The aroma of smoked lard always increases your appetite. It is a universal product that will decorate both an everyday table and a festive one. There are several ways to prepare this dish at home.
How to smoke lard - choosing a product
The method for determining the thickness of a piece of lard is quite simple - it is measured with your fingers. For smoking you need a piece with a layer of meat and a height of no more than three fingers. It turns out especially soft if you use the peritoneum to smoke lard.
Regardless of the chosen cooking method, choose a fresh product, without foreign odors or signs of spoilage.
How to smoke lard - proper salting
To get the aromatic taste of the dish, lard must be properly prepared. First it is marinated and then smoked. There are two methods of salting before smoking: dry and in a marinade.
How to smoke lard - dry salting
- The dry salting method does not involve the use of liquid, but only salt and spices. Cut the lard into small pieces, so it will cook in 2-3 days. While a piece of 2 kilograms will need more than two weeks.
- Rub the bacon parts well with garlic, then with a mixture of salt and spices. Place pressure on top and place in a cool place. Before smoking, wash off the salt from the lard and dry with paper towels.
Advice. Before dry salting, lard must be soaked in water for about 3 hours. This will make the structure of the product soft, which will allow it to absorb spices faster. Be sure to dry the pieces before salting.
How to smoke lard - salting in marinade
The method of salting bacon in a marinade will require less time, and the aroma of the product will be more intense. To prepare the brine you will need the following products:
- cold water – 1 l;
- coarse salt – 150 g;
- garlic – 5 cloves;
- bay leaf – 2 pcs.;
- a mixture of spices and herbs - to taste.
Progress:
- Boil water in a separate container, then add salt. When it dissolves, add chopped garlic with spices. Boil for a couple of minutes, remove from heat. Cool the marinade to room temperature and top it with chopped lard. Place it under pressure and leave it in a cool place for 3 days.
Advice. Before adding the brine, pierce each piece of lard with a knife in several places. This will marinate the meat more evenly.
How to smoke lard - a hot option
The hot method of smoking lard involves cooking the product at high temperatures and in less time. But it will require a special device in which it is necessary to maintain a constant temperature of at least 60 degrees.
- Prepare your device. Place sawdust and leaves in it. Then install a wire rack and place the marinated pieces of lard on it. Try to arrange the bacon at a distance so that the smoke can envelop each piece.
- Place the smoker on the fire and leave for an hour. Determine the readiness of the lard by its appearance: if it has acquired a golden color, it is ready.
Advice. Do not open the lid of the smoking unit during cooking. This will disrupt the temperature regime, which can lead to leakage of fat and loss of juiciness.
How to smoke lard - cold version
Cold smoking allows you to prepare a product with a delicate texture and rich woody aroma. This is achieved due to low temperature (15 degrees). This method will require more time, and sometimes several days.
Depending on the smokehouse model, place the lard on a grate or hang it on hooks. Smoke is fed into the device through a hose in small portions.
How to smoke lard - without a special device
It is not always possible to purchase and use a factory-made smokehouse. You can achieve a smoky flavor in lard by using small tricks that will allow you to cook the dish in your apartment.
How to smoke lard on the stove
Many housewives use a large cauldron with a lid and a gas stove to smoke bacon at home.
- Place foil on the bottom of the container. Place a couple of handfuls of sawdust on top of it. Place the salted lard on a wire rack and place it in a cauldron.
- Cover with a lid, then set to low heat. This will allow the dishes to heat up evenly and promote the formation of smoke from the sawdust.
- Depending on the size of the lard pieces, the smoking time will depend. Usually it does not last more than 40 minutes.
How to smoke lard in the oven
Instead of a smokehouse, you can use an oven. It adjusts the temperature, and you choose the smoking option: hot or cold.
- Place parchment or foil on a deep baking sheet. Pour sawdust into it, place it inside the cabinet and heat it to 90 degrees.
- Place the bacon on a wire rack in the oven. Close it and leave the product to cook for about 30 minutes.
Advice. To form a beautiful crust, 10 minutes before cooking, increase the oven temperature to 120 degrees.
Smoking lard at home is easy if you follow the specified cooking technology and take into account these recommendations.
How to smoke lard using liquid smoke, watch the video:
Lard is a product that is appropriate for both everyday and festive tables.
Especially if it's smoked.
The smoky aroma stimulates the appetite and improves the taste of the product.
How can you prepare smoked lard at home?
