New person, I have questions about food

[Appaloosa Scout]

Hello,
Thanks for adding me, I've mostly just lurked till now. I have some questions about food. Specifically, saltpork. Is the sow belly saltpork sold in 12oz blocks at the store correct or do I need to make my own? The storebought stuff would seem to match John Billings descriptions as I recall them.

Also, I am looking to buy a sheet iron skillet and a proper mess kettle. So far all I can find online is muckets and stuff. The vendor links here seem to be mostly about clothing. Anyone got links to good pots and pans? Right now my pots are medium size stainless steel coffee cans with holes punched in them to attach a bailing wire handle. To imitate the pots Billings describes, though the cans look modern since they are ribbed.
Thanks

[Jeremy Bevard]

The salt pork found at grocery stores I wouldn’t use. It’s not really cured and can still spoil. Also, doesn’t taste all that great. You might be able to find proper salt cured pork at certain meat markets but not most. You can make your own and it’s not hard, just takes time. A popular option is to find smoked slab bacon which is easier to find at quality meat markets/butchers.

You can find some hand forged frypans on Etsy from some really good craftsman. But not all out there is going to be correct. Tin items like a boiler check Button Baron and they might have other frypans and pots at times.

[rmilstead]

Jonathan,
You might want to check out South Union Mills, one of the approved vendors. They are currently offering fry pans in two sizes as well as tin ware.

Also I recommend you check out the Research area on the Liberty Rifles web site. If you are doing a CS impression Craig Schneider's paper on Confederate cooking utensils will point you in the right direction as to what they used. In general, Federal enlisted men probably weren't transporting cast iron pots or fry pans for cooking when on campaign. Some may have carried small personal sheet iron fry pans but tin plates and/or split (unsoldered) canteens were also used. Period tin cans or even dippers were used for other cooking. Large tin cooking pots were primarily used for unit food preparation in semi permanent camp environments. Billings in Hardtack and Coffee gives a good discussion of Union troops in active campaign situations although he was in the artillery not infantry.

Dick Milstead
The Company of Military Historians
Liberty Rifles