Many supporters of healthy eating, especially those who are anxious about their figure, refuse animal fats in favor of vegetable. Pork fat seems to them dangerous, as it is high in calories and contains cholesterol. In fact, most nutritionists recognize the benefits of this product and do not prohibit it from being included in the diet. One of the options for the consumption of animal fat is lard. This product is popular in various cuisines of the world. It is a mass that has been heated by pork, goose or other fat. Contains vitamins D and B4, a number of other nutrients. In cooking, it is able to completely replace vegetable oil, margarine. Pancakes and cutlets are fried on it, cookies are baked on it, it is spread on bread, instead of pate or butter. On sale to find this product is possible, but not easy, but it can easily be made independently. Lard at home is obtained even more tasty and useful than the shoplifter, it is almost as well stored, and it is very inexpensive at the same time.
Cooking Features
In order to make lard at home, you do not need to have great culinary skills. It is enough to buy fat and set aside a sufficient amount of time for cooking - about an hour. Knowledge of the intricacies of technology will help to get the expected result.
- It is believed that the most tender and tasty lard is obtained from lard, cut in the kidney area - you can make cookies on it, it is suitable for sandwiches. On the smallest of bacon from other parts you can only fry potatoes, scrambled eggs and other products, but for sweet dishes it will not work because of the characteristic smell. At home, you can also make lard from the duck's internal fat. Some nations make it from nutria fat, but this product has a specific smell that is difficult to get rid of; it is not recommended to cook it at home.
- Fat from fat is melted on very low heat, preventing fat from sticking to the bottom and walls. The addition of a small amount of water at the first stage of cooking, which will evaporate in the process of long cooking, will help to avoid “sticking” fat.
- The smaller the fat is cut, the faster the fat will be melted from it. Sometimes the fat is even scrolled through a meat grinder or grind with a blender before cooking it.
- In the process of cooking lard, cracklings are formed, which can be used in cooking potatoes, scrambled eggs and other dishes. If you do not intend to throw them away, it is better to cut the fat into equal cubes, then the dish with the bacon from it will turn out more appetizing.
- When cooking smaltsa, you can add chopped apples, onions, garlic, and greens to it, turning it into a spread for sandwiches.
In the process of cooking lard cracklings float up, they should be removed, catching with a spoon or a slotted spoon. Ready lard must be drained, without waiting for it to cool, and place in clean jars. If the banks are pre-sterilized and then sealed, the lard can be stored in a cool room, otherwise you will have to allocate space for it in the main chamber of the refrigerator. The shelf life of the product is 6 months.
Lard of raw lard
Composition:
- pork lard - 0, 5 kg;
- water - 50 ml.
Method of preparation:
- Wash pork fat, peel, remove blood clots, cut off the skin and pieces of meat, if any.
- Dip lard in a container filled with cool water. Leave for 12 hours. This is necessary to better clean the fat and rid it of the specific smell.
- Rinse the bacon again; be sure to dry it with a kitchen towel.
- Cut the fat into small pieces of arbitrary shape and roll through the meat grinder. You can also use a blender to grind the product.
- At the bottom of a cauldron or thick-walled pot pour water. Put the chopped fat.
- Put the container on slow fire. Warm up, sometimes stirring and removing the cracklings that pop up on the surface. It will take about 30-45 minutes to heat fat from the fat.
- Strain liquid fat. It should be transparent.
- Pour the fat into prepared jars, close them tightly.
When the lard is cool, it thickens and acquires a uniform white color. After cooling, the product should be stored in a cool place, best in the refrigerator. By the same principle, lard fat is prepared from duck fat, but there is no need to soak it before cooking.
Raw fat lard for sandwiches
Composition:
- pork lard - 0, 25 kg;
- water - 20-40 ml;
- apple (preferably sour) - 0, 2 kg;
- onions - 100 g;
- salt, pepper, dried marjoram - to taste.
Method of preparation:
- Wash lard, soak for 12 hours in cool water, dry.
- Cut the fat into small cubes (approximately 0.5 cm each).
- Put in a cauldron, add a spoonful of water.
- Over low heat, heat fat from the fat, catch the cracklings that have emerged on its surface. They can be used to prepare various foods.
- Apple peel, chop grated.
- Finely chop or grate the peeled onions.
- Put apples, onions, marjoram in pork fat. Add a little salt and pepper. Stir. Warm up for 5 minutes.
- Put the lard in jars or ceramic pots. When it cools to room temperature, store in the refrigerator.
The lard prepared according to this recipe is used as a spread for sandwiches.
Salted lard fat for sandwiches
Composition:
- fat - 0, 25 kg;
- garlic, dill - to taste;
- water - 20 ml.
Method of preparation:
- Chop the lard with a meat grinder or simply chop it finely with a knife.
- Put the bacon in a fat pan. Add water.
- Over low heat, drain fat from the fat, strain it.
- Mix the fat with garlic passed through the press and finely chopped dill. Additionally, you can cut a small size pickled cucumber.
- Place it in the container in which you plan to store the lard.
- When the product has cooled to room temperature, stir it again and store in a refrigerator.
If you put some lard on bread prepared according to this recipe, you will get a savory snack that fits perfectly with vodka.
Lard is a traditional product that is used to prepare various dishes by many nations. It is able to replace both vegetable and butter. Even an inexperienced cook can make it at home.
