Like some actors, some meat cuts are suited for supporting roles. Inelegant cuts, like pork neck bones, are rarely the focal point of a meal because they lack the allure of sizzling steaks or juicy roasts. Instead, rich flavor and body are added to a variety of traditional slow-cooked meals using these obstinately tough and bony pieces. Similar to smoked hocks, smoked neck bones can serve as the flavoring for hearty soups, bean dishes, or slow-cooked greens cooked in the manner of the South.
A piece of smoked pork serves as the flavorful foundation for a variety of soups from around the world. Common choices include smoked hocks and ham bones, but the neck may be the best of all. Natural collagen is abundant in its heavy bones, thick cords of connective tissue, and dense muscles, giving your broth a rich mouthfeel and body. Put the pork neck in a pot and simmer it for several hours with onions, celery, or other flavorings to taste. Remove the frosted fat from the top of the chilled broth after straining it. Use the succulent neck meat you removed from the bones in your soup or other dish.
Even though legumes like peas, beans, and lentils are delicious and incredibly healthy on their own, they have a remarkable affinity for pork flavor. Your favorite dish of lentils, black-eyed peas, navy beans, garbanzo beans, or even slow-cooked green beans is completely transformed when you add a few pieces of neck bone. The neck bones’ rich, smoky pork flavor will permeate your beans, and their collagen will enhance and slightly thicken the broth. Once the meat is tender, shred it from the bones and either add it back to the pot or save it for a later meal.
Long, slow cooking benefits tough greens like kale, collards, and cabbage because it breaks down their relatively tough fibers and makes them meltingly tender. The greens up the ante by being added to a pot that already has smoked neck bones simmering, giving the greens’ cooking liquid rich body and enhancing the flavor of the greens. That liquid, or “pot liquor,” is a cherished side benefit. The meal is complete when the pot liquor is mopped up with some cornbread, and the leftovers are great for cooking rice or vegetables.
In the European tradition, smoked neck bones often accompany sauerkraut. After extensive, slow cooking, the pickled cabbage’s sharp tang and crunch give way to a smooth flavor and tender texture; once more, the neck bones add both richness and flavor. Several other types of fresh and smoked meats are typically added throughout the cooking process, along with caraway seeds or juniper berries, in deluxe versions of the dish, known in French as “choucroute garnie.”
Water 2-3 inches deep should be used to cover the neck bones. Allow the water to boil for 15 minutes while skimming the foam from the surface. Then, reduce the heat, cover the pot, and let the meat simmer for an hour. Add some vegetables to the pot after the pork is done cooking, and cook for an additional 20 minutes.
How To Prepare Smoked Neck Bones for Cooking
No matter which method you use, there are a few steps you must take before cooking pork neck bones that will guarantee a deliciously flavorful and well-balanced final product.
Are Smoked Neck Bones Already Cooked?
Technically, when the neck bones are smoked, they have already been cooked.
When they are fresh, they can usually be eaten as is, but as they age, the meat gets tougher and eventually has a texture that is very unpleasant.