Smoked lard at home - general principles of preparation
You can use absolutely any lard for smoking; this cooking method will make every piece tasty and aromatic. But lard with layers no more than 3 fingers thick is especially valued. Yes, yes, it is customary to measure thickness with your fingers, and this tradition has been going on for a long time.
Before preparing smoked lard at home, the product must be salted, either cold or in a marinade. The latter can contain any spices and additives, but there should be enough salt so that a chicken egg floats. But you can also prepare marinades with heat treatment. During the cooking process, all microbes die, lard is salted normally and no unpleasant surprises are expected.
How to smoke lard:
1. In the smokehouse. An option for preparing this product, the process is usually long and the cold method can take up to 3 days, the product is dehydrated, acquires a special aroma and taste, and is stored for a long time. Hot smoking for up to 5 hours, the product acquires a smoked aroma, remains juicy, the taste is slightly reminiscent of boiled lard.
2. In analogues of smokehouses. Most often these are frying pans, grills, cauldrons, in which a small amount of wood chips is placed and hot smoking is carried out. The option is simple, quite fast, and usually does not take more than 2-3 hours.
3. Artificial smoking. This is boiling, grating or pickling lard in a solution of liquid smoke with the addition of natural dyes (onion skins, tea).
Whatever option is chosen for preparing smoked lard at home, you need to use a fresh product, without any foreign odors or signs of spoilage. You should not try to revive lard that has a foreign odor or is starting to disappear. Otherwise, it will simply be a waste of time.
Recipe 1: Classic smoked lard at home
To prepare smoked lard at home, you will need a real smokehouse. Usually it is a large barrel, under which there is a stove; sawdust is placed inside for smoldering. Products are laid out on a wire rack or hung on hooks. Nowadays you can find electric smokers on sale. Any of these devices is suitable for making lard.
Required Ingredients
Bay leaf.
Cooking method
1. Prepare brine (salt solution). To prepare it, pour in an arbitrary amount of water, you can heat it up a little and begin to dissolve the salt. We lower the raw egg, pour in (and dissolve!) as much salt as possible until it floats to the surface. You don't need more salt, otherwise the layers of meat in the fat will become tough.
2. Add peppercorns, bay leaves, chopped garlic. In general, any spices to taste.
3. Dip pieces of lard into cold brine, put pressure on them and put them in a cool place for 4-7 days for salting.
4. After the lard is cooked, take it out of the brine, hang it on hooks or lay it on a wire rack, and let it dry for a couple of hours.
5. Prepare the smokehouse, make a fire or turn on the heat. We lay sawdust, you can add juniper berries to it for flavor. Place a couple of sugar cubes on top. We hang the lard and cook. At a temperature of 20 °C for at least 24 hours, if above 40 °C, the product will cook much faster.
Recipe 2: Smoked lard at home in a cauldron
A recipe for those who do not have the opportunity to prepare smoked lard at home in a real smokehouse. You will need a large cauldron; the higher it is, the lower the temperature inside and, accordingly, the better the final taste of the product.
Required Ingredients
You will also need a grate for lard pieces, a tight lid, wood chips or sawdust, preferably cherry wood.
Cooking method
1. Sprinkle the lard thickly with salt and pepper, and put it in a cold room for salting for 2 weeks. But you can also use lard from brine, the preparation of which is described in the recipe above.
2. We clean the prepared pieces of lard from salt or simply remove them from the brine and let the liquid drain.
3. Place wood chips or sawdust on the bottom of the cauldron and cover with foil.
4. Place pieces of lard on a wire rack placed in a cauldron.
5. Prepare a batter from flour and water, the consistency of sour cream. Coat the edges of the lid to seal it on the cauldron.
6. Turn on the stove on high heat and set for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the lard for 2-3 hours until it cools completely. The lid cannot be lifted during this time.
Recipe 3: Smoked lard at home with liquid smoke
Liquid smoke allows you to prepare smoked lard at home using simplified technology. If everything is done correctly, the product will acquire a smoky aroma and a pleasant taste, but at the same time it will remain hard and look like real cold-smoked lard.
Required Ingredients
Red pepper.
For brine per liter:
0.1 kg salt;
50 ml liquid smoke;
2 handfuls of onion peels.
Cooking method
1. Boil the onion skins in water with salt for 5-7 minutes, strain and immediately add liquid smoke.
2. Place pieces of lard into any container, it is better to take them with layers. Pour in hot onion brine until it completely covers the pieces. Cover with a lid. If the pieces float up and do not fit with the lid, then you can put a little pressure on them.
