30 brilliant ways to cook pork
Fabulous pork
Pibil-style pork ribs
Authentic Mexican ribs in a hot, spicy orange marinade which need marinating overnight are well worth a little extra effort. The marinade is easy – everything is whizzed up in a food processor. The ribs are slow-cooked until meltingly tender, then cooked on a high heat until crisp. These ribs are chilli-hot!
Sweet and sour pork
A takeaway favourite, sweet and sour sauce is easy to make at home and uses familiar store cupboard ingredients such as tomato ketchup, soy sauce and brown sugar. Follow our recipe to make the sauce then add cooked chunks of pork.
Sausage cornbread
Juicy pork sausages cooked in a cornmeal or polenta batter until everything's crisp and golden makes a substantial breakfast or brunch, and it's all made in one pan. Cut into wedges and top with a fried or poached egg, and your favourite sauce.
Slow-roasted pork belly with cannellini beans
Perfect for the weekend, pork belly is slow-cooked on a bed of apples, onions and garlic with fresh herbs, until meltingly tender. Cider, along with the meat juices, makes the rich gravy. With greens and tinned cannellini beans, this requires little preparation and is a meal in itself, no accompaniments needed.
Get the recipe for slow-roasted pork belly with cannellini beans here
Pork and chorizo meatballs
As a change from beef, try these tasty meatballs made with minced pork and chorizo, browned until crisp, then cooked in a spicy tomato sauce. You'll need cooking chorizo for them, which is raw sausage, rather than the sliced chorizo found at the deli counter. The sauce is made with fresh tomatoes, but use drained cherry tomatoes from a can (you'll need two) if that suits.
Char siu pork with pak choy
A traditional char siu is made with a marinated, slow-cooked piece of pork belly. This recipe is a quick stir-fry version, but none of the spicy barbecue flavours are lost. Slices of pork tenderloin fillet are cooked in a garlic, ginger, soy and miso sauce. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.
Get the recipe for char siu pork with pak choy here
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Classic moussaka
It's often thought that moussaka is always made with minced lamb but across Greece and Cyprus, many families make it with pork. A spiced pork ragù is layered with sliced potatoes, aubergines and cheese with a béchamel sauce. It's then baked until browned and bubbling. Here, the aubergines and potatoes are roasted first, avoiding time-consuming and messy frying.
Aromatic sticky ribs
It takes just five ingredients to make these wonderfully sticky, Chinese-style ribs. The smart ingredient is a jar of barbecue sauce, with added cinnamon and star anise to create a spicy taste and aroma. You need to marinate them overnight for tenderness, and do double-line your roasting tin with foil to prevent them sticking and to save on the washing up.
Porchetta-style kebabs with white beans
A proper Italian porchetta is a slow-cooked piece of pork, rolled up with lemon and herbs. The flavours are replicated here, in a quicker version using chunks of pork coated with garlic and herbs, threaded onto rosemary skewers. It's cooked on the barbecue, but you could use a griddle pan, retaining the meat juices to stir into the cannellini beans.
Get the recipe for porchetta-style kebabs with white beans here
Burmese pork curry
This curry is fragrant, mild and sweet. It uses pork leg or shoulder, which need slower cooking to become tender. The result is a thick sauce laden with ginger, soy and onions. It freezes well too, or will keep for up to two days in the fridge. Simply serve with rice and stir-fried greens.
Pork lettuce cups
Fragrant, spicy, sweet and sour, these Asian-inspired lettuce cups made with minced pork are served with fresh lime, herbs, crunchy peanuts and spring onions. They are made in a slow cooker, but if you don't have one, fry the mixture over a medium heat until the pork is lightly browned, add the sauce ingredients, then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes.
Four-spice pork kebabs
Chunks of marinated, spiced pork with a caramelised sticky soy and honey glaze are threaded on to skewers with peppers, onions and tomatoes. Cook them on the barbecue or under the grill. Ideally, marinate the cubes of pork loin overnight if you can. Serve with rice on the side.
Meatloaf with gravy
Minced pork, pork sausagemeat and minced beef are mixed with herbs, vegetables and spices to make a succulent meatloaf with a spicy, sticky glaze. You don't even need a loaf tin to bake it in – it's shaped and cooked in a deep roasting tin, although use a tin with a 1.2-litre (2lb) capacity if you prefer. The cooking juices help to make the rich gravy.
Roast belly of pork
Slow-cooked, meltingly tender pork is cooked with apples and sage, and served with cider gravy. For perfect crackling, the skin must be dry. It's a good idea to leave the joint uncovered in the fridge, overnight, to dry out the skin. To make carving easier, remove the crackling in a whole piece, chop it up to serve, then slice the meat with a sharp knife.
Pork tonkatsu
Breaded pork cutlets, deep-fried until crisp and golden, are a favourite dish in Japan, traditionally served with katsu curry. Use panko breadcrumbs if you can, which give a much lighter crumb. These are also fantastic cooked in an air fryer on high heat – leave plenty of space between them and turn halfway through cooking.
