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Salting lard before smoking: video recipe
The smoked aroma of lard in a store or market can cause salivation even in well-fed people. What can we say about when a fascinating process takes place at home, and the smoke and smell of the finished product summon neighbors from the staircase or nearby households. In order for the bacon to turn out a beautiful color and be tasty, it should be properly prepared directly for the smoking procedure.
Salting lard before smoking: a recipe
Salt must be salted before smoking. If you plan to eat it right away, you can use a little salt. A richer amount of the spice will help extend the shelf life of the finished product.
For dry salting, take pieces of bacon weighing no more than 200-300 g, so they will be salted evenly and will turn out to be especially juicy and tasty
For salting, take a variety of aromatic spices to your liking. Be sure to prepare oppression and deep dishes. In industry, sodium nitrate is used to preserve the pink color of meat veins in lard, but at home you can do without this additive.
There are several types of salting:
- dry way
- wet method, or in brine
- mixed
Salting of fat by the dry method
The dry method of salting lard according to its technology is the simplest.
To do this you will need:
- wooden or enamelled deep bowl
- salt
- fat
- spices to taste
Rinse the fat under water, the skin may not be cut off. Cut the bacon into small pieces, rub each of them with a mixture of salt and spices. Pour a layer of salt about 2–3 cm high on the bottom of the container, put pieces of bacon very closely to each other on top. Install oppression and press down. Place the container in a cool dry place for 7-8 days. During this time, periodically open the bowl and turn the product over, this is necessary for an even curing. Remove bacon, wipe with a napkin or towel and smoke hot or cold.
Salt ambassador before being smoked in brine
Wet salting of bacon is carried out by placing the product in a brine – a strong saline solution.
Take:
- fat
- 1 liter of water
- 100–150 g of salt
- 10 g sugar
- spice
Pour water into a small saucepan, add sugar and salt there, put on medium heat. Bring to a boil and cool to room temperature. Pour the liquid into an enamel or wooden container. Cut the bacon into large pieces, put it tightly in a tub, where you will salt and fill it with brine, set the oppression on top.
If your liquid starts to overflow, remove the excess, but the fat should be completely covered with the solution
Place the container in a cool dry place, leave for 5-7 days. If you store bacon in the refrigerator, you can increase the salting period by another 4–5 days. Then rinse and dry the product thoroughly. After that, it can be smoked in the desired way.
Combined or mixed method of salting bacon before smoking
As a rule, this method is used to prepare large pieces of bacon for smoking. At the same time, the salting period is increased to 4–5 weeks, most often this method is used in farmsteads or in the production of large-scale meat products.
Prepare:
- wooden or enameled containers
- fat
- spice
- salt
- juniper branches
- stones
- 2-3 liters of water
- 50 g sugar
If you use a container made of wood, make sure that it is not made of pine, otherwise resin will be released during the cooking process, which will negatively affect the quality of the bacon. The ideal option is an oak container. Rinse the barrel under water, put juniper branches on the bottom and hot stones on top, the steam will rid the container of foreign odors and disinfect it. Then empty it and use it as directed. The enamel bowl or pot can simply be washed and dried well.
Rub the bacon with salt on all sides, lay it on the bottom, pressing the individual pieces tightly against each other. Install the oppression on top and place in a cool dry place with a temperature not exceeding + 2-7 ° C for 6-7 days. During this time, turn the bacon regularly from bottom to top and vice versa.
Large pieces, such as ham or brisket weighing up to 5 kg, can be left in the brine for up to a month
Then pour water into a saucepan, add sugar and salt there, stir and bring to a boil over medium heat. Strain through cheesecloth and cool. Filtration of liquid is especially important if you are preparing lard for smoking in nature, while traveling, etc. Pour lard with the resulting solution and leave it under pressure for 10-15 days.
If foam forms in the brine, take out the bacon, rinse it, and drain the liquid and boil again. Add another 100 g of salt to the solution and cool it. Then refill the pieces of brisket, bacon or bacon that are tightly packed in the tub. After that, take it out, dry it and you can start smoking.