BostonSidewalks Technique - Everything You Need to Know Before Cooking with Salt Pork

Crispy Cubes of Fried Salt Pork

I remember growing up in the Boston area and salt pork was a staple in the kitchen. If my mother was frying fish she would render the salt pork and fry a nice piece of fresh haddock rolled in corn meal in the rendered fat. Just doesn't taste the same in vegetable oil. And the best part of it was the crunchy, salty little pork bits that were on the side of the fish. Delicious! So whether it's Boston Baked Beans, New England Clam Chowder or fried fish, you really need to start using salt pork.

Salt Pork Package

1. What is Salt Pork? >>

2. Selecting Salt Pork >>

3. Preparing Salt Pork >>

4. Cooking with Salt Pork >>

5. Frying Salt Pork >>

6. Summary - Creating Your Recipe >>

1. What is Salt Pork?

Salt pork is similar to bacon in its appearance. It can be made from the pork side, the pork belly or the fatback of the pig which is the layer of fat under the skin on the back of the pig. Most readily available salt pork is made from pork belly which will produce a product that is a combination of meat and fat to mostly fat.

Salt pork is similar to bacon in that both are salt cured first but with salt pork, that's the end of the process. Bacon is further cured and smoked giving it a completely different flavor. Salt pork is more similar to pancetta which is the Italian version of bacon and is sold in rolls. Pancetta typically has more meat than salt pork and is cured with salt and herbs to give it a different flavor.

Experiment with salt pork, bacon and pancetta and see which flavor profile you like best. And each certainly has it's place in the kitchen and in your recipes. Salt pork is a very traditional ingredient in New England recipes like Boston Baked Beans and New England Clam chowder.

2. Selecting Salt Pork

There are three variables to consider when selecting salt pork. First, and maybe the least important because in most cases this is decided for you, is the cut of the pork; whether it is from the side, the belly or the back. Second is the quality of the pork; whether it is from a large commercial manufacturer or an artisanal producer, whether it has been treated with chemicals, what it has been fed and generally how it lived its life. Third is the curing method; whether it is cured with salt crystals or brining liquid and whether it contains sodium nitrite or curing salt which is what gives it the distinctive red color.

I don't think you need to go crazy in your hunt for salt pork unless you really have a preference for artisanal products. The traditionally salt cured artisanal product will have a stronger flavor and the meat will be a brownish color. You will also be able to feel the salt when you remove it from the package. The more readily available commercial products will have that reddish color to the meat that looks more like bacon and there will be no salt crystals present on the product.

I encourage you to try the different cuts and sources of salt pork in your recipes. It may be considered an acquired taste but once you learn how to incorporate it, you will be glad you did.

Cutting Up Artisan Salt Pork

Commercially Brined Salt Pork

3. Preparing Salt Pork

Salt pork usually comes in block form but sometimes will be sold already sliced like bacon. If you are using commercially brined salt pork and you don't see or feel any visible salt on the product it is ready for use. If you are using an artisanal product and it has salt on the outside, you can rinse the salt off before using it. Some people will soak it or parboil it, especially if it is the featured part of the dish and is not being used as a background flavor.

Next you need to decide whether you want it sliced or cubed and how thick you want those pieces. Once you have it cut up you are ready to get cooking.

4. Cooking with Salt Pork

Salt pork is used in one of three ways. You can use it to render fat as the basis for sauteing vegetables at the start of a dish. You can put it into a dish like beans where it will add fat and flavor during the cooking process. And last, in the past people used to cure the salt pork as a means of preservation and then use it as a main dish. If you are going to do this I would recommend that you start with plain pork belly and cure or marinate it yourself. So for purposes of this discussion we will focus on frying it and using it in cooked dishes.

When you fry salt pork just as you would bacon, there will be two byproducts from the cooking process. Rendered fat left in the pan, and the bits or slices of salt pork that will be salty, crispy, golden in color and delicious. The rendered fat will add tremendous flavor to any dish you are making such as clam chowder. And speaking of clam chowder, serve it with oyster crackers and the little bits of salt pork. It will make the dish very special.

