Pork stock substitutes

The closest widely available stock in colour, weight and mildness.

Best for

posole, Southern braises, noodle soups, beans and greens, rice dishes

Chicken stock is the default answer and works in almost every recipe, but it is worth knowing what you lose. Pork bones give a faint sweetness and a heavier, more coating mouthfeel, so a bowl made with chicken stock tastes cleaner and thinner, and a posole will read as brighter and less rounded. Simmering the chicken stock with a piece of bacon or a ham hock for 20 minutes fixes most of that.

A 20-minute upgrade that puts actual pork flavour into a store-bought stock.

Best for

posole, collard greens, red beans, pork ramen, dumpling soup

This gets you noticeably closer than plain chicken stock and takes almost no work. The result is porkier and rounder, though a hock or bacon brings smoke that plain pork stock does not have, so a Chinese or Japanese soup will taste faintly barbecued. For those cuisines use unsmoked pork bones or neck bones instead of bacon, and skim the fat before using.

A savoury-depth workaround for East Asian soups.

Best for

ramen, noodle soups, dumpling broth, Korean and Japanese soups

Miso supplies the deep savoury note that long-simmered pork bones create, and it also thickens the broth very slightly, which helps. The trade-off is that miso is unmistakably fermented, so the broth tastes rounder but also a little tangy and beany rather than purely meaty. Whisk it into a ladle of hot stock off the heat so it dissolves without boiling, which dulls it.

A much stronger, darker stock diluted down toward pork's weight.

Best for

hearty stews, braises, bean soups, gravies

Use this when the dish is dark and robust anyway. Beef stock is far more assertive and browner than pork stock, so it will dominate a delicate soup and turn a pale broth muddy. Cutting it with water keeps it from taking over. In something like posole or a light pork and hominy soup this is a poor choice, and chicken stock is clearly better.

The pork-free route, propped up so it does not taste thin.

Best for

vegetarian versions, noodle soups, bean pots, vegetable soups

Vegetable broth on its own is the weakest substitute here, because it has no collagen and often carries a sweet carrot-and-celery note that reads as a bit vegetal in a pork dish. Soy sauce, dried mushroom, or a small piece of kombu will add the savoury weight back, and a teaspoon of neutral oil or sesame oil gives the illusion of richness. Expect a lighter bowl, not a match.

Building the stock inside the dish instead of adding it separately.

Best for

posole, pork stews, braises, slow cooker recipes

This is genuinely the best answer for many recipes and it is the one people forget. If the dish already contains pork shoulder, ribs or bones that will simmer for an hour or more, water plus that pork becomes pork stock as it cooks. Brown the meat well first and salt more conservatively than you would with a commercial stock, because nothing has been salted for you.