{"id":66155,"date":"2026-10-12T12:41:27","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T10:41:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/znam.si\/uncategorized\/authentic-homemade-rice-dish-with-smoked-pork-neck\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T20:25:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T18:25:15","slug":"authentic-homemade-rice-dish-with-smoked-pork-neck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/znam.si\/en\/recipes-and-food\/soups-stews\/authentic-homemade-rice-dish-with-smoked-pork-neck\/","title":{"rendered":"Authentic homemade rice dish with smoked pork neck"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>When a cold wind blows outside, there\u2019s no better comfort than a deep plate of thick, hot risotto, hiding a generous piece of smoked pork neck!<\/strong>  Ri\u010det (or hulled barley) is the archetype of Slovenian peasant \u201ccomfort food.\u201d A proper spelt stew must be so thick that a spoon can stand upright in it, and the flavor must balance the earthy notes of the grain, the natural sweetness of the carrots, and the strong, salty, smoky aroma of dried meat. However, one of the biggest mistakes in modern kitchens is thickening the stew with flour (by roux) or instant soup bases. In this expert recipe, we go back to the roots and reveal why the secret to a perfectly silky texture lies in soaking the barley overnight and pureeing some of the beans and vegetables. You\u2019ll also learn how to properly cook smoked pork neck so that it remains buttery-tender and doesn\u2019t oversalt the dish.    <\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Prep time (soaking and cleaning):<\/strong> Overnight + 20 minutes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cooking time:<\/strong> About 2 hours of slow cooking<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Serves:<\/strong> 4 to 6 people (it tastes best the next day!)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Difficulty:<\/strong> Easy (but time-consuming)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Ingredients for Traditional Rice with Pork Neck<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Staples (Grains and Legumes)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>250 g pearl barley (hulled barley)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>150 g whole brown beans (if using dried beans, soak them; you can also use 1 large can of pre-cooked beans)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Vegetables and Herbs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>2 medium carrots (sliced into rounds)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>1 large potato (peeled and diced)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>1 large onion (finely chopped)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>3 cloves of garlic (minced)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>a small piece of celery (bulb or stalk) and parsley roots<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2 tablespoons of oil (for saut\u00e9ing)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2 bay leaves, a few whole peppercorns, and a pinch of marjoram<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Meat Additive<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>500 g to 700 g of high-quality smoked pork neck in one piece (boneless)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Step-by-Step Preparation Process<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"dropcapp4 wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>1. Overnight Soaking (Key Step):<\/strong> Rinse the barley thoroughly under running water (change the water several times until it runs clear). Then, place it in a large bowl, cover it with cold water, and let it soak overnight.   <em>(If you&#8217;re using dried beans, soak them overnight in a separate bowl as well.)<\/em>  The next day, drain the water and rinse the barley again.<\/p>\n<p><!-- Pra\u017eenje zelenjavne baze --><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"dropcapp4 wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>2Creating the aromatic base:<\/strong> Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot and saut\u00e9 the finely chopped onion until translucent. When the onion becomes fragrant and soft, add the crushed garlic (just for a few seconds so it doesn\u2019t turn bitter) and the diced root vegetables (carrots, celery, and parsley root). Saut\u00e9 everything briefly.  <\/p>\n<p><!-- Zdru\u017eevanje in kuhanje osnove --><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"dropcapp4 wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>3. Cooking the barley:<\/strong> Pour the drained barley into a pot, add the diced potatoes, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Pour about 1.5 to 2 liters of cold water over everything. <strong>DO NOT ADD SALT<\/strong> at this stage, as the smoked meat will release a lot of salt! Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes.   <\/p>\n<p><!-- Priprava in kuhanje mesa --><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"dropcapp4 wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>4. Cooking the neck (Removing excess salt):<\/strong> Since today\u2019s cuts of smoked meat are often extremely salty, first place the neck in a separate, smaller pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes, then discard that water. Now transfer the \u201ccleaned\u201d meat, in one whole piece, to a large pot with the partially cooked barley. Cook together for another 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the meat is completely tender and the flavors have blended.   <\/p>\n<p><!-- Dodajanje fi\u017eola in zgo\u0161\u010devanje --><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"dropcapp4 wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>5The secret to natural thickening:<\/strong> About 15 minutes before the end of cooking, remove a piece of pork neck from the pot and cover it to keep it warm. Now add the cooked beans to the stew (if using canned beans, rinse them well first). <strong>The trick to thickness:<\/strong> Use a ladle to scoop a small amount of beans, potatoes, and barley from the pot; mash everything together with a fork or hand blender until smooth, then return it to the risotto. This will create an incredibly silky and thick texture.  <\/p>\n<p><!-- Fini\u0161iranje in postre\u017eba --><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"dropcapp4 wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>6Finishing and Serving:<\/strong> Stir a pinch of marjoram into the risotto and, if needed (only now!), season with salt and pepper. Divide the cooked risotto among deep plates. Cut the pork neck into large, generous slices and place a juicy piece of meat on each plate. Serve with homemade bread, which you can offer in a basket on the side.   <\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Professional Culinary Tips for the Perfect Risotto<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Why do we soak barley (to remove phytates)?<\/strong>  Barley, like most grains, contains phytic acid, which can prevent the absorption of certain minerals in our bodies and cause bloating. Soaking (and rinsing off the water in between) not only drastically shortens the cooking time and ensures more evenly tender grains, but also washes away most of the starchy \u201cdust\u201d which would otherwise make the dish starchy, and neutralizes antinutrients. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Rule for not salting beans and barley:<\/strong> The water used to cook dried legumes and barley at the very beginning of cooking must not be salted! At the cellular level, salt prevents the grains from hydrating\u2014the outer layer of the beans and barley would remain hard, while the center would become mushy. Furthermore, most smoked meats are already heavily salted during industrial processing, so adding salt too early risks making the dish too salty. Salt and acid (if you\u2019re eating the dish with vinegar) should always be added at the end.   <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The technique of blanching meat separately:<\/strong> Smoked pork neck often contains high concentrations of salt and has a strong smoky flavor (or even smoky aroma). If the meat were cooked in the broth from the very beginning, the broth would become dark and very bitter\/salty. A brief 10-minute parboil in a separate pot of water, followed by discarding this first liquid, ensures a cleaner, milder flavor in the cooked meat, which then nicely complements the flavor of the vegetables during the actual cooking process.  <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Why don&#8217;t we use flour as a thickener (to thicken the sauce)?<\/strong>  Adding flour (toasted or \u201cpodmeta\u201d) to ri\u010det is an outdated practice dating back to a time when people wanted to save money on more expensive ingredients (grains and potatoes). The flour masks the clean, earthy flavor of the vegetables. By adding diced potatoes to the dish and, at the end, pureeing some of the vegetables and beans, we create a 100% natural and exceptionally rich \u201ccreamy\u201d thickening using natural starches.  <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why do they say that rice is best the next day?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s absolutely true! Complex dishes with grains and dried meat need time for the aromatic compounds and essential oils from the vegetables to fully infuse. Also, the starch in the barley swells further overnight, naturally thickening the dish. That\u2019s why risotto tastes much better and has a more perfect texture when reheated the next day.   <\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Can I use a different kind of meat instead of pork neck?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of course. Smoked pork ribs, dry sausage, or even a piece of smoked prosciutto with a little fat are excellent substitutes for pork neck. If you\u2019d like to make a lighter or completely vegetarian (vegan) version, simply omit the meat. To add a hint of smokiness to the meatless version, we recommend adding half a teaspoon of smoked ground red pepper (piment\u00f3n) while saut\u00e9ing the onions.   <\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How can I store rice for a longer period of time?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rice is one of the best dishes to freeze. Once it has cooled completely, transfer it to plastic food storage containers and freeze it. It will keep in the freezer for up to three months. When reheating, you may want to add a few tablespoons of water, as the barley absorbs liquid even while frozen.   <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When a cold wind blows outside, there\u2019s no better comfort than a deep plate of thick, hot risotto, hiding a generous piece of smoked pork neck! Ri\u010det (or hulled barley) is the archetype of Slovenian peasant \u201ccomfort food.\u201d A proper spelt stew must be so thick that a spoon can stand upright in it, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":66156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5064],"tags":[7117,7118],"class_list":["post-66155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soups-stews","tag-neck","tag-barley"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/znam.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/znam.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/znam.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/znam.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/znam.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66155"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/znam.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66173,"href":"https:\/\/znam.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66155\/revisions\/66173"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/znam.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/znam.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/znam.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/znam.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}