Despite its high calorie content, lard is a very healthy product, popular in Russia, Germany, Poland, Italy and Ukraine. Lard is rich in fatty acids, it promotes the elimination of harmful toxins and is involved in cholesterol metabolism.
How to salt lard at home
There are several main ways of salting bacon: dry, in brine and using heat treatment (cooking).
For salting lard in a dry way, you will need:
- 1 kg of bacon;
- 5-6 cloves of garlic;
- 4 tbsp. l. salt;
- ground black pepper.
Peel the cloves of garlic, pass through a press and mix with salt and ground pepper. Rinse the bacon, dry and cut into medium-sized slices. Then rub each thoroughly with a prepared mixture of garlic, salt and pepper. Put pieces of bacon in a plastic bag and leave to salt for 12 hours at room temperature. Then put it in the freezer for 2 days. After this time, the bacon will be ready for use.
To prepare lard in Ukrainian you will need:
- 1 kg of bacon;
- 2-3 tbsp. l. salt;
- 1 liter of water;
- 5-6 cloves of garlic;
- 2-3 bay leaves;
- allspice;
- rosemary.
Line the bottom of the enamel pot with a cotton napkin. Place bay leaves, rosemary, allspice and finely chopped garlic on top of it. Rinse lard, dry and lay on spices. Place the spices on top again: chopped garlic, bay leaf, pepper and rosemary.
Cook the brine. To do this, bring the water to a boil, add salt and boil for a few minutes until it is completely dissolved. Remove the brine from heat and cool.
Pour lard with prepared brine, cover it with a cotton napkin, put oppression and cover the pan with a lid. Leave the lard to salt for 5 days at room temperature. Then take out the finished bacon, dry it with a paper towel, wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in the freezer for a day.
Homemade bacon in a slow cooker
Today, many housewives use a slow cooker for salting lard, which greatly simplifies the cooking process. To make bacon in a slow cooker, you need to take the following products:
- 1 kg of lard with a meat layer;
- 2 handfuls of onion skins;
- 1 glass of salt;
- 2 tbsp. l. Sahara;
- 1 tbsp. l. ground black pepper;
- 4-5 bay leaves;
- 3-4 cloves of garlic.
Soak the onion skins for 10-15 minutes, then rinse well under running water. Put half of the husk in a removable multicooker bowl, place a piece of bacon on top, put the bay leaf and the remaining husk on it.
Bring a liter of water to a boil, add salt and granulated sugar to it. Stir until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved. Then pour the lard with the prepared brine.
On the control panel, set the "Extinguishing" program and the time 1 hour. After this time, leave the bacon in the multicooker in the heating mode for another 8-10 hours or overnight. In the morning, remove the cooked bacon and pat dry with a paper towel.
Peel the garlic, pass through a press and mix with black pepper. Rub the lard with the prepared mixture, wrap in plastic wrap and put in the freezer. Serve thinly.