3. Leave to marinate for 12-20 hours, the time depends on the thickness of the pieces.
4. Remove from the brine, dry with a napkin and rub each piece with red pepper. You can also use minced garlic. Then we wrap each piece in cling film and put it in the refrigerator.
Recipe 4: Smoked lard at home with cooking
Another recipe for making smoked lard at home with liquid smoke, but this time it is cooked, it turns out soft and tender. You will also need onion peels, peppercorns and other more aromatic ingredients.
Required Ingredients
Fresh lard;
Black or red pepper.
For the decoction:
1 liter of water;
180 gr. salt;
A handful of husks;
Bay leaf;
90 gr. liquid smoke;
4 peppercorns.
Cooking method
1. Prepare the decoction by mixing everything and boiling for 2 minutes.
2. Add pieces of lard to the broth and bring to a boil. Cook for 20 minutes, then turn off and keep covered until completely cool. It's better to leave it overnight.
3. Take out the pieces, remove the stuck husks, dry with paper napkins.
4. Chop the garlic and mix with pepper. Rub each piece with the aromatic mixture, wrap it in foil and put it in the freezer.
Recipe 5: Smoked lard at home in a slow cooker
The advent of such an assistant as a multicooker has made cooking smoked lard at home even easier. This recipe also uses liquid smoke, but differs from previous versions in its simplicity and speed.
Required Ingredients
A piece of lard about 500 g;
Seasoning for lard;
Ground red pepper;
8 tablespoons of smoke.
Cooking method
1. Pour salt, a little pepper, lard seasoning into a bowl and pour in 4 tablespoons of liquid smoke. Place the piece skin side down. We also sprinkle salt and seasoning on top, pour in another 4 tablespoons of smoke. Fill with water so that it barely covers the piece. We put the pressure on and leave to marinate for 5 hours.
2. Transfer the marinated piece into the slow cooker and place it so that the skin is at the bottom. Pour out the liquid in which the lard was marinated.
3. Turn on the extinguishing mode for 40 minutes. After the time has passed, leave the product to marinate inside the multicooker for another hour. Then take it out and cool it. If desired, you can grate with any spices.
Recipe 6: Smoked lard at home in the oven
An option for preparing delicious smoked lard at home in a baking bag with liquid smoke. Tea leaves are used as a dye and additional flavoring. It is important that it is natural, without fruit additives. It is better to use lard with layers; for this recipe you can use the peritoneum.
Required Ingredients
Any piece of lard is about 1 kg, several small ones are possible;
Red pepper.
For the marinade:
tea leaves spoon;
100 ml liquid smoke;
Bay leaf;
200 gr. salt;
Liter of water.
Cooking method
1. Prepare the marinade, for this we boil water with salt, add tea leaves and immediately turn it off. Leave for 5 minutes, strain and pour in liquid smoke.
2. Immerse the lard in the still hot brine, leave to marinate for 24 hours, keep it in the refrigerator.
3. Take out the salted pieces and place them in a baking sleeve. We tie the ends on both sides and make a hole at the top.
4. Bake for 30 minutes at 180°C, then you can cut the sleeve and fry the piece for another 15 minutes.
5. Take out and cool until warm. Rub with chopped garlic and pepper.
Recipe 7: Smoked lard at home with pre-cooking
A special feature of this technology is the preliminary scalding of lard. This allows you to make the product more tender and also reduce the smoking time. To prepare smoked lard at home using this recipe, you will need a tall pan or tank. You will need to put metal rods on it, from which pieces of lard are hung on hooks.
Required Ingredients
1.5 kg of lard;
0.3 kg salt;
Bulb;
5 cloves of garlic;
2 liters of water.
You will also need ordinary food foil and sawdust.
Cooking method
1. Pour salt into the water and bring to a boil. Add the lard cut into pieces and cook after boiling for exactly 3 minutes.
2. Place the pieces in a container, add chopped garlic cloves and an onion, and pour in the brine in which it was boiled. Cool and put in the refrigerator for 4 days.
3. Take out the finished lard, hang it on hooks and let it dry for several hours so that the brine does not drip.
4. Place 2-3 handfuls of sawdust on a piece of foil, roll it up into an envelope, leaving holes, and place the bottom of the pan (tank).
5. We arrange the twigs and hang the lard on the hooks. Cover the top of the barrel tightly with foil, preferably in 2 layers, pressing it to the edges.
6. Turn on the stove, heat the tank for a minute and reduce the heat to low. Cook lard for 1.5-2 hours. Then turn off the stove and keep it in the tank until it cools completely.