Frying Salt Pork Cubes

If you are adding the salt pork to a dish like baked beans or black eyed peas, you will want to prepare it in large cubes or strips. Add it right in with all the other ingredients, or just in the water if you are boiling green beans, and it will add a lot of flavor and a velvety texture to the dish.

Boston Baked Beans with Salt Pork

5. Frying Salt Pork

Here's what you do to fry salt pork.

Cut the salt pork into 1/4 - 3/8 inch cubes
Add them to a heavy bottom pot, preferably the pot in which you will be making the recipe
Turn the heat to medium high
Fry the cubes until the fat is rendered and the cubes are crispy, like bacon
Remove the cubes with a slotted spoon and place on a plate lined with a paper towel, reserve for later use
Continue your recipe using the rendered fat in the pan

Drain Salt Pork Cubes on Paper Towels

Summary

So however you decide to use salt pork in your recipes, experiment with it and enjoy it!

Check out the BostonSidewalks recipe for New England Clam Chowder where we use salt pork for rendered fat and for the little cracklings to use as a garnish to the chowder. Or maybe try the Boston Baked Beans where we use it to flavor and add texture to the dish.

Print this recipe with the Ingredients only.

Print this recipe with the Instructions and Summary.

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John W. -- May 30, 2022 12:48 pm

My mother also cooked with salt pork. Great flavor enhancer and a really nice alternative in between bacon and pancetta. Well done.

anton kirnyczuk -- January 30, 2022 10:41 pm

salt pork as a side with my pyrohi

Bob -- December 6, 2021 2:41 pm

Haha, I love crispy bacon. Nothing worse than limp bacon. But that points out the beauty of food and cooking. Make it how you like it but don't ever assume that's the best way or the only way. Enjoy!

Sambo -- December 6, 2021 1:31 pm

Bacon should not actually be 'crispy'.

Deb Brown -- June 18, 2021 10:44 am

My grandmother-in-law used rendered salt pork fat to fry her latkes. Indescribably delicious doesn’t even come close.

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Bob Briggs -- November 15, 2020 11:58 am

Janet, that sounds interesting. Did she saute the salt pork first to crisp it up or just cook it with the onions or did she just mix it all with the tomato sauce and cook it down that way? And the cheese and bacon on top is definitely different. Cincinnati chile has cheese on top along with a bunch of optional toppings but that is the only other place I have heard of it. I have a recipe for that I will be posting in the near future. Thanks for sharing with us.

Bob Briggs -- November 15, 2020 11:54 am

Beej, I have never cooked with meatless salt pork but did a little research and as I suspected it is salted fat back. Salt pork is made from pork belly which is basically the same thing as bacon but it is cured/smoked differently. I did fine a place online that sells salted fat back. It is called Ukranian Style Cured and Salted Back Fat Chunk and it sells for $12.99 for an 18 oz package. It is sold by food4cheap.com and here is a link. https://www.food4cheap.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=407

Janet smith -- November 15, 2020 9:47 am

My Great Grandmother, out of Annopolis, passed down a recipe to mix with elbow noodles. Salt pork, onions, green peppers, garlic, several jarred hot peppers . Add a lg can tomato juice, and a bouquet garne of pickling spices. Cook down , remove spice bag. Press sauce through a fine sieve. Mix some with noodle, top with cheddar cheese and crispy bacon. I've never met anyone who has heard of this. It's still a family favorite.

Carol Rae Bradford -- November 15, 2020 5:50 am

PLEASE! WHERE CAN I PURCHASE SALT PORIK, PURE WHITE, WITHOUT THE MEAT OR BEACON RUNNING THROUOGH IT. I MOST RECENTLY BOT IT AT WHOLE FOODS, BUT THEY DON'T CARRY IT ANYMORE. I LIVE IN SOMERVILLE, MA, NEAR CAMBRIDGE. I HOPE THAT YOU CAN LOCATE IT FOR ME. CAROL BRADFORD So important to my cooking Chowdere and Baked Beans. Don't like the bacon taste in those dishes.

