Delicious salt pork

[mskerr]

I've recently started discovering the joys of salt pork. I was introduced to it from reading old novels, where they describe cooking beans with salt pork, or (in the Little House books) laying strips of salt pork over a rabbit roast. So far I have thrown some in while cooking beans or soup, and occasionally I fry up some small pieces to top a salad (or, yes, even snack on -bring on the pucker). I really like old-school ingredients like this, so I would like to learn more ways to use it.

Any ideas?

[patrickamory]

Bring them on... I made a batch a couple of months ago for baked beans, and have it frozen. Chowder would be an obvious idea...

[janeer]

I'm a big user of salt pork. Here are some favorites: for potatoes; for the best baked beans; for cakes, for this soup or this or this. Since I always have it around I use it instead of pancetta in pasta dishes, to cook with green beans, etc. It can be cooked crisp and served with a milk gravy for a real old New England dish.

[SylviaLovegren]

I'm a big user of salt pork. Here are some favorites: for potatoes; for the best baked beans; for cakes, for this soup or this or this. Since I always have it around I use it instead of pancetta in pasta dishes, to cook with green beans, etc. It can be cooked crisp and served with a milk gravy for a real old New England dish.

How is the pork cake? I have my great grandmother's recipe for pork cake (she was not a New Englander, however, but from Kansas with a Penn. Dutch background), but I've never had the courage and the salt pork at the same time.

[ScottyBoy]

Oh keep the ideas coming, my salt pork is finally ready to use! Rendering for fat in sweets is a cool idea.

[mskerr]

I'm a big user of salt pork. Here are some favorites: for potatoes; for the best baked beans; for cakes, for this soup or this or this. Since I always have it around I use it instead of pancetta in pasta dishes, to cook with green beans, etc. It can be cooked crisp and served with a milk gravy for a real old New England dish.

Wow, that grilled corn and chorizo soup sounds great, and pasta e fagioli is one of my absolute favorite dishes. And thanks for the background on salt pork.

[mskerr]

Janeer - I've got your pasta e fagioli simmering away right now. The broth is delicious! Probably gonna let it sit overnight and serve it tomorrow. I've only made the Cooks Illustrated recipe until now, but I think using salt pork instead of pancetta adds a lot of flavor, as well as cutting some expense out. I did add a Parmesan rind though, a la Cooks Illustrated.

Next up: Scootin' Long the Shore.

Cheers for your recipes!

[Icanmakeit]

Lots of Asian recipes for pork belly, I have made my own bacon using internet recipes. Anything pork fat is good. Beans, soup etc.

[patrickamory]

A huge +1 for janeer's baked beans linked above.

Nobody using it for chowder?

[Creola]

I use salt meat in white beans, red beans, green beans, corn soup, mustard greens, boiled potatoes, cabbage and it is delicious in a spaghetti sauce.

[Ashen]

on a more traditional front the dish Fish and Brewis would be naked without scrunchions( cubed rendered and fried salt pork)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_and_brewis

[annachan]

I love using salt pork when cooking collard greens.

[patrickamory]

Just made a new batch of salt pork according to this recipe:

 

http://www.aliyaleekong.com/homemade-salt-pork/

 

This dry brine method under heavy weights and changed every day for a week has produced some awesome looking results:

 

 

I have no doubt the flavor will be more concentrated and intense than the John Thorne wet brine method I was using before.

 

I do have one question: the recipe says to wrap in cheesecloth and store in fridge for a month. Should I enclose the cheesecloth in plastic wrap, or is the point of the cheesecloth to dry the meat out further?