pork

For the longest time, I considered porchetta, the slow-roasted Italian pork dish, an order-at-a-restaurant-only entrée; it seemed too hard to make at home. For a recent holiday dinner party, however, I wanted to serve roast pork, so I threw caution to the wind and wound up making a delicious variation of the flavorful dish.

Porchetta takes a couple of hours to roast, but it's guaranteed to fill the house with a wonderful porky rosemary fragrance. To ensure that you get the correct cut, ask your butcher if he carries it a week before you plan on cooking the pork. With its succulent and well-seasoned meat, the resulting pork is a real crowd-pleaser. Read ahead for the highly-recommended porchetta recipe.

If there's one ingredient that may be able to oust bacon as the prized protein of the moment, it's porchetta. It's been appearing everywhere in farmers markets, Italian restaurants, and sandwich shops around San Francisco.

Pronounced "por-ketta," porchetta is an Italian specialty of slow-roasted suckling pig. A young, milk-fed piglet is gutted, deboned, stuffed with a mixture of garlic, herbs, and seasonings, then roasted whole in a wood-burning oven.

Porchetta originated in Lazio, a region of west central Italy, where it was probably a mountain food eaten during wintertime feasts. The specialty has since become entrenched in much of the country's culinary tradition. In Umbria, porchetta is flavored with fennel in garlic; in Rome, rosemary and garlic; in the Marches, wild herbs; and in Sardinia, myrtle leaves.

Sometimes referred to as "Italian pulled pork," porchetta is succulent, extremely fatty, and savory. In Rome, it's popular for street vendors to serve it sliced and sandwiched between a roll. Have you ever tried porchetta?

Source: Flickr User Pedro Angelini

Home cooks, rejoice! The USDA's lowered pork's cooking temperature down from 160ºF to 145ºF. As longtime lovers of pink pork, we're thrilled that the government's espousing the benefits of lesser-done protein. But, in my humble opinion, the swine's not the only thing that tastes better when it's not well done; click through for more.

Calling all carnivores! Have I got a treat for you: here are our best grilled meat recipes. Since the time is right for you to put some beef (or pork, or lamb) on the barbie, make the most of these dishes now. Nothing goes better with grilled meat than a glass of red wine, so don't forget to pick up a bottle while you're at the grocery store!

Tri-tip with chimichurri	Pork and mango skewers	Leg of lamb with rosemary and mustard
Cachaça-marinated hanger steak	Pork tenderloin with red pepper sauce	Lamb chops with blackberry relish

When it comes to weeknight cooking, nothing beats pork tenderloin. The affordable cut usually comes two to a pack meaning it easily feeds a crowd. It also cooks incredibly quickly, faster than a whole chicken, in about 20 minutes. The best thing about pork tenderloin, however, is its versatile adaptability. It can be seasoned with everything from fresh herbs to spicy pastes. This recipe looks to Cuba for inspiration and marinates the pork in a generous mixture of fresh citrus, fragrant cumin and oregano, and lots of minced garlic. Thick slashes are made on the meat before it's dunked in the marinade; the result is juicy, tender pork packed with flavor. If you've got time, marinate overnight, but otherwise, give it a flash marinade for at least 30 minutes. For the uncomplicated recipe, read on.

This morning, the United States Department of Agriculture announced a new guideline when it comes to cooking pork. Tenderloin, chops, and roasts are safe to be consumed when they reach a temperature of 145°F. The pork should be allowed to rest for three minutes before eating. It will still be pink, but it will also be succulent and delicious.

The lower pork cooking temp is one that has been practiced by chefs for years. Of the news, Tom Colicchio tweeted, "USDA confirms what chefs have been saying for years Pink Pork is Safe. Temperature 145 down from 160," while chef Michael Symon said, "wish they dropped it 10 more degrees!!" I've always enjoyed pork medium rare, so the news won't really affect my cooking style.

How about you? Are you OK with pink pork?

Source: Flickr User tvol

Top Chef All-Stars champ Richard Blais was the guest of honor earlier this week at an event in NYC hosted by the National Pork Board called, "Pork: Be Inspired." He concocted a few pork-based recipes for the assembled reporters, including a delicious ham and herb schnitzel with a 6-minute egg — check out that recipe below.

He narrated the process of making the dishes, adding some of his trademark quips like, "Is it weird if I say there is something romantic about a piece of meat basted in its own juices?" Richard also emphasized that he wishes people would just get over their fear of burning pork when they're cooking. I managed to snag a minute with Richard after the demo, and he chatted about how he celebrated with his wife after his big win (a low key dinner at the Big Apple's Blue Ribbon), further sharing about his favorite Spring picnic dish, joining the Top Chef tour, and what's next. He said:

• On his favorite dish for a picnic: Right now for spring, I just did something with asparagus
  so whether it's asparagus or artichokes and mayonnaise and some lemon and some toast. Some olive oil. It sounds like simple stuff, but that's what I like to eat in the Spring and Summer."
• On joining the Top Chef tour: "I'm doing some of the tour dates yeah, I'm not sure what cities I'll end up in. It'll be my fourth year on the tour, and if you get a chance, whatever city you're in to come out and see it, it's a lot of fun. This year we're adding a competitive element to it where the contestants are going to be competing again in front of the tour audiences.
• On what's next for him: "I'm opening a few restaurants in the Southeast, but as a native New Yorker and someone who loves big cities I would love to get a project going in major A-List city. But nothing to report just yet."

To see Richard's recipe for ham and herb schnitzel with a 6-minute egg, just read more

We love repurposing leftovers, and from the looks of it, Lauren does too. Here she shares the story of pork two ways.
I had picked up pork at my local butcher, but wasn't completely sure how I wanted to prepare it. Using what I had on hand and of course, not measuring, I browned the meat, caramelized onions and garlic, and roasted/cleaned two poblano peppers. For even more flavor, I ground up cumin and crushed red pepper flakes and placed everything in the crock pot. I added just enough chicken broth to just about cover the meat and let it cook over night. The next morning, the pork was incredibly tender and perfect for tacos!

There was still a ton of pork, but I am not one for repeat dinners, so I picked up a couple cans of hominy and added it to the pork along with some more chicken broth for a makeshift pozole. The soup topped with cilantro, avocado, salsa, and lime juice was absolutely scrumptious. I love when simple dishes with no recipe turn out so well, I am sure I will be making this again! Sorry about not snapping a photo of the tacos but trust me they were tasty!

Have you turned a leftover into something different and delicious? Share it with us in the community!