The finest quality meat doesn't come cheap. However, meat can be made more affordable by using it in a less prominent role or by choosing less popular cuts. There are a wealth of juicy, bony cuts that deserve more attention than they are getting - and plenty of ways to make a little meat go a long way.

Roast pork belly with five-spice rub

Ask your butcher to score the skin of the pork for you - it is his job, not the cook's. This hatching of narrow lines through the skin not only helps the crackling to crisp nicely but makes carving a little easier. There is no 'gravy' or pan juices with this, so the oyster-sauce greens are essential.

Serves 4

1.75kg pork belly, bones left in, scored

For the spice rub:

3 juicy cloves garlic

1 tsp black peppercorns

1 tbs sea salt flakes

2 tsps five-spice powder

For the greens: 4 handfuls purple-sprouting broccoli, bok choi or mustard greens

1 tbs groundnut oil

2 tbs oyster sauce

steamed rice to serve

Remove any wrapping from the pork, then wipe the meat with a piece of kitchen paper to remove any moisture. Dry-skinned pork cooks crisper than wet.

Peel the garlic, then pound it, together with the peppercorns, salt and five-spice powder, using a pestle and mortar. You want to end up with a spice rub the texture of potting compost.

Lay the pork, skin-side down, in a china, stainless steel or glass dish, then rub the spice mixture into the flesh. Cover the dish and leave in a cool place for a good four hours.

Set the oven at 220°C/gas 7. Put the pork, skin-side up, into a roasting tin. Leave in the oven for 30 minutes, then turn the heat down to 180°C/gas 4 and continue roasting for a further 50 to 60 minutes. Test the meat for tenderness with a knife and check the juices that emerge. They should be clear and pale with no trace of blood. If they are not, then let the meat roast a little longer. If the fat isn't quite as crisp as you would like it, move the meat to the top shelf of the oven for a further 15 minutes.

Lift the pork from the tin and leave it to rest on a chopping board for 10 to 15 minutes. Put the greens into boiling water and cook for three or four minutes until tender but still crisp to the bite, then drain them, leaving one tablespoon of water behind in the pan.

Put the oil and oyster sauce in the greens pan and bring to the boil. Tip in the greens, turn off the heat, then cover the pan with a lid while you carve the pork.

Cut the pork along the bones. I find one large bone plus a bit of extra meat enough for most people. Serve with the greens and, if you wish, the rice. To add a welcome sharpness to roasts, push a halved lemon up a chicken's backside

Roast chicken ciabatta with lemon and thyme

Citrus fruits add a welcome sharpness to roasts. This may, in practice, mean little more than pushing a halved lemon up a chicken's backside as it cooks but could also involve a marinade. The oil-rich winter herbs such as thyme and bay can, in warm weather, be replaced with the softer varieties such as mint and lemon verbena. Rather than roasting an entire bird for what amounts to little more than a posh sandwich, you could choose breasts and thighs and pull the meat from the bones when they come from the oven.

Enough for six sandwhiches

6 free-range chicken pieces, bone in (thighs and breasts)

For the marinade:

a healthy bunch of thyme

2 juicy cloves of garlic the juice of two large, juicy lemons

an equal amount of fruity olive oil

To serve:

6 soft, floury baps or ciabatta

mayonnaise or garlic mayonnaise for spreading

4 handfuls of rocket or watercress

Set the oven at 200°C/gas 6. Pull the leaves from the thyme and discard the stems, then chop the leaves roughly. Peel and crush the garlic and mix it with the lemon juice, the oil and a few turns of the peppermill. You will have a loose paste.

Lay the chicken in a shallow dish and rub it with the lemon and thyme. Set aside somewhere cool, but not cold, for an hour or so. Grind over a little salt then roast the chicken for 30 to 40 minutes, occasionally turning the pieces over.

Remove from the oven, and when the meat has cooled enough to handle, pull the meat from the bones. It should come away easily in thick, juicy strips. Split the rolls or ciabatta and spread the cut sides generously with mayonnaise, then lay some washed watercress or rocket on the bottom halves.

