Category guide
Pork
recipes.
Pork is the protein that crosses the most cultures — from Italian guanciale to Mexican carnitas to Korean samgyeopsal to Filipino lechon to Cuban ropa vieja. The cuts are similar to beef but cook faster: pork tenderloin in 20 minutes, pork shoulder for pulled pork in 8 hours, pork belly for roast or braise in 3–4. Modern pork is leaner than it was a generation ago, which means it's easier to overcook — the safe internal temperature is now 145 °F (with rest), not the 165 °F your grandmother probably used. The cured-pork tradition is its own discipline: bacon, pancetta, prosciutto, jamón, lardo, guanciale, chorizo — all transformations that turn fresh pork into something that lasts months and seasons everything.
Pork recipes
46 dishes to cook from
How to cook in this category
Three pillars to anchor what you cook.
Shoulder, butt, and the long-cooked classics
Pork shoulder is the most forgiving cut in any kitchen — it pulls, shreds, braises, and barbecues. Carnitas (slow-confited in lard), pulled pork (smoked at 225 °F to 200 °F internal), Filipino adobo, Italian porchetta, Cuban lechón asado — all built on this cut.
Belly, ribs, and the fatty cuts
Pork belly is a flavour bomb — slow-roasted, braised in soy and ginger (Chinese hong shao rou), simmered in adobo, or rolled into porchetta. Ribs (St. Louis, baby back, spare) want low-and-slow smoking or oven-braising. The fat is what makes the dish.
Cured pork and charcuterie
Bacon (cured + smoked), pancetta (cured, often unsmoked), guanciale (cured pork jowl), prosciutto and jamón (long-aged cured ham), chorizo and 'nduja (cured + spiced sausage). Each adds depth to dishes you'd never use them in alone — guanciale in pasta, lardons in salad, chorizo in stew.
Pantry staples
What to keep on hand.
Coarse salt for curing, brown sugar, pink curing salt (Prague Powder #1), bay leaves, juniper berries, smoked and sweet paprika, fennel seeds, garlic, fresh thyme and rosemary, soy sauce, mirin, rice wine, ginger, scallions, dried chillies, apple cider vinegar, mustard, BBQ rubs.
You don't need everything at once. Build the pantry as recipes call for it; most of these are shelf-stable and useful across many dishes.
Core techniques
A few moves to learn well.
- Scoring pork belly skin in a fine cross-hatch and salting it for crisp crackling
- Slow-cooking pork shoulder until it shreds with a fork — internal 200–203 °F
- Cooking pork chops to 145 °F and resting (modern pork is safe at this temperature)
- Curing pork belly with sugar, salt, and pink salt for at least 5 days before smoking for bacon