Tongue is a stress-free option for the grill. Because it's so fatty, you don't have to worry about it getting tough or dry. Option two: grilled pig's tails. The only difference here is you want to use a more indirect flame so you don't get too many flare-ups when the pork fat drips down into the grill. More

This tongue is tender, fatty, and flavorful and the contrast between the surface and the interior is so satisfying. The secret ingredient: lots and lots of oil. More

The ham hock is the lower segment of the pig, corresponding to the ankle or calf region. A hock is not fatty but can be made tender from all the collagen that breaks down during cooking. Best of all, the whole thing is covered in skin, and as I always say, the more skin, the better. More

The chopped liver at Russ and Daughter's is sweeter than most. It gets its sweetness from the onions. Of course all recipes for chopped liver call for sautéed onions to be mixed in with the liver purée, but what distinguishes the onions used at Russ and Daughters is just how very sweet they taste. These are onions that get cooked for a long time, I suspect. More

Just about any stewing or braising preparation would suit pork cheeks. A pork cheek is not an irregularly shaped cut like trotter or a hock, nor does it have too much fat to be rendered or dealt with in some way, such as pork belly. A pork cheek is just a perfect round of flesh and collagen, and so conveniently sized that you don't even have to cut it up before adding it to the pot. More

At home, you have the freedom to use pork or lamb's tongue in lieu of the more classic beef or veal tongue. You cut up the tongue, put down a pat of oil or lard in your pan, and stand over the skillet until the tongue is ready to be moved onto the tortilla, and not one second before. Simple as that. More

How much liver can you fit into a meatball? No, this is not the set-up for a bad joke, but a very serious inquiry—that is, if you happen to love liver and meatballs. More

I'd like to put forth the claim that Trippa alla Romana is really an excuse to enjoy a lot of tomato sauce. We talk about the ability of pasta to cling to a sauce, but pasta pales in comparison to tripe's sponge-like powers. More

I like tripe in my chili. I just do. And though this column is all about demystifying and celebrating offal, I feel I need not explain my preference for tripe in my chili. Not to chili purists, not to anyone. Too many people make chili in too many different ways for any one recipe to reign supreme. More

The concept of pig parts in pancakes not as crazy as you might think. It's not like I'm suggesting that you put say, pig's snouts in your scones. And this is not your typical breakfast pancake, but okonomiyaki, a Japanese pancake made with shredded naga-imo (a type of mountain root), shredded cabbage, flour, eggs, and dashi. Additions to the pancake vary by region. Pork belly, various kinds of seafood and vegetables, mochi, and even cheese can go into the batter. If pork belly, why not trotters? And if trotters, why not snouts or ears? You see where I'm going with this. More

Scrapple sounds like an insult, the name you call the runt in gym class. More likely it derives from the terms scraps and scrappy. And what a fitting name indeed for a traditional Pennsylvania-Dutch dish made from the odds and ends of the pig, stewed, chopped, or ground up, and mixed with cornmeal and flour. (Yum.) Often the cornmeal is cooked in the gluey gelatinous stock that comes from such a commingling of pig parts in a pot. More

To avoid pig's ears exploding in a deep fryer or microwave, I pan-fry pig's ears. The ears don't turn out quite as crispy, but pig skin really wants to get crispy in oil, so it's hard not to end up with something toothsome even if all you do is very gently brown the ears in a little bit of oil in your pan. More

I have friends, and perhaps you do too, who think nothing of tending to a pork loin or roasting a chicken, but shy away from cooking cephalopods of any kind. This strikes me as odd, for in terms of difficulty of cooking and time expenditure, a quick searing of octopuses, which can then be dressed in any number of oil-and-vinegar-type dressings, takes no time at all. More

You can sauté or pan-fry the sweetbreads with whatever flavors you like. This time, I used mustard seed and turmeric, sautéed with plenty of onions and chili peppers, for a vaguely Indian preparation that tasted nice with fragrant basmati on the side. More

Each year for Valentine's Day, I write a special Nasty Bits piece featuring some portion of the animal for which there are reproductive and/or amorous connections. Some cuts, like testicles, are really delightful. But today we're staying above the belt. For that special someone in your life, consider heart: a hard-working muscle that's lean but tender. More