What to do with lard before salting for perfect flavor: advice from the chef

Often, lard becomes too soft after salting and simply loses its shape, and falls apart. Such a product is difficult to cut and cannot be put on a sandwich. Therefore, before preparing the delicacy, you should use one simple life hack.

Valeriy Ponomar, a chef from Odesa, shared the idea of making salted bacon on his Instagram page.

He recommends leaving the lard in the freezer for at least 1 day before salting. This way, the product will have a solid and very tender structure.

Ingredients:

• lard – 1 kg
• salt – 2 tbsp
• sweet ground paprika – 1 tbsp (can be diluted with smoked paprika)
• ground grainy mustard – 1 tsp
• cumin – 1 tsp
• red hot pepper – 1/2 tsp (to taste)
• turmeric – 2/3 tsp
• garlic – 4-5 cloves
• coriander – 1 tsp
• black pepper – 1/2 tsp

Method of preparation:

1. Cut the lard into convenient pieces.

2. It is best to use lard 3-4 cm thick from the back.

3. Mix all the spices in a separate bowl.

4. Squeeze the garlic.

5. Pour the mixture on a flat surface.

6. Make incisions on the whole pieces not all the way through.

7. Wrap in parchment paper.

8. Leave in the refrigerator for 5 days. Then this product is well stored in the freezer.