Pulled pork
A large shoulder of pork is cooked long and slow in a spicy tomato sauce until it's so tender you can pull it apart with a fork. It's sticky, sweet and sour, perfect to serve in burger buns with a crunchy slaw and pickles, in tacos or in a stir-fry.
Pork and ginger potstickers
These little dumplings, also known as gyoza, are easy to make and quite addictive! The pork filling is nutty, fragrant and garlicky. You can buy the dumpling wrappers and even a plastic dumpling mould to make prep even easier. They freeze very well once cooked – just pop them in the microwave to reheat fully.
Shortcut dan dan noodles
Recreate a takeaway favourite at home with this 20-minute noodle stir-fry. Pork sausagemeat is fried with Chinese five-spice powder until crisp, to re-create the traditional Sichuan peppercorn-spiced pork with little effort. It's fragrant and spicy with a good kick of chilli.
Pork escalopes with mushrooms
Pork and mushrooms are a classic combination: the earthiness and deep savoury taste of the mushrooms contrasts with the sweetness of the pork. In this recipe, the mushrooms are sautéed with garlic and a little cream and it's served with an indulgent creamy mash, but rice would work well too.
Yakisoba
In this version of a classic Japanese fried noodle dish, the recipe makes clever use of a shop-bought tonkatsu sauce – a sweet, savoury sauce – for speed. Although the recipe asks for cooked, thinly-sliced pork belly, you could use thin strips of raw pork tenderloin, and just cook them for a few minutes longer. Use straight-to-wok noodles for ease in this glossy, sweet and sour dish.
Sausage ragù
Real comfort food, this ragù is rich and savoury, with sliced sausages slow-cooked in red wine, herbs, garlic and onions. It uses coarse Italian pork and fennel sausages, although you could use a plain pork sausage and add a teaspoon of crushed fennel seeds to the sauce. It's great served with polenta or pasta – penne would be particularly good.
Spiced pork chops with ginger and mango relish
A simple pork chop is given a makeover, marinated in ginger, garlic, lime and chilli, and served with a chunky, sweet and spicy mango salsa. Allow a couple of hours for the pork to marinate for the best flavour. The relish is a great match for the spice in the pork, and works with oily fish, such as salmon or mackerel, too.
Get the recipe for spiced pork chops with ginger and mango relish here
Chinese-style barbecued ribs
Sweet, sour and sticky with crisp, charred edges, these ribs will be a winner. They are slow-cooked with garlic, ginger and other store cupboard ingredients, plus Chinese beer Tsingtao. Although you can use any lager. The ribs are best cooked on the barbecue, but you could finish under a very hot grill if it's not nice weather.
Italian porchetta
A slow-cooked shoulder of pork, stuffed with fresh herbs, garlic, lemon and Parmesan gives super-tender meat and perfect crackling. In Italy, street stalls sell it stuffed inside soft bread rolls, but it makes a wonderful weekend lunch with all the trimmings. Enlist an extra pair of hands to help hold the joint together while you tie it up with butcher's string.
Sticky sausage and bean stew
Perfect for a chilly day, these pork sausages with white beans and roasted vegetables are coated with a sweet, sour and sticky glaze. It's all made in one tray, with minimal chopping and preparation. You could also make it in a slow cooker.
Roast pork loin
With perfect crunchy crackling and juicy, succulent meat, this roasted loin of pork is hard to beat. Once the skin is scored (ask your butcher to do it for you), the meat needs to sit, uncovered, in the fridge overnight. This is to dry out the skin to ensure crispy crackling. Buy the best quality pork you can for the tastiest result.
Pork pie with sticky onion chutney
A very British pork pie, with tender, juicy pork and crisp pastry, makes a great centrepiece. It's not hard to make, but it does need two days to first allow the pork to get completely cold, then another to allow the jelly to set. The sticky red onion chutney is fantastic with any cold meats and cheese.
Sausage rolls
You can't beat a great British sausage roll, perfect for picnics, snacks and parties. This recipe uses a mix of minced pork and veal, but it works just as well with 100% pork. The meat is seasoned with herbs, Worcestershire sauce and vegetables, and wrapped in buttery shop-bought puff pastry. The recipe makes four large rolls or 12 smaller ones, for a lovely nibble to serve with drinks. These are similar to what Americans call 'pigs in blankets'.
Barbecue ribs
Spicy, sticky, not-too-sweet pork ribs are a must if you're firing up the barbecue. It's important to slow-cook the ribs in the oven first, or they will be tough and chewy. Keep basting them with the barbecue sauce on the grill, to build up those lovely, sticky layers.
Pulled pork tacos
Everyone will love these – soft flour tortillas stuffed with juicy pork, onions, avocado and lime. Use economical pork leg or shoulder and get your butcher to remove the rind, but leave any fat as this will ensure the pork is flavourful. Covered with a spice rub, it needs to be marinated overnight for maximum flavour.
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