If you can't find pork mince in the fridge aisle in-store, ask the butcher to mince some pork for you. To avoid meatball collapsing incidents from happening, use oiled hands when mixing and binding the meatballs. And always start your meatball on high heat to create a crust on the surface.

^{Serves: 6
Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: 30 min}

•  2 crustless slices of white bread, torn
• 80 ml (1/3 cups) milk
• 500g pork mince
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• Handful parsley, chopped
• 1 egg
• 1 ml (½ tsp) smoked paprika
• 1 ml (½ tsp) fennel powder
• Oil

Sauce
• ½ onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 4 tomatoes, quartered
• 10 ml (2 tsp) brown sugar
• 200 ml (3/4 cups) chicken stock
• 1 ml (½ tsp) smoked paprika
• Handful pitted green olives

Potato wedges
• 4 potatoes, sliced into wedges
• 5 ml (1 tsp) paprika
• 1 ml ( ½ tsp) onion powder
• 1 ml (½ tsp) garlic powder
• Salt and pepper
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) oil

 1.    Add bread to a bowl, pour over the milk and toss until all the bread is soaked with milk.
2.    Add the pork, garlic, parsley, egg, paprika, fennel, salt and pepper mix all with your hands until blended. With oiled hands shape the mince into bite-sized balls and set it aside.
3.    Heat a large pan over medium heat, brown the frikkadels while cooking in batches. Set aside.
4.    Sauce in the same pan, cook the onions until soft. Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil, reduce heat add the tomatoes, paprika and season with salt and pepper.
5.    Return the frikkadels to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the olives and set them aside.  
6.    Potato wedges Preheat oven to 200C. Pat the potatoes dry with a paper towel. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and coat the potatoes. Place over a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

Bring the meat to room temperature before cooking, this is important when cooking a large piece of meat to ensure there is a level amount of heat going into the meat. Starting by blasting with high heat is important for the skin to lift off the moist meat to develop a crackling.

^{Serves 6
Preparation time: 15 min
Cooking time: 3 hours}

• 2,5 kg pork belly
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) coarse sea salt
• 300 ml (1 ½ cup) chicken stock
• 200 ml (3/4 cup) dry cider
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) wholegrain mustard

Salad
• 60 ml ( ¼ cup) apple cider vinegar
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) wholegrain mustard
• 15 ml ( 1 tbsp) honey
• Salt and pepper
• ½ red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cucumber, cut lengthwise with a peeler
• Small handful of dill
• Mash potato to serve

1.    With a sharp knife score the skin - be careful not to go through the meat. Rub 1 tbsp salt all over the pork. Put the pork in the fridge overnight with the skin exposed to dry.
2.    The next day, heat the oven to 230°C. Drizzle oil and salt over the skin and rub.
3.    Place the pork skin-side up in a roasting pan and roast for 45 minutes, until starting to crisp.
4.    Turn down the heat to 150°C. Pour the stock and cider on the side of the pork and roast further for 2 hours. If the skin is not crisp yet, turn up the heat to 200°C for 15 minutes or until crisp.
5.    Move the pork to a carving board, pour the juices into a pot and simmer for 5 minutes. Whisk in mustard and set aside.
6.    Salad In a jar add vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, salt and pepper. Close the jar with a lid and shake well to mix. Add onion to the jar and set aside for 30 minutes.
7.    Stir together the cucumber and dill in a bowl. Toss dressing and onion before serving with pork belly, gravy and mash.

Have you walked into the meat aisle and wondered what is the difference between pork sausage and pork boerewors, they look alike. The difference between pork sausage and pork boerewors is that pork sausage has more flavour due to the extra fat.
This is simple cooking and delicious. Doing minor changes to the usual using cherry tomatoes instead of whole tomatoes for texture and more sweetness makes it extra tasty.

^{Serves 6
Preparation time: 5 min
Cooking time: 20 min}

• 15 ml (1 tbsp) oil
• 350g pork sausage
• ½ onion, sliced
• 250g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) brown sugar
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) red wine vinegar
• 400g butter beans
• Pap to serve

1. In a pan over medium heat, add oil and brown the sausages. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. In the same pan add the onions and tomatoes, fry for 5 minutes or until soft. Reduce the heat, add sugar and vinegar. Simmer for 10 minutes, return the sausages and stir in the butter beans. Cook for 3 minutes more.
3. Serve with hot pap.

