Pork

Keep an eye on the edge of the meat where it touches the grill: When it's browned, turn the pork over.

The spice rub builds a nice flavorful crust around the pork as it cooks, but the sugar can cause the meat to brown quickly. Keep a close watch.

Slow-cooked and broiled in the oven, these sweet ribs can be made year-round.

Wrap slider-sized pork patties in tender lettuce leaves and serve with plenty of spicy sauce on the side for dipping.

The synthesis of fresh and longcooked textures; rich, sweet, and herbal flavors; and juicy and crunchy garnishes. Serve with extra herbs, chiles, and lime so everyone can customize his own bowl.

Juicy pork, roast carrots, and hearty greens plus a garlicky romesco sauce equals a dinner you'll want to make over and over.

MAKING BREAKFAST SAUSAGE is an old family tradition for us. My grandpa's family used to raise their own hogs, and when it came time for butchering day, they made sure that nothing went to waste. All parts of the animal were used—for hams, bacon, lard, and sausage. My grandpa was in charge of making the breakfast sausage—a tradition he passed on to us. Breakfast sausage is a loose sausage that hasn't been cured, which makes it appropriate for a home cook. My grandpa's recipe was typically Texan in that it was seasoned with sage. While there is nothing finer than a basic breakfast sausage, I find it's an excellent base for other flavors, such as the smoky notes of bacon and smoked paprika and bittersweet tones of molasses. This isn't exactly my grandpa's breakfast sausage, but I'm sure he would have enjoyed it just fine.

Ask anybody's nonna: Making Sunday sauce is not an exact science. You can use other meats—like thick pork chops or short ribs—in place of or in addition to the ones listed here.

Serve this over a bed of soft polenta for catching the juices, with a simply dressed salad on the side.

Start your week off right with this delicious weeknight dinner of pork chops, potatoes, and sauteed pears. This dish will please the entire family - and it makes delicious leftovers, too!

Cutting the vegetables into similarly sized pieces helps them cook at the same rate, so this entire dish—sauce included—can be made in one pan.

This stew calls for water instead of stock to be added. The pork shoulder will create a rich cooking liquid on its own.

It might look like a lot when the greens are raw, but add them all anyway. They'll quickly wilt down to a silky texture.

Starting the chop in a hot pan lets you get a good initial sear; lowering the heat gives you control while it cooks through.

As the pork cooks, the fat will gradually render, basting the roast.

Our bo ssäm was a long time in the making before it showed up on the menu. I'd had an inkling for years it would be a good idea—bo ssäm is a supercommon dish in Korean restaurants, though the ingredients and cooking that go into it are frequently an afterthought. The oysters are usually Gulf oysters from a bucket, the kind that are really only suited to frying; the pork is belly that's been boiled into submission. Almost every time I ate it at a restaurant, I'd think about how much better it would be if all the ingredients were awesome. The first time we made one was for family meal back when we'd just started serving kimchi puree on our oysters at Noodle Bar. One of the new cooks was fucking up oysters left and right, so I made him shuck a few dozen perfectly, and then we ate them ssäm-style: wrapped up in lettuce with rice, kimchi, and some shredded pork shoulder that was otherwise destined for the ramen bowl. (The shoulder in our bo ssäm is, essentially, the same shoulder we put in the soup at Noodle Bar, except that we add more sugar in the last step to make the crust even more delicious—it's like a shoulder encrusted in pig candy.) So there, in the cramped, dark subterranean kitchen of Noodle Bar, I ate the best bo ssäm of my life. I think that experience and our take on the bo ssäm are typical of the way we approach "traditional" dishes: with one foot rooted in tradition and the other foot kicking it forward. There is a great line from Emerson that sums up my perspective perfectly: "Meek young men grow up in libraries, believing it their duty to accept the views which Cicero, which Locke, which Bacon have given, forgetful that Cicero, Locke, and Bacon were only young men in libraries when they wrote these books."

Pork chops can get pretty dried out. This recipe fixes that age-old problem. It's also a great main course for a family-style dinner. Just slice the pork after it's done cooking, place in a serving dish, and then top with the savory mustard sauce. These pork chops make wonderful leftovers and serve as a nice addition to a breakfast or atop a salad for lunch. Perfect Pork Chops also depend on getting the right pork. Pasture-raised pork will contain a healthier mix of fats and vitamin D. Pork also contains high concentrations of thiamine, which is used by all cells to make energy and is particularly important to the brain, and B6, which helps make several key neurotransmitters.

This glaze also makes for an addictive tray of chicken wings. Use the same weight and method as for the ribs, but reduce final cooking time by 10 minutes.