This salted pork bone is an old school recipe that I was reminded of recently when my mother gave me several pounds of salted pork bones she’d made. Later, I cooked them into soup, and it was so delicious that we knew we had to share the recipe on the blog.
My mother, who is now 81, doesn’t have as much energy to cook these days, but she still makes salted pork bones. There’s not much to it! You simply take meaty pork neck bones, and salt them for 24 to 48 hours in the refrigerator.
Why Make Salted Pork Bones?
We’ve made many soups, stocks, and congee recipes with regular pork bones, so why bother salting them?
Well, salting them actually adds a lot more flavor. The meat tastes lightly cured, without being too ham-like. It’s kind of crazy how different the flavor can be after just 1 day of salting.
The pork bones my mother gave me were incredibly meaty. That’s what you want to find for this recipe. The ones we got the day we blogged this weren’t as meaty, so keep that in mind when you shop around!
Applications
We use salted pork bones in soups and congee.
Bill has shared his mother’s salted pork bone congee, but you can also use it in soup recipes like:
- Yan Du Xian (to replace the salted pork/ham and pork belly)
Tis the season for soup, so now is the time to try one of these recipes out! We will also soon be posting another simple recipe to use these salted pork bones, so be on the lookout for that.
When using these pork bones, you can blanch them before adding them to soups, or you can roast them (in the oven for 45 minutes at 400°F/200°C) or pan-fry them in oil until browned on all sides.
An Optional Ingredient
To elevate the flavor, I sometimes marinate pork neck bones with salt and Sichuan peppercorns.
I just cook the salt with a little bit of Sichuan peppercorns over medium low heat, until the salt turns a light golden color. Then I cool it down before adding it to the pork bones.
Tip!
Make a large batch, marinate it overnight, and then freeze individual portions for later use!
Recipe Instructions:
Soak pork bones in water for 1 to 2 hours. This helps remove blood and impurities before salting. After soaking, rinse them in fresh water a couple of times until the water runs clean. Drain and shake off excess water.
If you are using Sichuan peppercorns, cook salt and Sichuan peppercorns using medium heat for about 5 minutes until the salt turns a light golden color. Remove from the heat and cool completely. If you’re not using Sichuan peppercorns, you can skip this cooking step and just add the salt directly to the pork bones.
In a large bowl, evenly rub the pork bones in the salt (and the Sichuan peppercorns, if using). Cover and marinate for 24 to 48 hours in the refrigerator.
Before cooking:
If you are using these salted pork bones in a large pot of soup or congee, there is no need to rinse off the salt before cooking.
If making smaller batches of soup, it might be a good idea to rinse before cooking.
Also if you used Sichuan peppercorns, brush them off the pork bones before cooking them.
Chinese Salted Pork Bones
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pork neck bones (the meatier the better; cut into 2-inch/5cm thick pieces)
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns (optional)
Instructions
- Soak pork bones in water for 1 to 2 hours. This helps remove blood and impurities before salting. After soaking, rinse them in fresh water a couple of times until the water runs clean. Drain and shake off excess water.
- If using Sichuan peppercorns, cook salt and Sichuan peppercorns over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the salt turns a light golden color. Remove from the heat and cool completely. If you’re not using Sichuan peppercorns, you can skip this cooking step and just add the salt directly to the pork bones.
- In a large bowl, evenly rub the pork bones in the salt (and the Sichuan peppercorns, if using). Cover and marinate for 24 to 48 hours in the refrigerator.
Hi, Judy. Just checking, are you salting with kosher salt or regular table salt? Thanks!
We use sea salt for all our cookings :-)
Okay, great, thank you!
I did make these using Diamond Crystal kosher salt before I saw your reply. I used them in your Salted Pork Bone Soup recipe. It was delicious! It will save me the from having to make the trip to my favorite soup place in downtown Manhattan just to haul quarts of their stock back uptown. :)
Last question: I marinated them for 48 hrs before making the soup. The pork meat was super tender and juicy but the soup was a touch saltier that I’d prefer. If I had used sea salt and/or only marinated for 24 hrs, would the soup have been less salty? Would I be sacrificing the texture on the pork?
Thanks so much for your wonderful site *and* all the help you give!
Hi Marcy, try sea salt and rinse the salted pork bones a couple of times to get rid of some surface salt before cooking:-)
Do you still blanch the salted bones them when you make soup?
No Need as you will need a lot salt for a large pot of soup anyway :-)
When freezing part of a large batch for later use, do I need to wash or dust off the salt before freezing the remainder of the bones I’m not immediately cooking?
Hi, Nina, if you are using them to make soup, then there is no need to wash off the salt.
How much salt for a pound of pork neck bones. how much pepper corns
Hi Jim, you can scale the recipe in half (i.e. for 1 pound of pork neck bones) by clicking on the number of servings in the recipe card and then using the slider to scale the recipe down (or up, if you ever want to increase the amount). You can do this with any of our recipe cards!
Hi Jim, you can multiply or divide if you want to adjust our existing recipe :-)
I LOVE salted pork neck bones!! This is a common technique in Portugal too, for soups and as a bar snack.
I grew up eating vegetable soup loaded with kale, collards, and potatoes, plus some salted bones or Portuguese chorizo used as the main ‘seasoning’, at least three times a week.
The bar snack thing is fairly new. Seems in the last 10 years or so salted pork bones has become a popular bar snack in the Beira Alta region, where my parents are originally from.
I prefer my soup super simple – salted bones, water, and shredded Korean cabbage. I boil the bones until tender, then add the shredded cabbage just until lightly poached (I prefer the cabbage half raw). It’s incredible how flavourful these basic ingredients become.
Sounds really good, Viva. We all love vegetable with pork bone soup.
If not using these right away, is it ok to freeze them after salting?
Just saw your Tip about freezing.
Are lamb neck bones a substitute for people who abstain from pork?
I have to admit I’ve never tried to salt lamb bones, but I am sure it’s been done by someone somewhere.
Sometimes pork neck bones are tough to find or they are trimmed so much they don’t have much meat left on them. Can pork riblets cut into 4-bone strips be substituted? If doable, which would work better – meaty riblets or the not so meaty ones? Thank you!
Hi Gin, go with meaty ones :-)
It’s soup season.! Looks fantastic. I can’t wait to try!
Yes, it’s soup season :-)