Pork

Braising the pork belly yields crisp-tender nuggets ready to mingle with caramelized sweet potatoes. "It's a very American profile, sweet potato and pork," says Jared Wentworth, the chef at Chicago's Longman & Eagle, who gave us this recipe.

Roasting skin-on pork belly that's been wrapped around a pork loin gives you the best of both worlds: crackling mahogany crust and juicy meat seasoned with fennel, chile, and orange. Start at least 24 hours ahead. First, ask your butcher for a skin-on pork belly that's just long and wide enough to wrap around a trimmed, center-cut pork loin.

Pound the pork into superthin cutlets to get the best crust-to-meat ratio. Make extra for a next-day sandwich.

You need to start making this dish the day before you serve it, but the crispy, succulent result is well worth the effort.

Enough to marinate 2 pounds of pork (tenderloin, shoulder, or bone-in chops) or fish (firm, white-fleshed fish such as sea bass; shrimp or scallops)

Anthony Ross, executive chef at the Langham Hotel in Melbourne, once took me on a tour of the kitchen. The food there is amazing and so I asked Anthony for his recipe for pork belly tandoori as it is my favorite. He said it was quite funny because in India pork isn't really seen as a popular choice for tandoori, but in Australia it is his bestseller. I have changed the pork belly to loin as it suits the grill better.

This hearty Southwestern-style stew was created by executive chef Chad Luethje. Swap chicken for pork if you prefer.

An easy one-hour marinade guarantees tender chops. Mix chopped fresh herbs into the breadcrumbs for extra flavor.

The sweet, sour, and piquant flavors of this cherry sauce come together as you grill the pork. For an even quicker meal, make the sauce and marinate the meat the day before.

Pork shoulder is what they call the top of the front leg of the hog; it’s not exactly a shoulder, but if you think about it, it kind of is. It is comprised of two parts: The lower (or “arm”) portion of the shoulder is most commonly called the “picnic” or “picnic ham.” True ham comes only from the hind legs; the picnic of the shoulder, though, is often smoked like ham, and some historians speculate that it got its nickname because it’s inexpensive and thus a good cut for casual dining, not for a formal affair when a “real” ham is traditionally served, like at Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas. The upper part of the shoulder, often called the “Boston butt,” also known as a “Boston blade roast,” comes from the area near the loin and contains the shoulder blade bone. It is an inexpensive cut that’s packed with muscle, and so without proper tenderizing and cooking it can be unmanageably tough. However, it is well marbled and full of flavorful fat, and thus is ideal for smoking over low temperature; it is the classic meat used for all “pulled pork” in barbecue throughout the South. At Memphis in May contests, which are the first ones I learned to cook for, the whole pork shoulder is always used. At KCBS contests, you can use either a whole shoulder or the Boston butt by itself. I’m used to cooking the whole thing, so that’s what I usually do. History and contest rules aside, here’s the best way in the world to cook a pork shoulder.

Serve this succulent spiced pork at the table with a pair of tongs (perfect for pulling off small hunks to stuff into tortillas), or shred it in the kitchen and place on a platter.

This is Josh Hamilton's favorite sandwich to eat with his family, especially when he comes home after a game. Katie must like making it, too, because it is a classic slow-cooker recipe that needs very little attention. The payoff is meltingly tender pork in a sweet sauce. To round out the meal Southern-style, serve the sandwiches with coleslaw, baked beans, or fries.

Editor's note: Chef, nutritionist, and cooking teacher Lourdes Castro shared this recipe from her cookbook, Latin Grilling. It's part of a festive Cuban party menu she created for Epicurious and a great way to use up leftover grilled pork . As soon as someone finds out about my Cuban background, a Cuban sandwich question is never far away. It's no wonder, since Cuban sandwiches have recently popped up on menus all over the country. While many have gotten close to re-creating the real thing, I feel most miss the mark. So here is a step-by-step guide to creating an authentic sandwich Cubano. This is also a great way to use up the leftovers from your Cuban pig roast!

Editor's note: Chef, nutritionist, and cooking teacher Lourdes Castro shared this recipe from her cookbook, Latin Grilling. It's a classic Cuban dish and the centerpiece of a festive party menu she created for Epicurious. If you have leftover pork, Castro recommends making Grilled Cuban Sandwiches . Cubans love their pork. It's hard to find a Cuban or Cuban-American who doesn't have a memory of spending hours waiting for a lechon, a whole pig, to finish cooking in someone's backyard, and then sharing it with family and friends (I am certainly no exception). What sets Cuban-style pork apart is the use of mojo criollo, a highly seasoned marinade made up of tangy citrus juice, vast amounts of garlic, cumin, and oregano. And while roasting a whole pig is deliciously fun, smaller cuts are far more manageable and easier to work with.

I just ate a meal of some meltingly tender pork, butternut squash, and toasted walnuts. No, this isn't my food journal. I'm sharing this information with you because the above foods are supposed to reduce the incidence of many diseases that might come my way. Okay, maybe you're not interested in your arteries working at peak capacity; maybe what you want is to enjoy food to the maximum and not have to force it down your throat because it's good for you. That said, you'll love this dish, whether or not its health benefits ever cross your mind.

This recipe appears at just about every occasion in Cajun Country. Whether it's a holiday, funeral, family reunion, or potluck dinner, you can bet there will be at least one form of dirty rice or rice dressing. At the Link family reunion in Robert's Cove, I counted six versions, all different. The essential ingredients are few, but flavor and texture vary greatly. The main difference between dirty rice and rice dressing is that rice dressing is generally made with ground beef or pork, whereas dirty rice is made with pork and chicken livers. Many people think they don't like liver, but when it's balanced with other flavors, the liver taste is not overpowering. I've served this deeply flavored rice to many people who claim they hate liver, only to have them love it.

The yellow pepper mole may have lots of ingredients, but the result is a delightfully complex sauce. Golden raisins and white chocolate preserve the golden color of the roasted peppers, and while those may sound sweet, onion, garlic, and tomatillos keep the sauce savory, fresh, and never cloying. At the restaurant we give this a hint of smoked red pepper sauce and cilantro oil and garnish it with cilantro.

Editor's note: Chef Roberto Santibañez, the chef/owner of Fonda in Brooklyn, New York shared this recipe as part of a festive taco party menu he created for Epicurious. To make tacos, you'll also need 24 to 32 warm corn tortillas, 2 cups of salsa, chopped white onion, chopped cilantro, and lime wedges. Santibañez recommends serving the tacos with Fresh Tomato Salsa , Roasted Pineapple Salsa , or Taco-Shop Guacamole, a blend of avocado and tomatillos. Picture this: Mounds of juicy, tender, crispy-edged pieces of pork just waiting to be tucked into freshly made tortillas or piled on a plate along with rice and beans. This recipe is the classic way to make them—well, almost. Many restaurants and stalls put a whole butchered pig in a huge copper pot and let it simmer away until any liquid has evaporated. That's when the pork goes from being braised to being fried, browning in its own luscious fat. I do the same thing here, except I suggest using pork shoulder instead of the whole animal. And while the pork is traditionally browned on the stovetop, doing it in the oven is even easier and more effective. Pile the result on tortillas with salsa, chopped onions, and cilantro.

Pork tenderloin is a lean, quick-cooking cut of meat. Here it's roasted with apples and served with warm barley.