If you’ve ever cooked with a ham bone or other pork bones to add flavor to soups and stews, you may have encountered bacon bones before. But what exactly are bacon bones, and where do they come from on the pig? This guide will cover everything you need to know about the origins and uses of bacon bones.
What Part of the Pig Do Bacon Bones Come From?
Bacon bones come from the pork belly, which is the fatty area of the pig that also produces bacon. Pork belly is located on the underside of the pig’s body, running from the lower chest to the hips.
The pork belly contains layers of fat and lean meat. When the belly is cured and smoked, it becomes bacon. Small pieces of the cured pork belly are sold as bacon bones.
- Bacon bones come from the pork belly
- The pork belly runs along the bottom of the pig’s torso
- Curing and smoking the pork belly produces bacon
- Bacon bones are bits of cured pork belly
While you may picture ribs when you hear “bacon bones,” the bones are not actually ribs. They come from the meaty bacon portion instead.
How Are Bacon Bones Produced?
To transform a raw pork belly into smoky, flavorful bacon bones, the meat goes through a multi-step process:
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Curing The pork belly is rubbed with a mixture of salt, sugars, and spices It cures for up to 2 weeks
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Smoking: After curing, the pork belly is smoked over a fire containing hardwoods like hickory or apple. Smoking can last for hours or days.
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Cooking: The bacon is cooked either by smoking, baking, or pan-frying to desired doneness.
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Slicing: Once cooled, the bacon is sliced into pieces. The small irregular chunks are sold as bacon bones.
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Packaging: Bacon bones are vacuum sealed or frozen for distribution to stores and consumers.
The curing and smoking processes are essential for developing the signature bacon flavors and preserving the meat. Without these steps the pork would not have the salty smoky taste and extended shelf life of bacon.
Why Use Bacon Bones for Cooking?
While you won’t eat bacon bones plain, they add tons of flavor when used in recipes like:
- Beans
- Soups
- Stews
- Lentils
- Pot roasts
- Other braised meats
As the bacon bones simmer, the fat and collagen slowly melt out, creating a rich broth. The smoky aroma permeates the whole dish. Bones must be removed before eating.
Bacon bones give a deeper, porkier taste compared to other pork bones. The extra fat also carries more flavor. Plus, no extra work is needed to cure and smoke them yourself!
Where to Buy Bacon Bones
Finding bacon bones requires a trip to a specialty butcher or meat market. Due to their irregular size and shape, they are not suitable for standard packaging. Look for them in the fresh meat case or ask the butcher.
Well-stocked meat markets like:
- Whole Foods
- Fresh Market
- Local butcher shops
May carry smoked bacon bones for sale. You can also order them online through meat delivery services like Rastelli’s.
Expect to pay $3 to $5 per pound. A little goes a long way for flavoring dishes, so you only need a small quantity.
How to Cook With Bacon Bones
To infuse maximum bacon essence into your dish, follow these easy tips:
- Simmer bones for 1-2 hours in liquid to dissolve collagen and fat
- Use 2-4 ounces of bones per serving of soup or beans
- Add any leftover meat back into the pot
- Discard bones before serving
- Skim excess fat from the surface
Try bacon bones in favorites like:
- Split pea and ham soup
- Bacon and lentil soup
- Smoky baked beans
- Cabbage soup
The smoky pork notes will add incredible depth and satisfaction!
Can You Eat Bacon Bones?
While boiling bacon bones makes a wonderfully flavored broth, the bones themselves are not intended for consumption. Eating the actual bones would pose a choking hazard and provide little nutritional value.
However, any bits of meat left on the bones can be shredded off and incorporated back into soups or stews after cooking. This reclaims every morsel of tasty bacon!
The bones themselves should be discarded before serving the final dish. Be sure to pick out all fragments to avoid accidentally ingesting any hard pieces.
Discover New Flavor with Bacon Bones
Home cooks looking to put a new spin on classic pork-accented dishes should give bacon bones a try. By simmering these smoky bones in soups and bean pots, you can infuse incredible savory flavor without extra steps. Just let the bacon essence melt out, then toss the bones before serving. Bacon bones offer an easy shortcut to peak porkiness!
bacon bones and cabbage I love this
FAQ
What part of the pig is bacon bits?
Can you get bones in bacon?
What part of the body is the bacon?
Where do bacon ribs come from?
What are bacon bones?
Bacon bones are a type of bone that comes from the pork belly. These bones are cured and smoked to create bacon, and they are often used to flavor soups, stews, and other dishes.
What is bacon & how is it made?
Before diving into the origins of bacon, let’s define what bacon actually is. Bacon is a type of salt-cured pork that can be made from various cuts of the pig, most commonly from the belly. It’s typically sliced thin, then either pan-fried, baked, or grilled until it achieves that irresistible crispy texture.
How do you cook bacon bones?
There are several ways to cook bacon bones, but the most common method is to simmer them in a pot of water or broth. Here’s a step-by-step guide: 1. Start by heating a tablespoon of oil in a soup pot over high heat. Add the bacon bones and brown them on all sides. This will help to enhance their flavor. 2.
Where does the word bacon come from?
In fact, the word “bacon” itself has ancient origins, derived from the Old High German word “bacho,” which means “buttock.” This linguistic connection highlights that bacon has a long history of being made from different cuts of pork, including the belly.