Pork loin (chops)

The loin, called kotleta when bone-in, is the back of the pork side between the collar and the leg. It consists of the long back muscle (musculus longissimus) along the spine, with the vertebrae and ribs; the tenderloin lies on its inner side, and between the loin and the belly lies the cut Czech butchers call šněrovačka.

Bone-in it is sold as chops, boneless as a very lean, trimmed back muscle with almost no fat cover. It suits quick searing; the meat next to the bone has the most flavour but must not dry out. Boned loin is cut into schnitzels. Ribs are also taken from the loin.

In German it is Kotelett, the boned back Schweinerücken or Schweinelachs; in Austria Karree, divided into the long Karree near the neck and the short one near the leg.