Smoked Pork Butt
This recipe is perfect for your next weekend cookout. You can use Boston butt or pork shoulder; either will yield incredibly smoky, tender, and juicy meat. After rubbing the mustard into the pork and sprinkling on the brown sugar mixture, allow it to rest at room temperature while you prepare the smoker — this will not only allow the rub to permeate deeper into the meat, but also help expedite the cooking process slightly. Keep the temperature in the smoker as consistent as possible, and refill with hot coals as needed. Don't use quick-light types of charcoal, which will give the meat a chemical taste. Serve the pork with a barbecue sauce of your choice and classic barbecue sides, such as baked beans, potato salad or chips, and coleslaw.
Roasted Pork Tostadas with Citrusy Cabbage Salad
This tender citrus-and-herb-roasted pork shoulder pairs with chewy hominy and crunchy radishes and cabbage—Justin Chapple likes to serve the pork salad family-style, and let guests pile their own tostadas high with their favorite toppings. The pork reheats beautifully, making this dish easy to prepare up to 2 days ahead; toss the dressing with the reheated pork and remaining salad ingredients just before serving. Substitute black beans for hominy, if desired.
Schweinebraten (German Roast Pork Shoulder)
This classic German dish is all about the contrast between savory, fork-tender meat and a crispy, tender crust of pork crackling flavored with cumin, caraway, and mustard seeds. It’s worth your time to seek out a boneless pork shoulder with a nice, even fat cap, which is key to the dish. If the only pork shoulder available with a fat cap comes with a bone, you can ask the butcher to remove it or cut it out with a boning knife at home.
Frijoles con Puerco
Chef Jorge Guzman’s Yucatecan-influenced black beans with pork get an extra depth of flavor from charred onion and garlic as well as dried epazote, a Mexican herb with notes of camphor, mint, and citrus. Slideshow: More Pork Shoulder Recipes
Pork Tamales
Citrus, garlic, and chile infuse pork shoulder in chef Andrew Zimmern’s take on Colombian tamales. The marinade also perks up the masarepa dough. Instead of corn husks, these tamales are traditionally wrapped and steamed in banana leaves. Slideshow: More Pork Shoulder Recipes
Pork Braised in Milk
Slow-cooking pork shoulder in milk creates succulent meat and a silky, caramelized sauce. Unless the dairy curdles. What to do? A pinch of baking soda works as a stabilizer. Serve with crusty bread. Slideshow: More Pork Shoulder Recipes
