Pork neck (pork collar)is a very underrated cut of meat, in my opinion. And unfortunately, there are not that many pork neck or collar recipes out there. It’s likely because of it’s high fat content, but in reality, it’s the fat that gives it an intensive deep flavor. On top of that, the higher amount of fatty parts make it the perfect cut of meat for slow cooking or roasting as it stays very juicy even when cooked for a long time.
I have several great pork neck meat recipes, so let me show you one of the most simple ones today. We’re going to be roasting a large cut of pork neck (collar) in the oven, along with a base of onions and baby/small potatoes that will serve as the sides.
When baking a large piece of pork neck meat you have two choices. Leave it intact and bake it low and slow, or make cuts into the meat and fill those with something. Bacon is the perfect “stuffing” for the latter method and that’s what I’m going with today.
TIP: Looking for more recipes where everything cooks in one dish or on a sheet pan? Try my Sauerkraut Chicken Legs, Sheet Pan Chicken or Potato Casserole.
Let’s go!
Baked Pork Neck Recipe Ingredients
1.5-2kg (3-4lbs) piece of pork neck (pork collar)
5-6 onions
4-5 carrots
10 slices of bacon
1.5kg (3lbs) small potatoes
3-4 tbps olive oil
1 cup dark beer
2 tsp red paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp whole grain mustard
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp pepper
Italian seasoning
How To Make Baked Pork Neck Or Pork Collar
Watch the video or scroll down for step by step instructions:
1. Let’s start by making the marinade. In a bowl, mix the olive oil, salt, pepper, soy sauce, red paprika, Dijon and wholegrain mustard and half a cup of dark beer. Check the ingredients list above, or the recipe card below for exact measurements.
2. Place the pork neck on a large cutting board and then make about 10 deep cuts into it with a sharp knife. Make sure you do not cut all the way through, the meat has to stay intact at the bottom.
3. Place the pork neck into a deep baking dish and pour all of the marinade over it. Using your hands and a tablespoon, season every bit of it, including the inside of the cuts.
4. I’m using a solid amount of onions to serve as the base that we will place the meat over. Simply cut them into thicker slices. Now move the pork neck to a plate for a bit and spread the onions all over the bottom of the baking dish. Leave the excess marinade in the dish, it will cook into a delicious sauce that we will use when serving.
5. Place the pork neck back into the baking dish, with the cuts on the upside. Insert a slice of bacon into every cut and secure the edges of the meat with toothpicks so it doesn’t open up too much, when baking. In with the rest of our beer too. Season the meat with Italian seasoning to give it a nice fragrant touch.
6. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake in the oven at 220C or 425F for about 90 minutes.
7. 90 minutes later, the pork neck should be somewhat soft, test it with a fork. If it’s not, give it 20 more minutes or so. There should also be a solid amount of juices in the dish by now.
8. Add the carrots and potatoes now, place them all around the meat. I’ve used 1.5kg (3lbs) but you might need more or less, depending on the size of your baking dish. Season the potatoes with some olive oil, salt and pepper.
9. The pork neck and potatoes need about 45 more minutes to bake fully, so back to the oven they go. This time without the foil so they both catch some nice color. You might need to turn the temperature of your oven up a notch now, but it depends on what type of oven you have. To put it simple, if the color doesn’t turn golden brown in 45 minutes, set your oven to the broiling mode and give it a few minutes.
10. Once the meat catches some mild char and the potatoes are golden brown on top, we’re done and our baked pork neck is ready to be served. Slice the meat with a sharp knife and serve it on a plate with the potatoes and carrots as sides. Do not forget to add some of those tasty onion chunks and pour some of that delicious “sauce” from the dish all over the meat.
So what do you think? Will you give this pork neck recipe a try? Let me know in the comments and follow me for more simple home style cooking recipes. Thanks for reading!
Optional tips for this pork neck recipe:
- Want some more vegetables added? Bell peppers, broccoli, asparagus… these work fine too.
- Don’t want to add beer into the dish? Use beef or chicken broth instead.
- This dish literally asks for some salad, use my simple coleslaw, for example.
- Some people don’t like whole grain mustard, if you’re one of them use mild yellow or double the dijon.
- Don’t like potatoes as a side dish? Skip them and prepare rice instead. It goes really well with this dish, especially since the meat releases a lot of juices that you can use.
Baked Pork Neck / Collar With Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1.5-2 kg piece of pork neck (collar)
- 5-6 onions
- 4-5 carrots
- 10 slices of bacon
- 1.5 kg small potatoes
- 3-4 tbps olive oil
- 1 cup dark beer
- 2 tsp red paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp whole grain mustard
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp pepper
- Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Let’s start by making the marinade. In a bowl, mix the olive oil, salt, pepper, soy sauce, red paprika, Dijon and wholegrain mustard and half a cup of dark beer.
- Make about 10 cuts into the meat, make sure you don't cut all the way through.
- Place the pork neck into a deep baking dish and pour all of the marinade over it, make sure every part is properly coated.
- Cut the onions and place them all over the bottom of the dish, then place the meat atop the onion base.
- Insert a slice of bacon into every cut and secure the edges of the meat with toothpicks so it doesn’t open up too much, when baking. Add the rest of the beer too. Season the pork neck with Italian herbs to make it fragrant.
- Cover the baking dish with foil and bake in the oven at 220C or 425F for about 90 minutes.
- Add the carrots and potatoes now, place them all over the meat. Start with carrots, then potatoes over it.
- Bake 45 more minutes, this time without the foil so the pork neck and potatoes catch some nice color.
- Once the pork neck catches some char and the potatoes are golden brown on top, we are ready to serve.
- Serve a thick slice of the pork neck along with some onions, carrots and potatoes as the sides.
did this and turned out great – family needs to enjoy the mustard marinate with paprika and beer
Excellent Clement, glad that you liked it! 🙂
I don’t cook with beer so I appreciate the tip to use chicken broth instead. And I’m loving the idea of adding more veggies like bell peppers to it.
Totally understand, not everyone likes beer in their cooking. But it goes really well with the more fatty cuts such as the pork neck or collar or even butt or shoulder.
I like this idea. Simply easy to make, just dump everything and go! I may have to sip on the beer first!
Great recipe! It turned out fabulous. Thank you so much for such an amazing recipe!
This roast looks delicious — I like how this is a one pan dinner.
Wow! Looks like melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness here! I love that it’s a doable recipe and something my family will enjoy.
Baked it for lunch yesterday. Great recipe. Thanks for sharing. Used balanced meat for sandwiches today. Yum.
Hi Matej,
I just want to say that I shall try this recipe of yours and I will be sure to let you know how it went.
Perfect Nontando, I hope you will be happy with the outcome 🙂
Delicious, the pork was so tender and flavorful. A definite keeper!