Follow our easy, step-by-step, photo illustrated recipe to make this old Southern Pork Neck Bones with Gravy recipe. It’s called “soul-food” for a reason, it’ll warm up your insides. We’ll show you how to prepare the neck bones, cook them, then make a big old pan of gravy to go along with it. Printable recipe included.
Having sampled a good amount of pork, I looked for a shady spot to sit down and rest a bit. I settled down in the open door of Greg’s trailer, and just observed all the work everyone else was doing.
Cherry remembers having neck bones, beef roast, chicken and turkey growing up. Her mother couldn’t always afford the best cuts of meat, but Cherry says they always had meat on the table. God was good.
So, scroll on down and take a look at this recipe, courtesy of Cherry. I think you’ll enjoy it, and if you’ve never tried cooking pork neck bones, this is a good way to start. Just let us know how you like it in the Comments section below.
Depending on how well the bones were cleaned before packaging, you might not have to remove much. Here’s another section of fat and pieces that we don’t need. Meat and bones are what you’re looking to keep, so cut away anything other than that and toss it.
Place the neck bones in a large sauce pot. Add the Red Pepper Flakes.
Add the Salt.
Add the Black Pepper.
Add the Onions to the pot.
Cover the neck bones with about an inch or two of water.
Place the stock pot over Medium-high heat on your stove top, and let it come to a boil.
Let the mixture boil for about 15 minutes uncovered.
Some folks will boil the meat without seasonings first for about 30-45 minutes, then dump that water and add fresh. Once it returns to a boil, then they add the seasonings and let it cook on out. Guess it works about the same either way.
After you skim away the foam, REDUCE the heat.
Cover the pot with a lid, and let it simmer on about Medium heat until the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender. This will take about an hour to an hour and a half.
Just keep a watch on it to make sure the liquid doesn’t boil away. With the pot covered, you should be okay and not need to add more water. Test the meat with a fork, until it pulls easily away from the bone.
When the meat is fully cooked, turn off the heat.
Either remove the cooked neck bones from the stock pot, or just let them sit in the remaining liquid while you make the gravy if you intend to serve them right away.
To Make The Gravy:
I prefer to make gravy in my cast iron skillet. Place the skillet on the stove top and turn the heat up to about Medium-Low or slightly warmer. I think you’ll have better results with your gravy if the skillet isn’t too hot, and you don’t try to rush it.
Add the Butter to the skillet once it’s warmed. I also added about a teaspoon of Bacon Grease for a little added flavor. Personal choice, and not required.
Once the butter has melted, sprinkle the flour all around the inside of the pan on top of the butter.
Quickly stir the flour and the butter together to make a roux. The flour will absorb the butter, and the mixture will start to thicken.
The flour needs to cook for at least a minute to lose it’s “floury” taste. Continue to stir it and let it brown. The longer the flour and butter cook together, the darker it will get, and the darker your finished gravy will be. If you keep this on a lower heat, it will be much easier to work with from my experience.
Start stirring the flour and butter as you gradually add in the reserved liquid. My other hand might have been on the camera at that particular moment. Just saying.
Keep stirring the gravy, letting it cook and thicken as desired. It will thicken a bit more once removed from heat, so keep that in mind as you’re letting it cook. You’ll also want to taste it at this point to see if it needs any salt or black pepper. Add it according to your taste.
Pour the finished gravy into a serving bowl, and keep warm until ready to serve.
Serve the neck bones over a big scoop of rice, and top it off with some of your homemade gravy.
Yield:
Follow our easy, step-by-step, photo illustrated recipe to make this old Southern Pork Neck Bones with Gravy recipe. It's called "soul-food" for a reason, it'll warm up your insides. We'll show you how to prepare the neck bones, cook them, then make a big old pan of gravy to go along with it.
Place washed neck bones in a large size sauce pot.
Add red pepper flakes.
Add salt
Add black pepper.
Add diced onions.
Cover with about 2 inches of water.
Place pot over medium-high heat on your stove top.
Bring to a boil, and let boil about 15 minutes. Skim off any foam if it forms, discard.
Reduce heat to medium simmer.
Cover the pot, let cook until meat is tender. About 1 to 1½ hours.
Remove the cooked neck bones from liquid, cover, set aside.
Measure out 1 cup of liquid to make gravy, if desired.
To Make Gravy:
Place 2 Tablespoons Butter, and 1 Tablespoon Bacon Grease in a large skillet, let melt.
Add 3 Tablespoons of All-Purpose Flour, stir constantly.
Continue to stir and let flour brown to desired color. The longer it cooks, the darker it will get.
Add the 1 cup of reserved stock from the cooking pot. Stir constantly.
Let mixture simmer until it slightly thickens.
Pour gravy over rice and neck bones.
Have you ever tried Pork Neck Bones with Gravy? Ever cooked them? Cherry and I would love to know. Please share a comment with us while you’re here. It will only take a minute or two for you to share your thoughts with us in the Comments section below. Please note that all of our Comments are moderated. That just means that I personally read each and every one of them before they are approved for our family friendly site here on the Internet. Your comment will not appear immediately, but I’ll do my best to get it posted online as soon as possible. Thank you in advance.
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