Pork is usually a staple meals from the mountain locations of northern Italy, where it’s typically claimed that a very well butchered pig need to go away ‘very little nevertheless the oink’ powering. As a pig is typically about thirty% fat, thrifty locals needed to think of a method to use and maintain this useful supply of protein, and The end result is Lardo.
Lardo di Colonnata, to provide it its full title, is often a delicacy created from pork Excess fat in and round the Tuscan mountain city of Colonnata. Happily for supporters of cured meat, it’s not merely a frugal means of preserving pork Extra fat around Wintertime – it’s tasty as well!
It’s produced in substantial vats known as conche, fashioned from marble quarried within the close by ‘white mountain’ of Cararra, that happen to be 1st liberally rubbed with garlic. Up coming, layers of pork Excess fat, salt, as well as a Unique mixture of herbs and spices are added right until the vats are total. The conche are then sealed which has a picket lid and still left in awesome mountain caves for six months or for a longer time to experienced within the cleanse air.
After the maturation time is about, the conche are opened to expose a silky-clean, meltingly tender ‘meat’ which can be eaten in much the same way as Parma Ham or other prosciutto.
Although Lardo is usually utilized to retain roasted meats moist by inserting a skinny layer in excess of the pores and skin, It is usually tasty simply just sliced thinly and eaten with bread, olives, and a very good additional virgin olive oil as A part of an antipasto system. It really is in no way tough or greasy, and is particularly nicely well worth attempting even though the thought of consuming pure Fats leaves you a little apprehensive!
Regardless of the very long years of creating Lardo in the traditional way, a lot of the examples that you choose to could discover in your local deli or retail outlet should have been made in a way more industrial setting, largely because of present day hygiene guidelines using priority above customs and heritage. Long gone tend to be the marble conche and the mountain air, changed by chrome steel and air conditioning.
Having said that, readers to the world all over Colonnata should be lucky and have keep of Lardo designed from the outdated way which has been verified more than the centuries honey – just don’t explain to the authorities if you do!