Does your recipe call for a pork base? This article explains what it is, how it’s made and where to buy it.
While most are familiar with stocks and broths, this article explores the basics of bases— specifically pork. We’ll discuss how to use them, how to make them and where to buy them. So let’s start at the beginning:
What Is A Base
The most common stocks, broths and bases in the United States are typically beef or chicken. However, vegetables, seafood and pork are also frequently used to flavor a delicious finished soup or other dish. A base is a stock that is condensed down to a thick liquid, a paste or even a powder. A base gives food rich flavor.
Soups are some of the first dishes created by mankind and are still a staple in our diets. Traditionally, a pot would be filled with vegetables, meats and bones and then slow-cooked for hours and hours. With our busy lifestyles these days, we don’t usually have hours to wait for a soup to simmer and build flavor. Instead, we can use a base to quickly create a flavorful soup in minutes instead of hours.
A base can be used to flavor more than just soups. Our chefs and chefs in some of your favorite restaurants use bases to create things such as pasta, vegetable dishes, meat entrées, secret sauces and more.
What Is Pork Base Used In?
According to the USDA, pork is the most consumed meat in the world, followed by poultry and then beef. China is the largest consumer of pork, accounting for almost half of the global consumption. With this information, it should come as no surprise that pork base is an essential ingredient in Asian cuisine. Pork base can be used to make:
- Soups
- Pho
- Curries
- Noodles
- Dumplings
In the USA, we use pork base in a variety of recipes. Here are a few found on the better than bouillion pork base recipe page.
- Pasta
- Chili
- Stuffed mushrooms
- BLT sandwiches
- Gumbo
- Meaty entrees
- Stuffing
- Cassoulet
- Dips
How Do You Make Pork Base?
Pork base is made the same way as a beef or chicken base. You first need to make a stock, then season it to create a broth. Once you have a broth, continue to simmer and evaporate the liquid until it has been reduced to a base. A base has the texture and consistency of a thick paste.
The ingredients to make a stock include mirepoix (a mix of vegetables), an acid such as vinegar and pork bones. The mirepoix is traditionally carrots, celery and onions; however, in China, they also add ginger and sometimes garlic to this mix. The acid could be a tomato paste, citrus juice, wine or apple or rice vinegar.
Many different parts of pork could be used; the goal is to use parts that are full of collagen. The richest areas of collagen in pork are the bones, head, neck, tail and feet. However, when making a pork base at home, leg bones are most commonly used as the other mentioned parts tend to scare people off who are not commonly used to working with the whole pig.
Begin by roasting the bones in the oven at 400°F for an hour. This begins the process of breaking down the bones; this will mean more nutrients will seep out of the bones and into the base while it’s simmering.
Add all of the ingredients to a pot, and slowly simmer for 6 to 8 hours. During this time, be sure to skim any foam off the top. Don’t skip this process, as foam left unskimmed will make the stock cloudy and not as appealing.
After this time, pull out all the vegetables and pork bones and strain the liquid for any smaller particles. This is what we call a pork stock.
Go ahead and lightly season the stock to create a broth. Next, put the broth back on the stove and simmer until the broth has been reduced to a thick paste. Once there, you now have a pork base.
Where To Buy Pork Base
Creating a stock, let alone a base, is a lot of work and very time-consuming. If you don’t have the time to make it, you can buy it. Grocery stores across the country sell pork base; it’s usually found in the same aisle as stocks and soups. Our favorite retail brand is Better Than Bouillon®.
The foodservice industry often needs pork base on a larger scale, and that’s where we come in. We have multiple pork bases from which to choose.
Summit Hill Foods Pork Base Products
- Smoke House Ham Flavor Base
- Powder – Halal
- Ham Base
- Pork Base
- Pork Miso Concentrate
- Ham Base
- Ham Flavor Base
- Five Star Pork Base
- Five Star Ham Base
If our kitchen-ready pork bases are not quite right for your industrial or foodservice needs, we have a team of food scientists, regulatory and culinary experts here to customize a pork base just for you. We can also produce it on a scale to fit your needs, from a little to a lot. For more information, get in touch by messaging us below.