Cast Iron Skillet

If you want to add great flavor to a pork loin, brine it. If you want to add super flavor to your pork loin, stuff it with your favorite Cajun-country sausage. This recipe is worth all the effort.

Served warm or at room temperature, a frittata makes for an easy yet impressive dinner. If you are following our $68 Dinner Story, buy 1 bunch asparagus and use 3/4 bunch for the Fettuccine with Asparagus, Beet Green Pesto, and Poached Egg and the remaining 1/4 bunch here. This is the perfect opportunity to use up any leftover beet green pesto from the pasta dish as well.

The intense, salty, bitter flavor of redeye gravy can be polarizing. We've added butter and a pinch of sugar here to round out the flavors while still keeping the integrity of this iconic Southern condiment intact. Biscuits and/or grits are a great accompaniment to this dish.

This ingenious technique cooks the chicken in a purse with its own juices and a mix of spices. It slowly simmers the bird to a silky richness—an enticing side of chicken that we rarely see.

Planning a spring dinner party? This is the entree you’re going to want to put on your menu.

Crispy-potato crust > pastry crust. (And it's gluten-free too.)

Pass the Pods C'mon, who doesn't love edamame? Consider this the adults-only version: sautéed, spicy, and highly snackable.

This is a true weekend-long project—and that's a good thing. Seasoning, cooking, and crisping the meat over the course of three days mean you don't have to spend hours in the kitchen the day you're hosting a big meal. In fact, the extra time your pork spends in the refrigerator only improves the taste. This is the perfect-for-a-party pork that gives you plenty of time to drink a beer and watch (or play) a game or two before grilling up crispy, tender slabs of pork shoulder for a crowd.

Roasted potatoes are pretty delicious all by themselves. But they're even better when you douse them with spicy mayo and a shower of bonito flakes.

Rotisserie chicken and store-bought puff pastry make quick work of this comforting kale- and squash-stuffed pot pie.

Braising octopus might sound advanced, but it's as easy as simmering a pot of beans.

Believe it or not, we came up with a new way to chop broccoli.

Like a potato-y flatbread and great topped with cured fish.

A beautifully browned bird and seasonal vegetables cook in a single skillet for an effortless dinner. Swap in carrots, quartered onions, or tiny potatoes—anything goes.

Cooking your stuffing in an ovenproof skillet means it can go from stove to oven without missing a beat. Prepping your aromatic vegetables in the food processor cuts down on chopping time, too.

Chef Sean Brock created this dish using quail, but the technique pairs equally well with bone-in turkey breast, creating a surprisingly juicy version of a much-maligned cut. Searing a turkey breast on the stovetop crisps the skin beautifully, while basting with thyme- and garlic-scented duck fat enriches the lean meat. Green onions stand in for the green garlic for a silky, fresh sauce that's a welcome departure from classic gravy. Be sure to use homemade vegetable stock or a clear canned stock to preserve the brilliant green color. You can find duck fat from many gourmet shops, or online from D'Artagnan.

I've worked on my fried chicken for many years, researching every recipe that I could lay my hands on, from early antebellum instructions to the Kentucky Colonel's secret technique. This recipe uses five fats, and each one contributes to the flavor of the result. To do the chicken right, you need an old black cast-iron skillet with a lid. Sure, you can make it in a deep fryer (like we do at the restaurant), but I prefer the old-fashioned way, which is nearly impossible to pull off in a restaurant. The skillets take up so much stove space that you can't make more than ten orders at a time. So this isn't the fried chicken you're going to eat at Husk. This is the way grandmas cook fried chicken in the South, and it's the way everyone should be making fried chicken at home. This recipe takes a lot of time and attention, way more than most conventional approaches (the chicken must be brined for 12 hours, so plan ahead). But it's good. Be sure to ask your butcher for the chicken skins to render for fat and to save the cooking fat, which makes mighty fine gravy. I've thrown that recipe in here too, to complete the meal just like my grandma would have.