Opera Lardo

[madbaker]

Note: The first sentence of the recipe is essentially how you make modern lardo. The recipe itself is how to make salted pig fat for pie dough and frying. Which I might try sometime...

Book 1.6
To tell how good lardo colato [salted pork fat] is, and how to make it and keep it.

The slab of bacon fat should have been salted for two months, (my emphasis) then it should be beaten like sausage meat. When that is done, it is put into a copper pot with a little water over a low fire, making it liquify. Then it is filtered through a fine strainer or else through a piece of linen, put into a wooden or earthenware vessel and stored in a cool place. That liquid can be used for frying pies and making tortes and dishes, though within a year because after that it will not be at its best.

Comments

[finickynarcane.livejournal.com]

In a recent novel I read, one character offered the other lardo then both waxed poetic about how wonderful it was. I must be missing something. I'm envisioning eating the equivalent of raw bacon fat in texture and flavor. Is lardo significantly different?

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

Think of it as bacon butter. It's fabulous.
(I've read that novel too - that was the last one in the series I read before I gave up in disgust.)

[finickynarcane.livejournal.com]

I guess I'll just have to try it. I can't imagine eating a slice of any (except for nut) butter. It just sounds disgusting, but so does cold dead fish and I go out for sushi at least once a week.

I'm still slogging through the series.

[roswtr.livejournal.com]

Opera=Scappi? I really need to make some time to start playing with meat.

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

If you want to book a weekend to come over and play with curing, let me know...

[naadhira.livejournal.com]

Love the animated user pic. Too appropriate.

[joycebre.livejournal.com]

I love the title for this post. It could be read so many ways. (and really, modern lardo is raw (though cured) bacon fat? who knew?)