For many cultures around the world, salt pork is a beloved ingredient that adds a unique savory flavor to many indigenous dishes. And in Louisiana, it’s a favorite in everything from red beans and black eye peas to cassoulet. But what exactly is salt pork? And what does it bring to the table?

What is Salt Pork?

Salt pork refers to heavily salted slabs of pork belly, pork shoulder, or other fatty cuts. The meat is rubbed with salt or submerged in a salt brine, which preserves the meat and infuses it with concentrated flavor.

The History of Salt Pork

The use of salt pork traces back to Europe in the Middle Ages, when salting and curing meats was an essential preservation technique. The practice spread around the globe as Europeans explored and colonized other continents. In the Caribbean, West Africa, and the United States, salt pork became a culinary tradition in New England dishes like Boston baked beans and clam chowder, and in the South, in staple dishes like beans, peas, and greens.

How to Use Salt Pork

Imparting flavor and fat into bean and blackeye pea dishes, salt pork adds body and a silky texture to stewed and slow-simmering favorites, thickening and enriching the cooking liquid. Traditional southern dishes like BBQ Beans and Field Peas with Snap Beans feature salt pork for its signature flavor.

The Difference Between Salt Pork and Bacon

Salt pork and bacon are both made from pork belly, salted to cure the meat, and available in slabs or sliced. But unlike bacon, salt pork is not smoked and contains substantially more fat. It also costs less! And since it has more fat, the collagen that’s released from salt pork during cooking melts into beans and other slowly simmered dishes, giving them amazing richness and texture. Salt pork can be used as one large piece, cut into cubes, or diced, depending on the recipe.

The Difference Between Salt Pork and Pickled Pork

Another common question is, what’s the difference between salt pork and pickled pork? While both salt pork and pickled pork are favorites in slow-cooked dishes like beans, pickled pork is cured with salt and then brined in vinegar, spices, and seasonings, providing a tangy flavor in addition to the saltiness. Salt pork is cured with just salt, and no other seasonings are involved.

Here’s what home cooks say when asked about the secret to their red beans:

“Sometimes cook with pickle and salt pork, or mild smoke sausage, also some people use bacon.”- Roxanne F.

“Salt pork!”- Wade L.

“I use the trinity, salt pork, smoked or regular turkey necks, Tony’s, and that’s about all. I will try the crab boil.”- Saja M.

“I’ve been cooking Camellia red beans for 55 years. I use onion, garlic, bacon fat and salt pork. If I can’t get salt pork, I use pickle meat. I taste the beans before I add salt.”- Eunette B.

Mosquito Supper Club in New Orleans. Photo excerpted from Mosquito Supper Club by Melissa Martin (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2020. Photographs by Denny Culbert.

Authentic Cajun cooking in Uptown New Orleans

The Cajun cuisine of Louisiana is many things. The central Louisiana “Cajun prairie” area is known for its boudin (a spicy sausage typically containing ground pork, rice, onion, parsley, green peppers, and plenty of Cajun spices) and smoked meats, among other inland delicacies.

Coastal South Louisiana Cajun communities, however, are known for their seafood – briny oysters, fat jumbo shrimp, tender soft-shell crab, flavorful redfish. But according to New Orleans chef and restaurateur Melissa Martin’s experience (she grew up in a South Louisiana fishing village) those seafood delights weren’t typically the main course in coastal Cajun homes – they were more like sides, albeit spectacular ones. The main course was, more often than not, a large plate of beans and rice seasoned with salt pork. And lucky for us, just such a plate of Cajun beans and rice is often featured on the menu at Mosquito Supper Club, Martin’s cosy, family-style New Orleans restaurant.

Chasing a flavor…

Housed in a charming, circa 1898 Victorian house on Dryades Street in the Milan neighborhood of Uptown New Orleans, Mosquito Supper Club is a casual, homespun showcase for the exquisite coastal Cajun cooking that Martin learned “by osmosis” from the elder women in her family. Says Martin in her beautifully photographed book of coastal Cajun recipes entitled Mosquito Supper Club: Cajun Recipes From A Disappearing Bayou, “I was inspired by the food that I grew up eating in the tiny fishing village of Chauvin, Louisiana. Women cooked the food and recipes and techniques were passed down as if through an apprenticeship; by watching, learning and doing, and by chasing a flavor. I wanted to share that food with anyone who wanted to take a seat at our tables.” As for chasing a flavor, she explains, “When you have memories from your childhood, of certain tastes and smells, and you try it out and adjust it until it matches your memory and gives you the feeling that those memories bring, and you know it’s right – that’s chasing a flavor.”

Mosquito Supper Club White Beans & Rice. Recipe and photo are excerpted from Mosquito Supper Club by Melissa Martin (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2020. Photographs by Denny Culbert.