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Beej -- September 21, 2020 8:57 pm

My remembering Skrafky... most likely spelled wrong Fried cubes used for sauteed beet greens Or in mashed potatoes smothered in kapusta

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Tom -- September 24, 2019 10:43 pm

My Polish grandmother fried up salt pork and onions and poured over boiled potatoes. My mother used salt pork as the fat base in spaghetti sauce. You gotta try it, You'll like it better than olive oil.

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Barb -- August 4, 2019 6:33 pm

Salt pork cooked and then mixed with potatoes cooked in the rendered fat. Very good.

darthgarlic -- June 29, 2019 1:27 pm

My grandpa ate tons of salt pork and only lived to 82. Well I have to mention he was hit by a car. Not kidding He also outlived 7 doctors that told him to eat healthier.

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Krizzywick. -- May 11, 2018 6:59 pm

I'm also a Boston raised citizen of Polish decent. My mother used salt pork for everything. She would fry it up and put it in her Beet Soup. She would save some for later and put it in the mashed potatoes, as a side dish. You would think that salt pork was a recipe for clogged arteries. My mom lived to 98 yrs.

Rob -- November 4, 2017 4:17 pm

For the benefit of all, and especially the many Newfoundland descendants living in the "Boston States" (as we say), these wonderful bits of fish-exhaulting salty crunchy fried pork are properly called "scrunchions".

Ben -- October 28, 2017 7:33 pm

The fried cubes of salt pork are also great on hot dogs. Natural casing hot dogs with onions saut

kika -- April 3, 2017 12:45 am

Hi, and thanks for this article. I have known about salt pork since I was a kid reading books like the Little House stories, or Grapes Of Wrath, and I always asked for the buttery chunk of salt pork that used to be in cans of pork and beans. So I was excited to find some at my local (just the commercial variety, but since making my own Boston baked beans I am smitten and will be on the lookout for Neiman Ranch or other good quality salt pork). My question is this: when I thought to experiment, I tried cutting a slab into chunks to slowly render it, as you described, and the pieces did get brown and crispy, but instead of rendering, only a small amount of intensely salty liquid came out, and when the pieces were done, the liquid had evaporated, leaving a tasty pork-flavored salt sludge. Also the crispy pieces were inedibly salty, although I did find a use for them later. You don't mention blanching in your article, and I have not tried that yet. Why else would the fat not render out (and yes, it was a nice fatty piece)?

tony -- February 3, 2017 10:31 pm

I love bacon and beans and the dishes with frying breaded fish in the pork fat sound yummy, but im just wondering what all that fat does to your cholesterol?

Ginger Fink -- September 25, 2016 6:26 pm

I am using it for a broth for kale to flavor along with other sessonings

Mark -- September 15, 2016 10:15 pm

After an intense workout, I like to have slices of pan fried salt pork as a bacon replacement in an Elvis style sandwich. Crunchy Peanut Butter, Salt Pork, Banana and a little drizzle of honey. My Cardiologist sent me a Christmas card with a picture of his new Mercedies Benz...

Braxton -- September 8, 2016 9:49 pm

Thanks for recipe

QSis -- April 4, 2016 4:32 pm

I grew up with relatives on both sides of my family who used frequently used salt pork, in Boston Baked Beans and as garnish for pierogi, sauerkraut and many other great dishes. I have been complaining about the salt pork I've found in the supermarket over the past decade or so - it's what you are calling "Commercially brined" - that relatively lean, meaty stuff. I remember it being almost entirely pure white fat, with salt crystals on the surface, what you call "Artisan". Where are you finding the latter? Lee

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