Petit salé is salted pork, usually produced according to a French method of immersing cuts of pork for up to two days in brine.
Petit salé is often used as an abbreviation for the recipe 'petit salé aux lentilles' ( petit salé with lentils), a dish containing pork, vegetables and lentils.
The term refers to the smaller pieces of pork, offcuts from the large joints, brined together in a barrel rather than being injected as the large joints are. Nicholas Freeling, in his cookbook, describes it as “The brine-barrel pieces, generally cheap corners, are called in France ‘petit-salé’.” It is not connected with the saltiness of the brine.
References
External links "Petit salé" with Lentils - The official website of France (English)