We don’t always support taking life advice from Homer Simpson, but he’s right about one thing: pork is awesome, and it’s incredibly versatile. You can make a great sausage with pork (don’t worry, we’ve got a guide for that). And then there are the ribs. We have a whole collection of rib recipes to keep your grill busy all summer—a few of our favorite include char-smoked baby back ribs and Kansas City-style spareribs with a sweet and spicy barbecue sauce. And how about sandwiches? Start your day off right with a biscuit sandwich with collard greens, marbleized eggs, espresso aioli, and eight slices of salty pancetta. For lunch, move onto our decadent porchetta sandwich with hazelnut gremolata or banh mi with seasoned pork and Vietnamese-style ham and pork roll.
Braised Pork Shank (Stinco di Maiale)
Pork shanks are braised with chicken stock, beer, and plenty of aromatics, including fresh rosemary, and finished with parsley and lemon zest in this hearty dish from celebrated Portland restaurant Nostrana. Get the recipe for Braised Pork Shank (Stinco di Maiale)»
The go-to Chinese filling: juicy pork mixed with the fresh onion flavor of garlic chives. Try to find a fatty blend of ground pork; it will improve the filling’s flavor and juiciness. Chopped garlic chives, which have a peppery raw-garlic flavor, and fresh ginger cut through the rich meat. Make sure the dumplings are completely sealed and devoid of air bubbles to prevent any leaks during boiling. This recipe is adapted from The Dumpling Galaxy Cookbook. Get the recipe for Classic Pork and Chive Dumplings »
Natural gelatin released by pig’s trotters during cooking gives them a jellied consistency. In Creole cuisine, they were traditionally served chilled as an hors d’oeuvre or battered and fried like chicken. While trotters do not contain a lot of pure meat, their skin and cartilage are edible and—once pickled—loaded with tart, porky flavor. The silky pickings from one or two make an excellent addition to beans or braised greens, like the delicious sweet and sour collards Chef Jean-Paul Bourgeois makes at his restaurant Blue Smoke in New York City. Get the recipe for Spicy Creole Pickled Pig’s Trotters »
A roast of fresh pork belly is common fare both in Finland and in the American Midwest. The author slow-roasts the belly, then slices and sears it, crisping the meat in its own renderings. “Fresh dill in the pickled vegetable side dish is my own addition,” she says. “Traditionally, they might use dry dill instead of fresh in the winter in Finland.” Get the recipe for Finnish Twice-Cooked Pork Belly with Pickled Mushrooms and Leeks »
Traditionally this dish is part of many celebrations of life in Mexico as well as US border towns from birthdays to weddings to large family gatherings. When it’s made at home or for a party it is best to serve it family style. Posole can remain in the stockpot and be served directly from it with the accompaniments at the table where guests, friends and family can add as much or as little of the ingredients as they please. Get the recipe for Posole Rojo »
Pasta in Italy is served lightly coated, not completely covered, in sauce. To avoid overburdening delicate homemade noodles, cut them about ¾ inch wide to help pick up the sauce, and toss gently with spoonfuls of sauce and pasta water a little at a time. Fresh pig’s blood, used in both the pasta dough and ground sausage mix, can be found in Hispanic, Eastern European, or Chinese markets, though you may have to call a few to track it down. Get the recipe for Blutnudeln with Blood Sausage Bolognese »
This obscure regional dish can be tracked down only in the agricultural valley town of Almolonga in Guatemala. Adapted from a village native, Francisca Siquaná de Cotoc (who insists that a food processor could never achieve the same texture as grinding seeds by hand), this recipe is meat-focused, but its creamy, nutty sauce would pair well with any cooked vegetable. The level of spice will vary depending on the type of dried chiles used. Get the recipe for Braised Pork With Sesame and Pumpkin Seed Sauce (Choc’a) »
