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Yield: 1 cured hog jowl

SALT PORK

Salt pork is made by curing chunks of pork with a dry cure or in a brine. Making salt pork is the perfect use for the trimmings from a pork belly or pork shoulder.

Salt pork was one of the most important cured items in Europe, especially so in the age of great exploration because, properly handled, it would last in its brine for up to two years (or even longer, according to some sources) at room temperature. When the cook wanted to use it, he simply removed a piece from its brine, soaked it in water, and simmered it long and slow. Today salt pork is rarely used by itself, but it is a key seasoning in traditional clam chowders and a flavoring ingredient in many stews and braises.

You can preserve the pork in just kosher salt and sugar but without pink salt, it won’t have the same rosy color or cured flavor. When making bacon or pancetta, it’s always good to square off the piece of belly for a neater finished appearance. If you square it off generously, you’ll have large pieces rich in fat for salt pork. Salt pork can also be smoked after it is cured. Stored in the freezer, chunks of salt pork are excellent for impromptu use in stews, soups, and bean dishes. Throw a chunk into your tomato sauce for spaghetti, and the sauce will acquire a richness that will surprise you.

Stored in a freezer bag or tightly sealed container in plenty of salt, salt pork will keep in your freezer for at least a year, but because it may begin to pick up other odors after too much time, I find it’s best used within three or four months. And it’s true to its name, so when you use it in soups and stews, wait until the salt has dissolved into the cooking liquid before seasoning the dish.

Pork belly or boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch/5-centimeter chunks

Basic Dry Cure (page 39) necessary for dredging (about 1⁄2 cup/125 grams per pound/450 grams of meat)

1. Dredge the pieces of pork in enough cure to completely coat them (you’ll use about 2 tablespoons/25 grams or less per 1 pound/450 grams, but dredging the meat in plenty of dry cure ensures that the pieces will be uniformly coated).

2. Place the pieces in a nonreactive container. Cover and refrigerate for 6 days.

3. Toss the pieces of pork to ensure even distribution of the cure, cover, and refrigerate for 6 more days.

4. Rinse the meat thoroughly and pat dry. Refrigerate in a fresh Ziploc bag or tightly covered container for up to 3 weeks, or freeze for several months.

SALT COD

Cod was one of the most important preserved foods in early civilizations, in part because it could be preserved without salt, as the Vikings, who flourished between the eighth and tenth centuries, discovered. This was a significant discovery, because the Vikings didn’t have access to large quantities of salt: air-dried cod provided them with vital nourishment on their long journeys. When the Basques discovered cod (perhaps introduced to them by Vikings), they salted it, and salted dried cod lasted even longer than cod that had simply been air dried.

Salt does the same thing to cod as it does to pork: it reduces its water content and creates an inhospitable environment for the bacteria that could spoil that flesh. Pink salt (sodium nitrite) is not used to salt cod, but the fish is dried after being cured.

Salt cod stacked on tables like lengths of tree bark is a typical sight in Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Caribbean markets. Commercial salt cod is available in America at specialty stores, but its quality varies. Salt cod must always be soaked for at least a day in a few changes of water to remove the salt and rehydrate the flesh. When it is reconstituted, the texture is denser and the flavor is more concentrated than those of fresh cod. To be blunt, fresh cod has a neutral, even bland flavor; salt cod has great taste.

The reason to salt your own cod rather than to buy it is to enjoy a much fresher, more succulent piece of fish, one that’s good enough to serve whole as a