White beans the Cajun way

The menu changes daily at Mosquito Supper Club, and it’s always memorable. Guests are seated family style (right next to strangers who soon become friends), at long tables of handcrafted reclaimed wood, as Martin and her staff bring out wine, fresh-baked biscuits, and platters and bowls of authentic coastal Cajun food made with incredibly fresh seafood, meat and produce. Expect to dive into lots of delicious, with menu items like duck gumbo, oyster bisque, crab claws marinated in cane vinegar, fried soft-shell crabs, shrimp jambalaya, stuffed crawfish heads, and, of course, Martin’s Mosquito Supper Club White Beans. Martin uses Camellia Navy Beans and seasons them “the way Cajuns do” with salt pork and both black and cayenne pepper. Martin graciously shares her family’s Monday Red Beans & Rice recipe, too, although it’s not featured on her restaurant’s menu.

“My mother swore by Camellia Beans”

“White beans, red beans, lima beans – beans are a staple in the Cajun pantry,” says Martin. And she adds, “My mother swore by Camellia beans.” From her mother, Martin learned how to measure the quality of a pack of dried beans: “She taught me that when you go to soak beans, if they’re fresh they will wrinkle quickly.”

Prepping for a busy shift at Mosquito Supper Club. Photo is excerpted from Mosquito Supper Club by Melissa Martin (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2020. Photographs by Denny Culbert.

Five-plus courses of authentic Cajun delicious

Mosquito Supper Club offers a five (or more) course meal plus wine and cocktails for dinner several nights a week, plus a Sunday brunch with the added delight of extra baked goods, brunch menu items such as raw oysters and eggs topped with caviar, and being able to bask in the warm sunlight that filters into the charming, slightly rustic dining area of this 19th century former residence. While the menus change, one thing remains the same: each dish is prepared thoughtfully, with the best and freshest ingredients, inspired by generations of home cooking in the coastal fishing villages of South Louisiana.

Salt pork, ready to season a pot of Cajun-style beans. Photo is excerpted from Mosquito Supper Club by Melissa Martin (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2020. Photographs by Denny Culbert.

Raised on her family’s farm in Mississippi and classically trained as a chef at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France, Chef Jennifer Hill Booker puts an authentic, interesting twist on even the most humble pot of beans. And the recipes featured here from her cookbook Field Peas to Foie Gras: Southern Recipes with a French Accent are a testament to her skill and ingenuity. Combining what at first glance might seem like two disparate types of cuisine — Southern and French — she has found a way to celebrate their similarities, by incorporating nose-to-tail cooking and using every part of the pig. Featuring such richness-producing cuts as hog jowls, ham bones, salt pork, and ham hocks, these savory recipes don’t let anything go to waste and are loaded with flavor. And with the addition of garlic, onion and dried red chili peppers, they create welcoming meals for family suppers and friendly get-togethers alike.

Butter Beans & Hog Jowls

Chef Booker notes that her delicious Butter Beans & Hog Jowls dish gets its richness from the bacon-like flavor but firmer texture of hog jowl. From the cheek area of the hog, hog jowl can be used fresh, cured or smoked and remains firm during long cook times. As she explains the Southern-French connection, “Beans and greens are a huge staple in Southern cuisine and cooked in much the same way here as they are in French cuisine. Whether the beans you use are fresh, frozen or dried, they are cooked the same way — by adding a liquid, a cured or smoked piece of meat for flavoring, and seasoning.” With Butter Beans & Hog Jowls, the broth becomes thicker the longer you simmer the beans, and the dish is even more heavenly when served with cornbread.

Great Northern Beans & Ham

Great Northern Beans & Ham is another of Booker’s favorites, and its wonderful flavor comes from the use of both a ham bone and diced ham. The marrow hidden inside a ham bone adds amazing richness to the dish and melts into silky goodness when slow-simmered. And the diced ham is a meaty addition that makes the meal hearty and comforting in every way. Serve with melty grilled cheese on sourdough for an irresistible combination.

Pinto Beans & Ham Hocks

Pinto Beans & Ham Hocks is a dish that’s savory and satisfying, and the ham hock imparts marrow-rich flavor that enhances the beans. Chef Booker explains, “The longer you cook your pinto beans, the thicker the sauce or “gravy” will become. I find it best to cook them a day or two before you plan to serve them, and refrigerate until you are ready to reheat and serve. This guarantees a thick, rich pot of beans.” For a little color and freshness, garnish with chopped spring onions, or top with sour cream, shredded cheese, chopped red onion and bits of bacon for even smokier flavor.

Field Peas & Snap Beans

Made with salt pork, Field Peas & Snap Beans epitomizes both down home goodness and Booker’s childhood experience. Like bacon, salt pork is made from pork bellies and adds great meaty flavor and luxurious fat — slowly rendering down as the peas cook. As for the addition of snap beans, Chef Booker notes: “It doesn’t matter if you start with fresh, frozen or dried field peas, they always turn a muddy color when they’re cooked. It made me realize that my grandmother always added snap beans (or string beans) to her pot of peas to provide a bright spot of color.” To round out the meal and feed a hungry crowd, try serving alongside a slew of toasted ham and cheese sliders.

For more recipes from Chef Booker, check out Field Peas to Foie Gras: Southern Recipes with a French Accent. You’ll find more savory Southern dishes like Tomato and Okra Gravy, Glazed Turnips with Pearl Onions and Brown Butter, Fresh Pork Sausage, Hickory-Smoked Chicken Croquettes and Venison Stew.