Salted bacon is your secret ingredient for better soups and stews

If you've never heard of salt pork belly, let alone used it, it's time you learned how to incorporate it into your recipes. Salt pork belly is a time-honored ingredient (centuries old). There's an equally ancient tradition of using it to add a rich pork flavor and velvety texture to soups, stews, or even to enhance your canned beans. You can think of salt pork belly as bacon's saltier, less smoky cousin. Like bacon, salt pork belly typically comes from the belly of the pig and has plenty of fat that melts into the dish when cooked. The best part is, you don't need much to boost flavor and texture.

Salted pancetta is cured with salt or a saline solution, contains no added nitrates, and is not smoked like most bacon. Even though it's cured, store-bought salted pancetta should be refrigerated. The easiest way to incorporate it into soups and stews is to dice it and slowly render the fat in a pan. You can then cook vegetables in the rendered fat to create a flavorful soup or stew base with more body and a tender texture. If you can't find salted pancetta at your supermarket, salt-cured Italian pancetta is a good substitute, as is bacon, although its smoky flavor will be noticeable in the soup or stew.

How to incorporate salted bacon into your soup or stew recipes

If you buy salted bacon at the store, you shouldn't need to rinse it before using it. But keep in mind that it's salty, so you'll need to adjust the amount of salt to your liking. Some cooks soak salted bacon in water before cooking it, but for the method we recommend, it's not necessary. Cut the salted bacon into cubes and slowly render it in a skillet or saucepan with a little water. You'll get the fat, which you can use to sauté or stir-fry vegetables. You'll also get crunchy, flavorful bits that you can use as a garnish for your soups or stews.

For example, you can incorporate salt bacon into our basic herbed tomato and vegetable soup, using the fat to cook the onions, garlic, and carrots. You can then garnish the soup with the crispy bits of salt bacon. Similarly, one of the five traditional French mother sauces, tomato sauce, begins by softening onions, carrots, and celery in melted salt bacon. This sauce can be used as the base for a delicious tomato soup. Traditional New England clam chowder also uses this technique, as do some potato casserole recipes. Incorporating salt bacon into your soups and stews doesn't require much effort, and the result is definitely worth it.