Lardo

I posted this in the thread about discussion of Heat by Bill Buford, but it probably would make more sense to ask it in the shopping and cooking area - I'm still looking for the pork fat of my dreams

zim wrote:So I'm wondering - when I read this, I had the overpowering need to eat lardo or similar cured pork fat items as mentioned in the book. the best I was able to come up with locally (at not exorbitant fees) was bobak's smoked hunter bacon but would love to hear if folks had better substitutions.

zim wrote:I posted this in the thread about discussion of Heat by Bill Buford, but it probably would make more sense to ask it in the shopping and cooking area - I'm still looking for the pork fat of my dreams

zim wrote:So I'm wondering - when I read this, I had the overpowering need to eat lardo or similar cured pork fat items as mentioned in the book. the best I was able to come up with locally (at not exorbitant fees) was bobak's smoked hunter bacon but would love to hear if folks had better substitutions.

I'm not sure where to get it in Chicago (though I'd start with Italian butchers), but you don't just want cured lardo, you really need to try uncured lardo as well. It's unreal. I highly suggest drinking it with some rediculously bold supertuscan.

I had an terrific lardo pizza at Mario Batali's Otto a couple of years ago. I was skeptical, but the simple lardo, with a bit of proscuitto, (plus a great crust), was amazing. If I could get that kind of lardo here, I'd be back into my pizza-making mode immediately.

OTTO Enoteca Pizzeria
1 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY

I'll save you some time and gas...

I just called: Riviera, Caputo's, Conti di Savoia, Bari Foods, Nottoli and Fox and Obel. None of these places carry lardo. The guy at F&O said they stock some really fatty guanciale and something called "pancetta pepato"--cured pork belly with herbs and olive oil. I think it's got some meat "streaks" and is fairly fatty from what the guy said, but I'm guessing that a pancetta cure is different than lardo?

I've also heard Batali refer to it as "prosciutto bianco"--perhaps because the word "lard" freaks people out too much?

-crrush

--Edited a spelling mistake...and adding this:

I called Graziano's on Randolph, and the nice lady who answered (who, when I said, "I post on this food forum called LTH", exclaimed, "Oh, of course, we know Antonius!") said she would call around to see if she could find any and would get back to me.

Here's an old thread started by Bill/SFNM, after he ordered lardo from Niman Ranch:
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=7257

Here's where I had it, which suggests your easiest route will be to go have dinner at Baccala, since what we had was one of the things that inspired John Bubala to open the place.

um, Mike, didn't you write

Mike G wrote:

Luscious, melt-in-your-mouth cured pig fat, atop an evanescently smoky piece of grilled bread. No, you probably won't see that at your table (although who knows, now that you know about it, maybe you can talk a good enough Slow Food game that it might appear)

Don't want bubala to be knocked down by hordes of disappointed pig-fat lovers

Amata wrote:Here's an old thread started by Bill/SFNM, after he ordered lardo from Niman Ranch:
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=7257

Thanks Amata,

I checked Niman Ranch's site and apparently what they sell is high-quality skinless backfat "to use for flavoring beans or to create the classic Italian lardo" So, it looks like what you get is the basic ingredient rather than the finished product

I did check the batali salumi website in seattle but it looks like they will only sell lardo to local restaurants

zim wrote:
I checked Niman Ranch's site and apparently what they sell is high-quality skinless backfat "to use for flavoring beans or to create the classic Italian lardo" So, it looks like what you get is the basic ingredient rather than the finished product

This is the product I had been ordering from Niman Ranch, but last time I checked it had been discontinued.



I've been making my own using the recipe from Ruhlman's Charcuterie. I think it is better, although getting the salt balance just right has been tricky. Still, it is worth the effort - silky, smooth pork fat sliced paper thin and eaten with a piece of freshly baked focaccia drizzled with olive oil.

Bill/SFNM

Hog Heaven: Cutting the Lardo di Colonnata

-ramon

I've been making my own using the recipe from Ruhlman's Charcuterie. I think it is better, although getting the salt balance just right has been tricky. Still, it is worth the effort - silky, smooth pork fat sliced paper thin and eaten with a piece of freshly baked focaccia drizzled with olive oil.

So Bill, I'm thinking of making this next, I have some fatback coming from the same folks who sold me my pork bellies for bacon. Any more specific tips about the salt balance?

Also, I'm not sure where I'm going to find the even 60 degrees/60% humidity-- did you use a wine fridge or something like that? Did that work well? I don't have one, but I know a couple of people with underutilized ones-- does it give off any particular odor as it cures/dries? (Anything that airing it out and/or a box of baking soda couldn't handle?)

Thanks in advance for any good advice.

Mike G wrote:
So Bill, I'm thinking of making this next, I have some fatback coming from the same folks who sold me my pork bellies for bacon. Any more specific tips about the salt balance?

Also, I'm not sure where I'm going to find the even 60 degrees/60% humidity-- did you use a wine fridge or something like that? Did that work well? I don't have one, but I know a couple of people with underutilized ones-- does it give off any particular odor as it cures/dries? (Anything that airing it out and/or a box of baking soda couldn't handle?)

Mike,

The salt balance is mainly a function of the thickness of the fat and the amount of time in the cure, so it is important to try to find a piece of uniform thickness or as uniform as possible. Then adjust the amount of time in the cure based on whether the piece is thicker or thinner than 1 1/4" that the recipe calls for. I've been getting pieces about 2" thick which seem to come out best in about 15 days.

I've been using my little wine fridge for curing which maintains a relative humidity of 50%-70% during the typically dry conditions here. The meat will develop what for me is a rather pleasant aroma that doesn't seem to linger.

I've got a big 40lb. piece of fatback arriving next week. About half will be used to make lardo to be shared among a group of my friends. It will be too big for my little fridge, so it will be hung in the large walk-in wine cellar of one of the friends. It maintains about 50%-60% relative humidity.

On a related note: the name "lardo" does not do justice to its awesome texture and taste. Everyone seems to react much better when I offer them some "white prosciutto".

Bill/SFNM

Thanks, Bill. Based on the bacon I got from the same source, I'd bet it will be on the thick side, and I definitely think I didn't cure my bacon long enough to be salty all the way through (but then I was rushing to get it done before leaving for Spain). So that's good input, thanks.

I buy lardo from Buonitalia, an Italian food wholesaler who also has a
retail shop in the Chelsea market, in Manhattan. I checked their website at buonitalia.com and lardo is not listed, but I know they stock it (and it's
very good), so you might want to give them a call at 212 633-9090 to see if they'll ship it out.

Erica De Mane

I got the email above. I did not call them. If anyone does please post.

I happened to check buonitalia.com and they are selling lardo for $18.65. I think I might order some.

Zim, I'm not sure, but I think you might find what you are looking for at Bende's Hungarian meat shop in Glen Ellyn. It's at 444 Roosevelt Rd.