Toss the torn chicken in any oil that is left in the roasting dish, then stuff it into the rolls with watercress or rocket.

Lamb-filled flatbread

Loud flavours here, with spice-crusted lamb, garlic-scented yoghurt and the hot smokiness of ground paprika. A sandwich to eat outdoors.

Makes 4 stuffed flatbreads, feeds 2 generously

a whole fillet of lamb

1 tsp coriander seed

1 tsp cumin seed

6 black peppercorns

3 cloves of garlic

3 tbs olive oil

For the yoghurt:

a small bunch of coriander leaves

a few sprigs of mint leaves

200ml thick yoghurt

To serve:

4 handfuls of rocket or watercress

a few whole mint leaves

a lemon

4 flatbreads, warmed

a little hot smoked paprika

Grind the coriander, cumin seed and black peppercorns to a rough powder with a pestle and mortar. Peel the garlic and mash it into the spices with the olive oil. Rub the paste all over the lamb fillet and set aside for at least an hour or two.

Make the yoghurt dressing by pulling the leaves from the herbs and finely chopping them. Stir them into the yoghurt. Peel and finely chop the garlic and mix it into the yoghurt. Cover tightly and keep refrigerated till the kebabs are ready.

Get the grill, barbecue or a ridged cast-iron grill pan hot. Season the lamb with salt and lay it on the grill and leave to brown nicely, a matter of five to six minutes then turn and cook until that side too is crusty and the inside a rosy pink. Set aside for a full five minutes to rest.

Toss the rocket or watercress and whole mint leaves with lemon juice.

Slice the lamb thickly then place two or three slices on a piece of warm flatbread together with a handful of salad and a large spoonful of yoghurt. Dust with a shake of paprika and roll up.

Spare-rib chops with juniper butter and apple sauce

At first glance this may not seem like much juniper, but the idea is to gently scent the meat. You just want a whiff of juniper.

Serves 2

2 loin or spare-rib pork chops about 1cm thick

10 juniper berries

50g butter

a little lemon juice

olive oil

a wine glass of white wine

For the apple sauce:

3 Bramley apples

a little lemon juice

a tablespoon of sugar

Peel, thickly slice and core the apples then cook them over a low heat with the lemon juice (I suggest about half a small lemon, the sugar and two to three tablespoons of water). You want them to be tender to the point of collapse.

Pound the juniper berries to a rough paste in a mortar, then mash in the butter and the juice of half a lemon.

Warm a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy, shallow pan, then add a lump of the juniper butter. Season the chops with salt and black pepper then cook them for five or six minutes on each side, until they are deep gold in colour. Cut into one and check that it is cooked through - it should be juicy and only very, very slightly pink. Transfer the chops to warm plates.

Tip any fat from the pan, pour in the white wine and turn up the heat so it boils briskly. Mash the apples with a potato masher. Scrape away at any sticky bits the chops may have left behind with a wooden spatula, stirring them into the wine. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Drop the juniper butter onto the chops then pour the bubbling pan juices over them, so that the butter melts. Spoon a generous dollop of apple-sauce next to the chops.

Chicken livers with paprika, yoghurt and mint

Serves 2

3 tbs olive oil

2 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced

300g chicken livers flour

ground paprika or smoked paprika

ground chilli

to serve: thick, chilled yoghurt and chopped mint leaves

Warm the oil in a frying pan and add the onions, cook till they soften and colour slightly. Meanwhile, cover a small plate with flour and season it generously with paprika, chilli and salt. Pick over the livers, removing any bits of black or green tinges that will make them bitter and cutting away any tough sinews, then roll them in the seasoned flour.

Remove the onions from the pan, leaving the oil behind, then drop the seasoned livers, shaken a little, into the hot oil. Let them cook without moving them until they are golden underneath, then turn and continue cooking until the livers have a pale gold coat and are pink and melting inside. Lift them out, add them to the onions, then serve with spoonfuls of thick yoghurt, a little more ground chilli, paprika and salt, and scattered with chopped mint leaves.