Salted lard has been known for a very long time. In the villages where it was customary to keep pigs in the household, the problem of their storage was solved only by salting it - after all, there were no freezers at that time. Actually, in the villages and now it is salted with whole barrels.
Here's how it goes. A layer of coarse salt is poured into the bottom of a thoroughly washed and scalded barrel - not less than a centimeter, then a layer of salt about five centimeters, then a layer of fat and so on, until all the fat is over or the whole barrel is occupied. A layer of salt remains on top. This method allows you to store the product in a barrel in a cool place protected from the sun for months. At the same time, fat has such an interesting feature - it is impossible to salt it, because it will take just as much salt as needed.
But this method, as they say, is traditional, and the result is “standard”, that is, the most ordinary, without much delicate taste. But in this way it is possible to salt large amounts of fat without much difficulty.
If the fat is a little, as it happens in the city, then you can cook something tasty, fat with garlic, for example. Well, or something else. There are many recipes, as you know, almost every housewife has her own secrets.
So, how to salt lard with garlic?
First you need to choose the right pieces. It would seem that fat is fat, and nothing special can be. In fact, the fat from the sides of the pig is very different from pieces taken from the back or, say, from the abdomen or from the lower back. Everyone gets their own taste - who likes what more. The same applies to the layers of meat. If there are too many interlayers, then to salt such lard is simply a dry method, pouring plenty of salt, that is, in a village way, it is bad, the finished product will turn out to be too harsh.
But we love just this fat with garlic. The recipe in this case has its own tricks, so that the pieces do not turn out too hard due to the meat layers. you basically, there is nothing particularly complicated about this. You just need to follow a few simple rules.
Here's how to pickle lard with garlic. So, I take at the fair, which takes place every last Sunday of the month, the freshest fat from the sides of the pig, and its thickness does not exceed four to five centimeters. I make sure that there are always layers of meat. At home, I cut the layer into small pieces seven to ten centimeters long and two to three wide. I make an incision with a sharp knife in each piece - on the side. If there is a desire - from two sides. I put garlic on each plastic cut - this gives a wonderful aroma and significantly improves the taste.
Since I salted the fat in a small amount, I take a small bowl, pour salt on the bottom. Now I rub the pieces with the “mounted” garlic with salt and pepper, each piece being different. I lay the pieces tightly and in two layers. Be sure to break the lavrushka and pour the lard.
Now put the dish in the refrigerator. Some housewives say that they first put salted fat in a warm place, but I prefer it when the dish is immediately put in the refrigerator, to the very top. No holes in the bottom of the pan to drain the resulting brine!
After a few hours, the pot of lard begins to spread a completely delicious aroma. Salo begins to secrete juice, which in no case need to be drained - let it stay. It is this juice that gives fat softness and even tenderness. By the way, after seven hours you can already eat lard. Here's how to pickle lard with garlic, which in any case is completely ready for use in a day. It is only better to first place it in the freezer, otherwise the fat will turn out too tender.
My guests, having tasted such a delicacy, immediately ask how to salt lard with garlic? No one believes that it really is that simple.
By the way, fat from other parts of the carcass - from the back, for example, in this way you can also salt. But the taste will not be so exquisite.