For many, lard is the number one snack. Fat is never boring, because it can be salted by adding different spices and seasonings, thereby drastically changing its taste, as well as smoking.
Freshly salted or smoked bacon is very tasty and fragrant. It whets the appetite and satisfies hunger. But in order to enjoy its great taste, it is not enough just to choose a good salting recipe. First you need to pay attention to the quality of the fat.
How to choose lard for pickling
- Salo should be fresh, unwelcome.
- High-quality salty fat is obtained from bacon, taken from the back or sides of the carcass. But, despite the fact that the fat from the peritoneum is of the worst quality, many housewives also use it for salting, because such bacon usually happens with layers of meat.
- Salting boars or old pigs are not suitable for salting.
- Young lard has a white or pinkish color. If it has a yellowish tint, it means that it is old and is not suitable for salting.
- The skin of the young fat is thin and soft. It is easily cut and pierced with a knife edge.
- Fresh lard has a pleasant meat smell.
- It should not have blood, dirt, as well as all sorts of stains and inclusions.
- If the bacon is salted with meat, the meat layer should not be thick. The optimal meat thickness is usually 5% of the weight of the bacon.
How to properly store fat
Any lard - salted, smoked, fresh - is stored only at temperatures below 10 ° C. Such conditions can create a refrigerator, freezer or a homemade glacier. Many keep fat in the cellar, but for this they need to create ideal conditions - low temperature, no high humidity and excellent air circulation.
How to store fresh suet
Fresh fat is stored only in frozen form.
Depending on the purpose for which it is intended, it is divided into pieces of different sizes.
For subsequent salting, lard can be frozen in a large piece, because most often it is salted in this form, making only transverse deep cuts on it.
Fresh fat is often used to prepare various dishes. It is added to minced meat, potatoes are fried on it, in the form of cracklings they are filled with soups and borscht. For this purpose, a piece of fresh bacon is divided into small portions, each of which is packaged separately. The pieces of bacon are wrapped in food film and put into the freezer.
Like any product, lard is not subjected to re-freezing, so after thawing it is used, as required by the recipe.
How to store salted lard
Salo is salted dry in a barrel, pan, jar, and salted in boxes on a large scale.
For this purpose, they rub the salt from all sides with salt, adding various spices and spices: pepper, garlic, dill, cumin.
Salo has a property in which it does not absorb more salt than it needs. Salt is a good preservative, and therefore do not feel sorry for salting.
- When salting the fat in a box, its bottom is covered with black paper and parchment.
- A layer of salt is poured on the bottom, then pieces of bacon are laid tightly down.
- Each row of fat is filled with salt, and it needs to fill all the voids formed between the pieces and the walls.
- All lard is also poured with salt.
- Boxes closed with paper, then cloth. Put a load.
Salo is stored in the same boxes in a dark, cool, well-ventilated room or on a glacier.
In a similar way, you can salt the fat in an enamel saucepan, completely filling it with salt. Store such fat in the refrigerator.
Salo and salt in 3-liter glass jars. In them it is fat and stored, covered with lids and put in a refrigerator or cellar (basement).
If salty bacon is going to be stored for a long time, it is better to use the freezer. The finished fat is wrapped in food film and put into the freezer.
The advantage of frozen lard is that it can be stored for a year, or even more. And also it is very convenient to cut it with thin plates, unlike the one that is stored in a regular refrigerator. Therefore, it is used without defrosting.
How to store smoked fat
Lard, pickled in the usual way, can be smoked. It turns out very tasty and is stored no worse than salty.
If smoked bacon needs to be preserved for a short time, then it can be put in the fridge, wrapped in paper, and then in food film.
To fat is not lost, it is recommended to freeze. Frozen smoked fat is stored in the freezer as well as salty.
If there is a lot of smoked bacon, it is wrapped in paper, hung from hooks and stored in a dark cool room that is well ventilated.
You can not store smoked bacon in the cellar with high humidity. Fat in such conditions quickly deteriorates, becoming covered with a slippery mildew.
In the cold season, such fat is well stored in the attic, packed in fabric bags or paper and hung from hooks. Smoked bacon can be stored in boxes, sprinkled them with rye chop.
Also, it is sometimes sprinkled with dry sawdust or ash.
How to store melted lard
Baked lard is a great substitute for any fat. On it you can fry, cook unsweetened pastries, and still it is used for zazharki.
It is possible to peretaplivat both fresh fat, and salty.
The heated lard (pork fat), hot, is poured into a glass jar, cooled, covered with a capron lid and put into the refrigerator. Frozen pork fat can be stored there for a very long time, but you need to make sure that it does not absorb foreign odors.
Refluxed fat is well stored in the freezer, but in this case it is poured not into a glass jar, but into a plastic container. In the freezer, fat freezes, becoming white. Since it does not harden much, you can easily get it out of the dish with a spoon or knife, and then close well again.
Poured lard can be stored in the freezer for several years, but it is still better to use it for a year.
Salo that is stored must be periodically checked. If his taste has changed, an unpleasant smell has appeared or it has turned yellow, then it should be used as a foodstuff as quickly as possible, and it is desirable to subject it to heat treatment - to fry or melt.
