build team spirit

With team charades, teams compete against one another building the base for cheering on and working together. This activity expands teamwork skills onto projects and working relationships. Divide all the participants into two teams and each team member gets to act out a word which is provided to them on a card. The team members need to guess the correct word in a time of 30 seconds. Each team gets a chance and the team with the most points wins the game.

2. Two truths and a lie: Get to know your team

Two truths and a lie requires participants to be creative while also bringing out facts about their life and personality. The game allows the team to have fun, discuss one another’s stories, and get to know each other. One by one, team members announce three facts about themselves. Two of the facts or stories need to be true, and one needs to be a lie. Team members discuss which one is a lie. Once the team agrees on which fact is a lie, they reveal their answer to the speaker. If they are correct, each player wins a point. An example could be my favourite sport is horse riding, I love pineapple on my pizza and I love spiders.

3. Lateral-thinking puzzles: Solve problems together

Lateral-thinking problems require teams to ask creative questions to solve a mystery. They’re a great game to kick start creative sessions or meetings with a team because they require active listening and teamwork to solve the puzzle.

The puzzles are shared as scenarios with strange situations.

To play, one team member needs to come prepared with a puzzle mystery to share with the team. A team member tells a lateral-thinking puzzle question or scenario. Team members ask questions to solve the mystery. Their questions can only be answered with “yes,” “no,” or “not relevant”. Team members ask questions until they solve the mystery. It’s a little like playing Cluedo.

4. Giant Lawn Games

Another option for socializing, that will get people out of their seats and into the fresh air, are lawn games, such as Jenga. As much as it’s an individual game, with no teams up against each other, it is loads of fun and keeps the staff entertained for hours.

How it works – there are a total of 54 blocks. The first layer is 3 blocks laid side by side, followed by another 3 that are turned 90 degrees and placed on top of the previous row. And this continues until the tower is 18 layers tall. The aim is to remove a block at a time, making sure the entire tower doesn’t fall over. Another idea, once the conference is done for the day, is to grab a beverage of choice and sit around in a more social environment and enjoy a fun game of Lawn Jenga.

After playing games to make your team comfortable, it’s time to take that momentum and apply it to a productive meeting.