Salt Pork Substitute

[KensethFan]

I have some recipes that use salt pork, slab bacon, or lardons (i.e. coq au vin and a few others). I don't eat pork products of any kind.

Does anyone have any idea what I can use in its place?

[Mallet]

Honestly, there's just no total substitute for these magical products IMHO. Depending on the recipe salted butter and spices (pancetta includes a potent mix of juniper berries, thyme, pepper, and bay leaves) may work if extra richness is all you're after in these dishes. An interesting and possibly more rewarding option, if you're willing to jump into Charcuterie (it's really fun!), would be to create your own subsitutes from other meats (duck pancetta? ). As far as I know these are not easy to find commercially, and will likely be more expensive/less good than anything you can make at home with minimum investment.

Martin

[Chris Amirault]

Duck is a good substitute in certain ways: you can use duck fat instead of lard, cracklings instead of lardons, confit instead of rillettes, and -- as Martin suggests -- you can cure duck in various ways. The duck ham from Ruhlman's Charcuterie is excellent.

But you're going to run into trouble around solid forms of fat. Duck fat is fantastic stuff, but there's no way to get a slab of meat/fat in the ratios you have for bacon. Still, I wonder whether a well-cured and smoked duck breast with a thick subcutaneous layer of fat might serve at least a few useful purposes as a substitute, if you trim off the extra meat and go for about a 50/50 fat/meat split....

I think you need to experiment and report back.

[KensethFan]

Well, I did find a place that supplies duck pruciutto for a pretty decent price. They also sell duck breast for making your own. I also found a lot of information whilst surfing around about making your own. So, I think I'm gonna either buy some and try it, make it myself, or do both and compare. Most likely both to compare. It's www.hudsonvalleyfoisgras.com.

I did think of a good idea particularly in the case of the Coq au Vin. I could use chicken fat (smaltz) to render some turkey or beef bacon (turkey might be the best) and then use that "bacony" smaltz to cook the chicken in. That might be a nice compromise to get that smokey flavor without the pork fat.

Thanks for all the replies so far. They have set me on the right track. Of course, more ideas are certainly welcome!!!