Salty bacon is one of the favorite foods of gourmets of all nationalities, especially Ukrainians, who cannot imagine their diet without it. It is difficult to refuse an appetizing piece of smoked or salted salsa with horseradish and potatoes. And nutritionists talk about the benefits of fat due to its high content of essential fatty acids, which are so essential for the body. He is also credited with the ability to remove radionuclides from the human body.
Rather than buying this product in a store or on the market, it is better to learn how to
salt lard yourself, because there is nothing complicated in this process. You should choose not very thick pieces of white or slightly pinkish color for salting, without yellowness, with a clean and soft skin that will easily separate.
For salting, you must use large crystals of salt. Its main purpose is to remove moisture and produce a preservative effect. Coarse salt slowly draws liquid from the fat, gradually dissolving in it. The use of shallow as well as iodized salt is not allowed , as the desired result will not be achieved. Before salting the lard, it is necessary to scrape it off with a knife from possible contaminants, you can not wash it with water.
The prepared product is cut into small pieces. From salt, pepper and seasoning, a mixture is prepared to taste. Garlic is cut into thin slices at the rate of one clove per one piece of fat. For salting you will need a capacious pan, at the bottom of which a mixture of salt, spices, garlic is poured. Then lay the grated lard with this mixture, pouring garlic and spices.
Having folded and slightly rammed all the pieces, you can cover them with a plate on top and, putting a small load, leave in a dark place at room temperature for one day.
How much salt to fat until fully cooked? Having taken out of the pan, it is cleaned of excess salt, wrapped with a cotton cloth and left in the refrigerator for a few more days (about a week).
You can use another way to salt lard in a hot brine. He will need a liter of water, one glass of salt,
a bay leaf, peppercorns, chopped garlic. The product is poured with hot brine and boiled for 5 minutes. Turning off, leave for a day. After this time, the lard with brine must be warmed up over a quiet fire, brought to a boil and put hot on a plate, let it cool and dry. Then grate all the pieces with a mixture of crushed garlic with spices, put in the freezer.
For smoking, they usually choose a fresh tenderloin from the back and brisket of the carcass, with a thin light skin or no skin at all. Before salt for smoking, it must be cut into suitable slices. After rubbing the cooked pieces with coarse salt, adding spices if desired, it is necessary to withstand three days. After salting, all the salt needs to be cleaned, and the lard itself should be washed in slightly warm water and left for a day in the air or on the lower shelf in the refrigerator, so that it dries well and is weathered. After that (during the day) the product is cold smoked until light yellow. By this time, his taste is simply excellent.
There are many more examples of how to salt lard, and each lover of this product can choose their own recipe. It is best to eat salted lard, combining with vegetables, especially with green onions.