1, look at the tendons

The pig's front hoof has tendons and the pig's back hoof has no tendons, so it is a direct and effective method to see if there are tendons when buying pig's trotters. When buying pig's trotters, you can put a bag on your hand and pick it up directly to see if there is a tendon the size of a dime on the cross section of the pig's trotters. If there is one, it means it is the front hoof. If not, it may be the back hoof.

Of course, we can't judge the front and rear hooves only by this point. Some pig's front hooves are pulled out by traders and sold to restaurants or deli separately. Such pig's front hooves also have no hooves, so it needs to be judged by other parts.

2. Look at the appearance

There are great differences in appearance between the pig's front hoof and the pig's back hoof. First, the pig's front hoof is short and slightly curved, while the pig's back hoof is straight and longer than the pig's front hoof.

Looking at the toes of pig's hoof, the two toes of pig's front hoof are basically the same in size and shape, and the surface looks smooth, while the two toes of pig's back hoof are not only different in shape and size, but also relatively rough in surface.

3. Look at the cross-sectional structure of trotters.

When buying pig's trotters, it can be judged according to the cross section of pig's trotters. The joints on the cross section of pig's front hoof are relatively small, almost the size of a dollar coin, while the cross section of the joints on the back hoof is relatively large, almost twice that of the front hoof.

4. See if there are 7 holes in the trotters.

Finally, there is a wonderful trick, that is, to see if there are seven holes in the pig's hoof. Usually, there are seven holes in the pig's front hoof, but there are no holes in the pig's back hoof, so it can also be very intuitive to judge the pig's front hoof and the pig's back hoof.

Both are pig's trotters, and there are different reasons for the taste.

The pig moves and walks by its front legs and hooves, which means that the muscles of the pig's front hooves are developed, with tendons and a tight taste, so it is suitable for making braised pig's trotters or braised pig's trotters.

The characteristics of pig's hind hoof and front hoof are just the opposite. The hind hoof exercises less than the front hoof, and the natural exercise of the hind hoof will be less. Therefore, the pig's hind hoof has less meat and more bones, and there is no tendon. It is suitable for stewing soup with some ingredients such as soybeans and corn to make up for the lack of taste.

And usually, the pig's front hoof is more expensive than the pig's back hoof, but some merchants may mix the two and sell them together. At this time, if you want to eat meat but buy the back hoof, you can only gnaw at the bone, so distinguish between the front hoof and the back hoof when buying pig's trotters, so as not to suffer.