Lardo on toast

There was some good discussion in the Old Town Social thread about various ways to serve lardo on toast. The discussion led to what one might characterize as a challenge:

David Hammond wrote:Next time you slice lardo thin enough to melt on contact with warm bread, I'd love to see the pic.

You see, at Old Town Social they whip their lardo into a texture that's a cross between cheese whiz and Vaseline, then pile it too high on what I believe are pre-made toasts. Though others have liked that version, I'm not a fan. At the other end of the spectrum, charcuterie man and LTHer Mike G serves his lardo a more common way - sliced relatively thin and placed atop warm toasts, where it retains what he calls "a chewy, almost meat-like texture". I've enjoyed lardo that way many times, but as Mr. Hammond himself implied, the mastication required to break down the lardo can be a bit unpleasant and may detract from what is still surely a delicious snack.

My way (the best way) to serve lardo solves both the mastication problem and the problems in eating Vaseline. The way I do it, the lardo is sliced almost impossibly thin by hand, and then allowed to come to room temperature before being placed atop piping hot - not merely warm - toasts. When done this way, the lardo mostly melts right into the toast, leaving behind barely a pleasant whisper of its original texture, requiring no mastication at all as it merely finishes the melting in your mouth.

Lardo and very sharp, thin-blade knife:


Sliced thin, practically translucent:


On piping hot toasts a fraction of a second after they get out of the toaster:

The hot toast is definitely a must. The sharp knife also. Over the past few years I've bought a few good knives, and a sharpening set. This morning I happened to pick up an older knife that had previously been a favorite, and used only twice since its last sharpening. Could not slice cold roast thinner than 1/8". Picked up a new petty not sharpened after 2 weeks of use, and had 1/16" right away.

Now that is how to do lardo.

jesteinf wrote:Now that is how to do lardo.

Yes sir Senator!

G Wiv wrote:

jesteinf wrote:Now that is how to do lardo.

Yes sir Senator!

Triple up.

Bread right off the grill is great also.

Jeff