Smoked lard at home - useful tips and tricks
In order for the lard to be smoked well, you should not make large pieces and it is better if they are in the form of oblong rectangles. Optimal weight up to 400 g.
The product should smell like smoke, not spice. Therefore, you should not get carried away and add a lot of seasonings and aromatic herbs to the brine, especially bay leaves and cloves.
Cold smoked lard can be stored well in a dry and ventilated area for several months. But if the product is cooked hot, it is better to pack the excess in an airtight film and put it in the freezer.
The readiness of lard can be determined by its color. As soon as it turns red-brown, it is ready. Often, beginners do not get the temperature right and end up with a hot smoked product much earlier than they planned. Experience comes with practice.
If, during the boiling process, pieces of lard are bent in an arc, then they need to be laid out on a flat surface with the skin facing up, pressed down with a cutting board and put under pressure. You can add brine and marinate (cool) further in this form.
How to smoke lard correctly? This question worries many gourmets and lovers of such a wonderful product. Now this process can be organized without even leaving home, fortunately there are several ways available to everyone. We invite you to learn how to smoke lard at home.
Method No. 1
Preparation will take you 10 minutes, and the entire cooking time will take 2 hours. But keep in mind that before you start directly, you will have to stand in the cold for about a week. So, we need a piece of pork belly with layers of meat, weighing five kilograms. The thicker and fattier the piece, the better. For this volume of lard you need to take 50 g of fine salt and 2 tsp. coarse, 50 g of sugar (preferably brown), maple syrup (can be replaced with honey), two cloves of garlic crushed through a crusher. Mix salt, sugar, (honey), garlic and grate the brisket thoroughly. Don’t worry if you can’t lubricate every millimeter - during the cooking process, the brine liquid will fill the entire surface. Now place the brisket in a bag or wrap it in foil and place it in the refrigerator.
You need to check every day, make sure that the resulting brine fills all areas and properly saturates the lard. On the seventh day, before we remove it from the bag (foil) and rinse it under running water. For smoking, it is best to use cherry or apple wood chips; they will give the product a rich aroma. The smokehouse is made simply: wood chips are placed in the bottom of an enamel or steel bowl, a grate is installed on which you need to put the lard, cover with a lid and put on the fire.
How long to smoke lard depends on the thickness of the piece. Be prepared that the room will be smoky, so the kitchen should be equipped with a powerful hood. But it is better to carry out this procedure outdoors (in the yard or on the terrace), using a barbecue.
Method number 2
Another option is how to smoke lard at home. It involves the use of onion peels, which must first be accumulated. Directly for the process you will need a cauldron or deep frying pan with thick walls, as well as salt, water and brisket (or lard from another part of the pork carcass). Prepare the brine: dilute four tablespoons of salt per liter of water. The lard needs to be cut into 3-5 centimeter slices and placed in one layer on the bottom of the vessel in which you will smoke. Then pour in the prepared brine so that it completely covers the product. Just throw a bunch of washed onion peels on top.
A frying pan or cauldron is placed on the stove. The brine should boil and the lard should boil for about 15 minutes. Then the lard should be removed and each piece should be cut three times, rubbed with pepper, garlic and other favorite seasonings, put in a jar and filled with brine, and put in the refrigerator for a day. This product is very similar to smoked lard in both color and taste. This cooking method is used with pleasure by housewives, since smoking lard at home is not always convenient due to the smoke.
Every person understands that lard is a fatty product, the frequent consumption of which can lead to excess weight. However, it has not only harm, but also benefit. First of all, pork fat provides the body with the required vitamins and elements. It contains fatty acids that strengthen the immune system and prevent the formation of inflammatory processes.
Boiled smoked lard is used for medicinal purposes, as it strengthens the cardiovascular system. Perfectly prevents colds, pneumonia, and bronchial problems. Removes toxins and waste from the body that accumulate due to poor nutrition and polluted environment. The composition of the product is impressive: it includes potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, selenium and various vitamins.
There was little, there was fat
People leading an active lifestyle will benefit from this delicacy. It is even recommended to pregnant women, so they can safely take note of the smoking recipe. Salo maintains vitality and provides energy for the day. It is used in folk medicine to treat toothache, problematic joints, and eczema. True, in this case it is used not in smoked form, but crushed, as an ointment.
Although the benefits are great, there are also harms. The boiled-smoked product contains cholesterol, which, when entering the body in large quantities, can provoke the development of cardiovascular diseases, as well as problems with the gastrointestinal tract. People with kidney problems should use this lard with caution.
