Starts Sunday, Nov 29Pork shoulder week

You need

• 1 bone-in pork shoulder (Boston butt), 7 to 8 lb
• 2 tbsp kosher salt
• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1 orange, halved
• 1 medium yellow onion, quartered
• 1 head garlic, halved across the middle
• 2 lb mixed root vegetables (carrots, parsnips, small potatoes), cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• For the broth: the bone, 1 onion (halved), 4 garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves, 3 quarts water

How to make it

1. Saturday night: mix the salt, sugar, cumin, paprika and pepper. Pat the pork dry and rub the mix into every side and crevice. Set it on a plate, uncovered, in the fridge overnight.
2. Sunday morning: heat the oven to 300°F. Put the pork fat side up in a roasting pan or large ovenproof pot. Tuck the orange halves, onion and garlic around it and pour 1 cup water into the pan.
3. Roast 5½ to 6½ hours, basting with the pan juices every hour or so. Add ½ cup water whenever the pan looks dry, so the juices don't burn.
4. With an hour to go, toss the root vegetables with the oil and a pinch of salt and scatter them around the pork in the juices.
5. It's done when the outside is deep mahogany and a fork twists out a chunk with no effort. The inside should read 195°F to 205°F; at that point the tough parts have melted. Rest it 20 minutes, loosely covered.
6. Pour the pan juices into a heatproof jar. Squeeze the soft garlic and orange into the juices if you like.
7. Pull big chunks off for tonight and serve with the vegetables and a spoonful of juices.
8. After dinner, shred the rest with two forks, discarding big pieces of fat. You'll have about 8 cups. Portion 3 cups for Monday and 2½ cups for Tuesday in the fridge, 2½ cups for Thursday in the freezer.
9. Once the juices cool, the fat rises and sets. Lift it into a small jar for Monday's carnitas. The jelly underneath is Tuesday's barbecue sauce base.
10. The broth: put the bone, onion, garlic, bay and 3 quarts water in a pot. Bring to a boil, then the lowest simmer for 2 hours. Strain; you'll have about 2 quarts. Cool and freeze it for Thursday.

Boneless shoulder works too: start checking an hour earlier, and buy a pound less.

Cooked pork keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge. That's why Thursday's is frozen.

You need

• 3 cups shredded pork (from Sunday)
• 3 tbsp pork fat from the jar (or neutral oil)
• ½ orange
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 16 small corn tortillas
• 1 white onion, finely chopped
• 6 radishes, sliced thin
• 1 jalapeño, sliced thin
• 2 limes, cut into wedges
• Your favorite salsa

How to make it

1. Heat the fat in your largest skillet (cast iron is best) over medium-high heat until it shimmers.
2. Add the pork in a single layer and press it flat. Leave it alone 4 to 5 minutes, until the bottom is browned and crisp.
3. Squeeze the orange over it, sprinkle with the salt, then flip it in sections and crisp the other side 3 minutes. You want plenty of crunchy edges with tender meat in between.
4. Meanwhile warm the tortillas in a dry skillet over medium-high heat, about 30 seconds a side, until soft and spotted, and stack them in a towel. Doubling them up (two per taco) is the taqueria way.
5. Fill the tortillas with pork and top with onion, radish, jalapeño, salsa and a squeeze of lime.

Crowding the pan steams the pork instead of crisping it. Fry in two batches if needed.

You need

• 2½ cups shredded pork (from Sunday)
• About 1 cup pan juices (from Sunday), or ½ cup water
• ¾ cup ketchup
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar, plus 2 tbsp for the slaw
• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ½ small green cabbage, sliced very thin (about 4 cups), or a 14-oz bag of slaw mix
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• ½ tsp celery seed (optional)
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 4 soft potato buns, split

How to make it

1. Make the slaw first so it can soften: whisk the mayonnaise, 2 tbsp vinegar, mustard, celery seed, ½ tsp salt and plenty of pepper in a big bowl. Toss in the cabbage and leave it while you do the rest.
2. In a medium pot over medium heat, whisk the pan juices, ketchup, ¼ cup vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire and paprika. Simmer 5 minutes, until slightly thickened.
3. Add the pork and stir to coat. Cover and cook over medium-low 8 to 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the pork is hot and has soaked up the sauce. Taste for salt and vinegar; it should be tangy and a little sweet.
4. Toast the cut sides of the buns in a dry skillet or under the broiler for 1 minute, until golden.
5. Pile the pork on the buns and the slaw on top of the pork.

Like it spicy? Add ½ tsp cayenne or a few dashes of hot sauce to the sauce.

You need

• 2½ cups shredded pork (from Sunday, thawed)
• 2 quarts pork broth (from Sunday, thawed)
• 4 dried guajillo chiles and 2 dried ancho chiles
• 1 medium yellow onion, quartered
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried Mexican oregano, plus more to serve
• 2 cans (25 oz each) white hominy, drained and rinsed
• 2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
• To serve: shredded cabbage or iceberg lettuce, sliced radishes, chopped white onion, lime wedges, tostadas or tortilla chips

How to make it

1. Snip the stems off the chiles, shake out the seeds and tear them flat. Toast them in a dry skillet over medium heat 20 to 30 seconds a side, until they smell fragrant and turn a shade darker. Don't let them smoke; burnt chiles are bitter.
2. Put the chiles in a bowl, cover with 2 cups of very hot water, and soak 15 minutes, until soft.
3. Meanwhile bring the broth to a simmer in a large pot.
4. Blend the chiles with 1 cup of their soaking water, the onion, garlic, cumin and oregano until completely smooth, about 1 minute. Pour it through a sieve into the broth, pressing on the solids, so the pozole is silky.
5. Add the hominy and salt and simmer 15 minutes. Add the pork and simmer 10 minutes more, until everything is hot and the broth is brick red.
6. Taste for salt. Serve in big bowls and let everyone add cabbage, radish, onion, oregano rubbed between their fingers, and a hard squeeze of lime. Tostadas on the side.

No guajillos? Use 4 tbsp pure chile powder (not chili powder blend) stirred into the broth instead of the blended chiles.