Smoked lard is a real delicacy and gourmet delicacy. Those who have tried this dish at least once in their life, will certainly agree that it can be safely served at any festive table. However, it is not so often on sale, therefore many cooks master various options for smoked bacon at home. This procedure is rather laborious and time consuming, however, the results, as a rule, exceed all expectations. The main thing is to work hard during the preparatory stage, then it remains only to wait until the smart device called the smokehouse prepares this delicious delicacy.
Recipes for smoking bacon at home
It is generally accepted that lard is best smoked outdoors or, in extreme cases, in a shed with good ventilation. Indeed, in an ordinary apartment it is impossible to make a fire, over which pieces of bacon are suspended. Nevertheless, there is a universal recipe that allows you to get your favorite dish at home. It is only a small matter - to make an improvised smokehouse, for which you will need a cauldron or a thick-walled saucepan, foil, some wood chips, and a metal grill stand for fat. First you need to cover the bottom of the cauldron with foil, on top of which a support-grid on the legs is installed. It will be necessary to put a piece of bacon on it before smoking. If there is an opportunity to pick up a glass transparent lid for the cauldron diameter, then it is a great success, because it is strictly forbidden to open a smokehouse during the cooking process for the fat. Moreover, the lid itself will have to be thoroughly lubricated with soft butter. Infiltrating into the gap between the cauldron, it will be an excellent sealant, blocking the access of air into the container. Lard itself also needs advance preparation. The selected piece needs to be processed depending on the recipe that you have the most to the soul. The classic option is to mix a fairly large amount of salt and crushed bay leaf, rub it with lard, and then wrap it in sweaty paper and leave to pickle in the refrigerator for several days. Those who love delicate smoked bacon, which literally melts in the mouth, should add a few teaspoons of mustard powder to the salt. Well, and those who love spicy snacks can use black ground pepper and chopped garlic instead of bay leaves. It should be borne in mind that lard must always be fresh, otherwise the taste of the finished dish will be far from ideal. Selected lard in the market should be immediately salted, and in 3-4 days it will be possible to begin the process of smoking.
Here, too, there are some tricks and peculiarities, since someone likes fat “with smoke”, and someone, on the contrary, cannot stand the smell of burnt wood. If you rank yourself in the second category of gourmets, then you will not need to use sawdust for smoking bacon. It will be enough just to put a piece of bacon, which is pre-washed with water and dried with a towel, on a stand, cover the cauldron with a lid, hoist it on the stove and turn on the hotplate on the slowest fire. Those who adore fat “with smoke” will first need to put a thin layer of sawdust on the bottom of a cauldron covered with foil. So that they do not immediately catch fire, and it is recommended to thoroughly moisten.
The subsequent scheme of action will be exactly the same as when smoked regular fat. A closed cauldron is installed on the stove, fire is lit under it. Now it remains only to observe the fat and wait for it to be covered with a characteristic ruddy crust. Depending on the degree of smoking, the process may take from 20-30 minutes to several hours. However, it should be remembered that the more fat will be in an improvised smokehouse, the drier and tougher the treat will be. And in this matter, each person determines the time of his smoking.
How to smoke bacon in the oven
In a similar way, you can smoke the bacon in an ordinary oven, for which it is enough to have a deep pan and wire rack. Prepared fat should be washed out on a wire rack and put into the fridge for about a day to remove residual moisture from it. When excess water is removed, it is necessary to cover the baking sheet with several layers of foil and, if necessary, pour sawdust on it. Then you need to preheat the oven to + 90-95 degrees and only after that it will be possible to place a grate with lard in it. It will be ready in about 30-40 minutes, but in this case, everything again depends on your tastes and preferences. Those who want to smoke fat as it should be, can keep it in the oven for up to 2-3 hours. Well, if the dish is prepared for a festive table, then approximately 25 minutes after smoking starts, the temperature in the oven should be raised to +120 degrees, and then the fat will get a delicious brown crust.
