How to Make Salt Pork

By
Leda Meredith
Leda Meredith
Leda Meredith
Leda Meredith is a food writer and certified botanist who has written five books on foraging and preserving food.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 08/30/21
Salt pork recipe

The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Curing time: 48 hrs
Total: 48 hrs 10 mins
Servings: 10 to 12 servings

Simply put, salt pork is pork that is salt cured. This homemade salt pork is more flavorful than the store-bought version, and it's very simple and inexpensive to make. Using only four ingredients, with the main ingredient being pork belly, this recipe takes only 10 minutes of your time to prep. It's then followed by a curing time of 48 hours before you can use it.

We have provided a section below the recipe to get you started enjoying your own homemade version of salt pork. Frying up some salt pork is the essential first step in making classic seafood or corn chowders.

Ingredients

  • 10 ounces kosher salt, or other non-iodized salt

  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar

  • 2 1/2 pounds boneless pork belly, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Salt pork ingredients

    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

  2. Combine the salt and sugar. Rub the pork belly slices with some of the salt and sugar mixture.

    Pork and salt-sugar mixture

    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

  3. Spread a layer of the sugar and salt mixture on the bottom of a glass, ceramic, or stainless steel container. Place a layer of pork belly slices on top.

    Spread salt-sugar mixture on pork slices

    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

  4. Sprinkle the pork slices with a little more of the salt and sugar mixture.

    Sprinkle more salt-sugar on pork slices

    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

  5. Add another layer of pork slices and then the salt-sugar mixture.

    Pork slices covered with another level of sugar-salt mixture

    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

  6. Continue adding layers of pork belly slices, sprinkling each layer with the salt and sugar mixture.

    Added layers of salt-sugar on pork belly

    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

  7. Cover and refrigerate. The salt pork will be cured and ready to use in two days. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to a year (it is still safe to eat after this, but the flavor declines).

    Cover and refrigerate in plastic wrap to cure

    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

How to Use Salt Pork

  1. To use, rinse off the salt pork slices. Pat them dry with a paper towel or clean cloth.

  2. Cut into cubes or small strips.

  3. Cook over low heat until most of the fat is rendered out.

  4. Sauté a chopped onion in the rendered salt pork fat, and you're well on your way to making great chowder.

  5. Enjoy.

Tips

Here are some suggestions for how to use all that salt pork you just made:

Boston Baked Beans

Cuban White Beans Soup

Legal Seafood's Clam Chowder

Molasses Baked Beans With Salt Pork

Southern Style Turnip Greens

How to Store Salt Pork

Salt pork can last four to five months refrigerated and even longer (double that length of time) if frozen. However you store it, be sure to wrap it well so that it's sealed.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
297 Calories
20g Fat
5g Carbs
22g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 10 to 12
Amount per serving
Calories 297
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 20g 26%
Saturated Fat 7g 37%
Cholesterol 79mg 26%
Sodium 9245mg 402%
Total Carbohydrate 5g 2%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Total Sugars 5g
Protein 22g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 49mg 4%
Iron 1mg 5%
Potassium 229mg 5%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)