Salt Pork

Salt-cured pork belly adds wonderfully to the flavour of many dishes, like clam chowder and boeuf bourguignon.

You need to blanch it, or whatever you're cooking will come out far too salty.

Place the chunk of salt pork in a pot of cold water and bring it to a boil.

Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let it sit for 4–5 minutes.

Remove the pork from the water and discard the water.

Lately I've noticed some butchers are selling salt pork without the skin. If yours lacks the skin, you can ignore the instructions on removing it.

When it's cool enough to handle, place it skin-side down on a cutting board and cut down to but not through the skin, making slices the size you want for your recipe. Then place your knife parallel to the cutting board and slice the meat off the skin. Cut the resulting pieces further as necessary.

Now you are ready to start on your recipe.