As for calories, 100 g of hot smoked lard contains 775 kcal. Such a figure may frighten those who watch their figure. It is worth taking into account that the benefits of this product will only be if you eat no more than 50-80 g per day. Increasing portions can be harmful to the body.
Hot smoking of lard
Hot smoked lard is prepared either in the oven or in a smokehouse. The second option is much better, since the product turns out to be really tasty, aromatic and of high quality. The recipe is suitable for those who have their own dacha or a plot near the house. You just need to get a smokehouse or use a metal bucket instead. Then you can smoke the bacon in the fresh air at any time.
Preparing lard for smoking is necessary to ensure that the product turns out really good. Preparing for smoking will not take much time. It needs to be washed and cut into oblong pieces. Rub with salt on all sides; you can add spices if desired. In this form, you should let it stand for at least 2-3 hours, and preferably a day. How much to keep, everyone decides for themselves.
Lard can be hung in the smokehouse on hooks
Now an equally important part is preparing the smokehouse for use. It must be installed correctly over the fire. To do this, you need bricks that are laid around the fire. The smokehouse is placed on them so that it is directly above the flame. Chips of fruit wood are poured inside, a grate is placed on top of them, and pieces of lard are placed on it.
At this stage, all that remains is to light the fire and cover the lid. It is important to monitor not the temperature, but the fire. The flame should be medium to cook everything properly.
The pieces lie in the smokehouse for 30 minutes to an hour - the time is approximately the same as when cooking in the oven. You can take them out when they are covered with an appetizing brown crust.
It is advisable to let the product cool, you can even put it in the refrigerator for a day until it hardens. Now hot smoked lard can be served. It will be no worse than cooked cold, but will significantly surpass in taste what was cooked in the oven.
Cold smoking of lard
Smoking lard is possible in different ways - both hot and cold. In these two cases, the temperature differs, as does the process time. The recipe is easy to remember and implement. The only thing is, if you want to get the finished product as quickly as possible, it is better to smoke it in the oven.
The readiness of lard is determined by its appetizing brownish color.
Cold smoked lard turns out to be less fatty, acquires a brown color and a unique aroma. Harm is only possible through overeating; it is better to avoid this.
Ingredients:
- lard - 2 kg;
- water - 5 l;
- spices;
- salt - 500 g.
Using the cold method, lard can be pre-boiled in salted water with spices. Then it will become more tender. The boiled-smoked version may turn out to be even more interesting than the standard one. Lard, meat with a layer of fat will need to be placed on the grill in the smokehouse. The temperature should not exceed 20°C. How long does it take to cook it like this? The recipe requires 2-3 days. In the oven it can be made in less than an hour. It is noteworthy that boiled-smoked lard, prepared in a cold way, practically does not harm the body.
Video of preparing hot smoked lard in a smokehouse:
Each person has their own taste preferences, but many people believe that smoked lard is tastier than simply salted lard and, of course, it is much softer. Below is a way to make your own smokehouse for lard from a barrel.
Smokehouse for lard from a barrel, device
In order to make a homemade smokehouse for lard, you need a 200-liter iron barrel without a top and bottom. Essentially, just an iron cylinder.
To set up a smokehouse, you first need to dig a ditch 0.3 m deep, 0.2 m wide and 1.5 m long in a suitable place, cover it with a sheet of iron and lightly sprinkle it with earth. At one end the ditch should be deepened for the firebox, and at the other end a barrel should be placed, bottom down.
In the upper part of the barrel, you need to make cutouts with a grinder and secure in them the ends of a metal rod on which the hooks will be hung. Inside the barrel, above its middle, you need to secure a fine metal mesh. That's all.
How to smoke lard in a smokehouse from a barrel
Before smoking, lard must be soaked in clean water for 2 hours, then, so that it can be glassed and dried, the lard must be hung on hooks inside the barrel and placed on a mesh. The top of the barrel must be covered with thick canvas, and a piece of iron must be placed on top of it.
To smoke lard, you can use any firewood, except coniferous trees, as they contain a lot of resin. The kindling begins with dry wood, and then raw wood is added to create more smoke.
Depending on the air temperature outside and the thickness of the lard pieces, smoking it lasts from 2 to 4 hours. The degree of readiness of the lard is determined by taste and if it is ready, they simply stop adding firewood. When the lard is ready, it is wrapped in paper and placed in the freezer.
This original method of making a smokehouse for lard from a barrel is presented in the magazine “Country of Useful Advice”.
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