Best Substitute for Salt Pork in Cassoulet

Question

Hi Team Milk Street!
With everything going on, I've been trying to tackle some of my white whale cooking projects. Just made my first sourdough loaf from my own starter; now, on to cassoulet. The problem: I can't seem to find salt pork at any of the grocery stores or local meat markets for delivery. (I'm planning on making Kenji's recipie: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/10/traditional-french-cassoulet-recipe.html)
Any suggestions for substitutions or places I should be checking (digitally, of course, for delivery) in LA? Can I use Lardons instead, or smoked ham hocks? Or should I track down some pork belly and make my own salt pork?
Thank you!!!
-Michael

April Dodd · Accepted Answer

Michael, we're so happy to hear that you're using this time to tackle some big cooking projects. I'm not surprised to hear that you're having trouble finding salt pork; it has fallen somewhat out of favor these days. You could certainly use pancetta (rolled, not sliced like bacon) as a stand-in; it's similarly salty but has a slightly higher meat:fat ratio than salt pork does. I'd recommend that over lardons or smoked ham hocks, which can be quite intensely smoky and overwhelm the other flavors in a cassoulet. For ease, I'd go with the pancetta, but if you make your own salt pork, more power to you! - April D.

Best Substitute for Salt Pork in Cassoulet

Have a question for Milk Street experts?

Join the conversation