Boni’s writing had few frills, and her rustic recipes followed suit. But a seemingly simple dish of whole sausages braised in marinara has spicy-sweet, cooked-all-day flavor. Garnish with torn fresh basil or Italian parsley leaves for a bright, herbaceous finish. Get the recipe for Polenta with Sausage Gravy »
Two types of soy sauce and a touch of sugar give this dish—beloved throughout China—its signature glossiness and a deep red-brown tint. Serve the tender pork belly morsels and boiled eggs with a light vegetable, like bok choy. Get the recipe for Shanghai Red-Braised Pork with Eggs »
A regional soup packed with egg noodles and pig parts, La Paz batchoy was born in the La Paz district of Iloilo city, in the province where chef Dale Talde’s mother was born. Talde’s version streamlines the traditional recipe, keeps the liver and intestines optional, and applies just enough shrimp paste to keep things funky. Get the recipe for Pork Noodle Soup with Shrimp Paste (La Paz Batchoy) »
Slow-roasted belly stands in for the classic whole suckling pig that graces virtually every special occasion in the Philippines. Chef Dale Talde also swaps out the sauce’s pungent pork liver for more mellow and easier to source chicken livers. Don’t worry, though. It still tastes, as Talde lovingly puts it, like “liverwurst mixed with sweet and sour sauce.” Get the recipe for Filipino Roast Pork Belly with “Lechon” Sauce »
Normans use apples and cider in many savory preparations—with game, poultry, even fish. In this classic pork dish from Jean-François Guillouet-Huard, of Domaine Michel Huard, it’s important to use a slightly tart variety so the end result isn’t too sweet. Get the recipe for Honey Glazed Roast Pork with Apples »
Steamed Pork Buns
The go-to Chinese filling: juicy pork mixed with the fresh onion flavor of garlic chives. Try to find a fatty blend of ground pork; it will improve the filling’s flavor and juiciness. Chopped garlic chives, which have a peppery raw-garlic flavor, and fresh ginger cut through the rich meat. Make sure the dumplings are completely sealed and devoid of air bubbles to prevent any leaks during boiling. This recipe is adapted from The Dumpling Galaxy Cookbook. Get the recipe for Boiled Pork and Chive Dumplings »
Lou fassum is most dramatic when presented whole, then sliced into thick wedges. Serving the pieces with a stock-based glaze is optional. The dish can also be drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with fresh herbs, or ladled with chicken stock and topped with a dusting of grated cheese. Serve with mashed or roasted potatoes if desired. Get the recipe for The Ultimate Stuffed Cabbage (Lou Fassum) »
The classic combination of pork and fruit gets the ultimate summer treatment in this dish from John Karangis of Union Square Events. Made tender in an aromatic braise, pork belly gets a quick char on a hot grill before resting atop buttery sweet corn and a relish of sweet and sour cherries tossed with jalepeños and a honey-lime vinaigrette.
At the Viva Taco bus in Turlock, Silvestre Valencia adds jalapeño pickling liquid to the pork braise, which tenderizes the meat and keeps it from drying out. Get the recipe for Carnitas Tacos »
A three-day brining, smoking, and charring process adds incredible flavor to these ribs from chef Chris Shepherd of Underbelly in Houston. The result tastes like grilled bacon.
Most sausage recipes call for a meat mixture that is about 30 percent fat—using too much can yield a link that is more greasy than luxurious. Here, Russell Moore of Camino in Oakland, California, combines pork belly with rich duck liver and skinless duck breast—fatty duck skin is too tough—for a perfectly tender sausage.
You can get a bowl of green chili most anywhere in the American southwest, but New Mexicans are particularly proud of their chile verde, with its hunks of juicy pork shoulder and tart tomatillo-based sauce. The dish gets its oomph from green chiles, ideally the gorgeous ones grown around the town of Hatch, of which New Mexicans are likewise justly proud. Get the recipe for Chile Verde »
Pulled pork stands in for the burnt ends of barbecued brisket in this robust Kansas City-style bean chili inspired by one from the restaurant Rye KC in Leawood, Kansas.