I see pork mince as a blank slate to add flavours, not like other meats where you're limited in additions of flavourings. Ask the butcher to mince a pork shoulder for you if there is nothing in the fridge.
I rate this the best pork Bolognese recipe. Once you try this with pork mince, I think you will tick it as your favourite too!

^{Serves 6
Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: 45 min}

• 45 ml (3tbsp) oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, grated
• 100g bacon pieces
• 500g pork mince
• Salt and pepper
• 250 ml (1 cup) full cream milk, warmed
• 250 ml (1 cup) chicken stock
• 400g tomato puree
• Pasta to serve

1. In a large pot over medium heat add oil and onions. Cook stirring frequently until soft. Add celery and carrots and cook, stirring for 3 minutes.
2. Add the bacon and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the mince and season with salt and pepper. Cook and break up the mince.
3. Reduce the heat, pour in the milk and cook until evaporated. Add the stock and tomato and cook for 30 minutes more.
4. Serve over pasta and garnish with your favourite fresh herb.

Using pork loin steaks in dishes is affordable, tasty and fun to cook with. A typical pork steak is lean with little fat on the outside to enhance flavour. For schnitzel, it's best to use extra lean or trim off the fat.

^{Serves 6
Preparation time: 20 min
Cooking time: 35 min}

• 4 × 200g pork loin steaks
• 2 tbsp (2 tbsp) brown sugar
• 125 ml (½ cup) peanuts, toasted
• 5 ml (1 tsp) ground coriander
• 5 ml (1 tsp) ground cumin
• 1 ml ( ½ tsp) allspice
• 250 ml (1 cup) breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 125 ml (½ cup) flour
 
Tomato "smoor"
• 250g cherry tomatoes
• 10g tomato paste
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 red chillies, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves
• 10 ml (2 tsp) sugar
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) Worcestershire sauce
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) cream of tomato soup powder
• Salt to taste

Rice
• 5 ml (1 tsp) ground coriander
• 5 ml (1 tsp) cumin seeds
• 5 ml (1 tsp) medium curry
• 300g basmati rice
• 750 ml (3 cups) chicken tock

1. Using a rolling pin, flatten pork between 2 sheets of baking paper. Blend sugar, nuts and spices until coarse. Add the bread crumbs and mix, place into a shallow bowl. Add eggs to a second shallow bowl and flour in the third bowl. Dust pork in flour, dip in egg, then coat in the bread crumb mixture.
2. Pan-fry in a non-stick pan until cooked.
3. Tomato smoor In an oiled pan, over medium heat. Sauté the onion and red chilli until the onions are soft. Add the garlic and tomato paste, cook stirring for 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, sugar, Worcestershire sauce and soup powder mixed with water. Cook for 10 minutes more, season and serve over schnitzel.
4. Rice In a dry pot, toast the spices until fragrant. Add the rice and stock, bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and leave uncovered for 5 minutes. Fluff and serve with schnitzel.

 

Pork knuckles are not the same as pork trotters, despite the name. It’s the meaty upper part of the pig's leg. It’s also known as pork shank or pork hock. Although hocks are known to be smoked or cured. My personal taste, I enjoy the rear pork knuckle. Knuckles from the front leg are smaller than the back leg knuckle, so for more meat choose the back knuckles.

^{Serves 2 - 4
Preparation time: 5 min
Cooking times: 2 hours}

2×1kg pork knuckle

Rub
10 ml (2 tsp) coarse salt
5 ml (1 tsp) cumin seeds
5 ml (1 tsp) fennel seeds
5 ml (1 tsp) allspice
Samp and bean to serve

Gravy
750ml (3 cups) chicken stock
2 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 large potatoes, cubed
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 bay leaves

1. Leave the raw pork knuckles overnight, uncovered in the fridge.
2. Preheat your oven to 180°C. Poke small holes all over the pork skin, using a pin or a sharp knife.
3. Pound the rub ingredients in a mortar and pestle until coarse powder.
4. Smear oil over the pork skin, then the rub mixture.
5. Add toothpicks around the pork to hold the skin - as it cooks, the skin shrinks so the toothpicks hold the skin from folding.
6. In a roasting tray, add all the gravy ingredients. Place a rack over the pan and place pork knuckle on the rack. Sitting upright.
7. Roast for 2 hours checking the liquid during the roasting.
8. Increase the temperature to 260°C. and roast further until crackling forms.
9. Serve the knuckle with samp and gravy.