Cooking the Civil War Salt Pork Ration

Simple Ways to Prepare the Salt Pork Ration

• Remove the salt layer, chop the ration, then soak in water
• Parboil the ration if you're short on time

Simple Ways to Cook the Salt Pork Ration

• Parboil it
• Boil it
• Bake it
• Fry it
• Broil it on a ramrod

For an in-depth guide on how to prepare and cook your salt pork ration, watch our video above.

Example Recipe for Cooking Salt Pork

This recipe comes from Capt. Egbert L. Viele in Handbook for Active Service , published in 1861.

In a very hot frying pan, melt some pork fat. Then fry the meat in the fat.
For seasoning, add a teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper for every pound of meat.
When cooked, set the meat aside in a dish. Add a pint of water to the remaining fat in the pan along with slices of onion or 2 teaspoons of vinegar. Thicken with flour to complete the gravy. Pour over your cooked ration and enjoy.

For other recipes on how to prepare and cook salt pork, download the guide for cooking salt pork here mentioned by Will in the video.

Don't know what to do with your leftover pork grease? Use it to make Hell Fire Stew!