Boiled Bacon

• any cheap cut of green or smoked bacon (½ lb per person, more if there is bone or a lot of fat)
• 2 medium onions per person
• 3 medium carrots per person

Green is milder than smoked, and since only the butcher or grocer know how salty either is (and even he may not), green is less risky, and less likely to need long soaking. Large cuts nearly always need soaking several hours or overnight. The cheapest cuts are hock, which has quite a lot of fat, and collar which is leaner. Hock is better eaten cold; a large piece, weighing eight or nine pounds,