Pork

This classic Mandarin Chinese recipe can be made with either ground beef or pork.

Instead of being pounded together, as they traditionally are, the best parts of the classic Catalan sauce are left intact here—yielding the same comforting flavor with a terrific assortment of textures.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are reprinted with permission from Gameday Gourmet by Pableaux Johnson.

The recipe and introductory text below are reprinted with permission from Gameday Gourmet by Pableaux Johnson.

These dumplings are the most succulent we'’ve ever had. The secret is in the quality of the meat: Reusing uses locally raised heritage breeds such as Berkshire or Ossabaw, but any free-range pork will have enough fat and flavor to make a difference.

Like the classic steak preparation for which they are named, these crisp panko-crusted ribs cook fast, but they're surprisingly tender on the inside.

Quince—hard and astringent when raw—becomes tender and slightly sweet as it cooks, making it a nice pairing for the Middle Eastern-spiced pork. This dish needs to be started at least two days ahead.

The Lisu are one of many distinctive cultural groups who live in the mountains of southwestern Yunnan province.

The squid in this entrée is tender and picks up the flavors it's cooked with.

This festive main offers something for everyone—baby back ribs, chicken breasts, and smoked sausages. Be sure to start the dish a few hours ahead. The ribs are slow-cooked for an hour and a half, then are finished on the grill with the chicken and the sausages.

Asian ingredients—from soy sauce to sriracha—flavor the pork burgers. Wrapping it all up in Bibb lettuce leaves adds a fresh touch.

Mustard, tarragon, and a touch of sugar flavor the pork and its accompanying slaw.

A popular taco filling in Mexico, pork al pastor is usually cooked in a huge slab on a vertical rotisserie (like Middle Eastern shawarma) and sliced off to order, so that the outside bits are crisp and golden and the inside is juicy and tender. Cooks often stick an onion or a pineapple on top of the rotisserie so that its juices drip down over the well-seasoned meat. Pineapple takes a more central role in this grilled version: The puréed fruit sweetens the basting sauce, while chunks of it join the pork and onion on the skewers. A homemade salsa and an array of accompaniments invite guests to get in on the action.

This classic pulled pork is the ultimate holiday weekend grilling project.

Nutty and faintly sweet, our fast peanut sauce tops pork chops for an American take on the Southeast Asian specialty.

The tropical relish that tops these chops is a nod to the Caribbean climes and palm-tree breezes that are the stuff Jimmy Buffett songs are practically made of—a veritable paradise in this dish for two.

If using dried shrimp, grind to a powder in an electric coffee/spice grinder or use mortar and pestle. Seasoning paste can be made ahead and chilled, covered, up to 1 week or frozen 1 month.

You'll want to have plenty of white rice on hand to soak up the incredibly complex sweet-and-sour sauce that adorns these ribs.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are adapted from Elizabeth Karmel's Web site, girlsatthegrill.com. This is the dish that started my love affair with grilling and barbecue. Growing up a stone's throw from Lexington, North Carolina—the World barbecue headquarters—I always visited a barbecue joint to get my pork fix. We'd either eat it there or take it home in quart containers to reheat in a silver chafing dish. After college, I said good-bye to the barbecue joints and moved north. If I was going to enjoy pulled pork more than once or twice a year when I went home, I just had to teach myself how to make it. Here is my tried-and-true version made most often on a gas grill, no less!