Southern chicken and okra gumbo with salt pork, fresh tomatoes, and hot pepper, served over fluffy white rice. A slow-simmered Plains-style gumbo with deep, smoky flavor.
Maine clam chowder simmers ground clams with salt pork, onions, and potatoes, finished with evaporated milk. Old-fashioned New England chowder with deep coastal flavor.
New Orleans-style red beans and rice slow-simmered with salt pork, the holy trinity, hot sauce, and Worcestershire. A Cajun Monday tradition from dried beans.
Cajun red beans and rice slow-simmered with salt pork, bell pepper, celery, garlic, and a whole hot pepper. Old-school Louisiana comfort food with a thick, creamy bean gravy.
Spaghetti all'Amatriciana with salt pork, sieved tomatoes, white wine, chili pepper, and pecorino Romano. A classic Roman pasta sauce with smoky, spicy, tangy depth.
Pigeon Forge pintos, a Tennessee-style baked bean with pinto beans, salt pork, molasses, brown sugar, and dry mustard slow-baked for 6 to 8 hours. Smoky Mountain comfort in a bean pot.
Traditional slow cooker baked beans made from dried white beans with molasses, brown sugar, salt pork, and Dijon mustard. Low and slow for 13 hours until thick and smoky.
Slow-baked navy beans layered with salt pork, smoked ham, onions, garlic, mustard, and a splash of rum. A rich, old-school baked bean recipe with Caribbean flair.
Oxtail is one of the most economical and most flavorful cuts of meat, and one that takes well to marinating for days in a hearty mixture of red wine, herbs, and vegetables. The longer you marinate the mixture, the more flavorful it will be, but be sure it marinates at least 3 days. Oxtail is also a fatty cut -- give yourself plenty of time to allow the stew to cook and then cool, so all the fat can be skimmed off. Serve this with thick noodles in warmed soup bowls, accompanied by a tossed salad, and of course, a robust red wine.
Slow cooker Southwestern beef and pinto beans with salt pork, red chili, cumin seeds, and tomato paste. Set it and forget it for 9-10 hours of hands-off cooking.
Macaroni and bean soup with white beans, salt pork, elbow pasta, and a tomato-beef broth base. An Italian-American pasta e fagioli cousin with a hearty two-hour simmer for deep flavor.
Hulled corn soup (Ai) is a traditional Native American dish made by nixtamalizing dried corn with hardwood ashes, then simmering with red kidney beans and salt pork for hours until tender.
Caldo Gallego: hearty Galician white bean stew with salt pork, ham bone, chorizo, potatoes, and collard greens. A slow-simmered Spanish comfort stew that warms you to the bone.
Arroz con pollo Puerto Rican style with chicken marinated overnight in adobo, sofrito, salt pork, ham, olives, capers, and peas, then simmered together into one golden pot.
New Orleans daube with a 4-5 pound beef roast braised low and slow with salt pork, sherry, cloves, and thyme, served sliced over spaghetti with pan juices.
Classic Boston baked beans with navy beans, salt pork, and molasses, slow-baked for six hours until thick and bronzed. The traditional New England Saturday-night supper.