My back fat needs help
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caribougal
Posts: 865 Member
Well, not mine. I'm happy to report that my back fat is a thing of the past. But I scored 2 lbs of pork back fat from my meat CSA today. I told the farmer "I'll take all the offal and lard and stuff other people don't want". Now, I'm dealing with that bravery.
I cut the fat blocks into 1 inch cubes and separated it into 1/4 pound portions, figuring I'd only want to unfreeze a little at a time.
So... What do I do with it? Just consider it lard and melt it for frying grease? Or do I need to do something additional to it to "render" it?
I wonder how long it will last in the fridge once defrosted?
Can anyone school this city girl on the fine art of back fat?
P.S. in addition to the fat, ground pork, and pork loin, I also got a pig heart. And yes, it looks exactly like a human heart. I hope the police never have a reason to search my freezer. I can't deal with what I'm going to do with that yet. It will join the chicken feet, giaards, livers, cow heart and tongue that have been languishing in the freezer. When I move to my new house, I will be an offal-cooking madwoman. But any ideas for a pig heart are welcomed.
I cut the fat blocks into 1 inch cubes and separated it into 1/4 pound portions, figuring I'd only want to unfreeze a little at a time.
So... What do I do with it? Just consider it lard and melt it for frying grease? Or do I need to do something additional to it to "render" it?
I wonder how long it will last in the fridge once defrosted?
Can anyone school this city girl on the fine art of back fat?
P.S. in addition to the fat, ground pork, and pork loin, I also got a pig heart. And yes, it looks exactly like a human heart. I hope the police never have a reason to search my freezer. I can't deal with what I'm going to do with that yet. It will join the chicken feet, giaards, livers, cow heart and tongue that have been languishing in the freezer. When I move to my new house, I will be an offal-cooking madwoman. But any ideas for a pig heart are welcomed.
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Replies
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Other than rendering for fat, maybe make pork rinds/crackling with it? I don't think I can help with pig heart, though my dog would love it!0
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Have you considered buying Beyond Bacon? I think you may need it...
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render it (back fat) up with some greens...mmm!
And yes, I 2nd the pork cracklins idea - I should look into this, as I get them fresh made at the local hispanic grocery sometimes, as they are sooo much more delicious than store-bought pork rinds.
And, I'll admit, you got me with the Topic name. haha!0 -
But aren't pork rinds/cracklings made from pork skin? Like, when I got the smoked pork belly and had a serious carving workout slicing that slippery sucker into bacon-ish sized slices (NOT EASY!!!), there was a tougher skin on one side of the pork belly. I sliced that off the belly and froze it, figuring that was the pork rind gold.
But the back fat didn't really have the same skin. I guess it had one side that was a little rougher than the other, but not as thick as the skin on the pork belly.
Oh, this is what happens when a Jewish girl buys a pig from a Lebanese farmer.
I think I will have to buy Beyond Bacon.0 -
Oh, this is what happens when a Jewish girl buys a pig from a Lebanese farmer.
This just cracked me up. LOL
We're planning to raise our own pork; Beyond Bacon is on my required reading list.0 -
Preparation and Use
It may flavor dishes like collard greens, be strained to make lard, fried into crispy strips called cracklings, or used to wrap around other types of meat to retain freshness, called barding.
One of the most well known uses of fatback is rendering it into lard, which is where the fat has been melted to remove impurities and then re-set, producing the snow-white shortening beloved by bakers, potato-roasters, and other fans of the delicious. Cured with spiced salt mixtures and left to hang, fatback turns into the highly prized Italian all-fat salume lardo (try it on pizza, famously, at a number of Mario Batali's restaurants). The French like to use fatback to enrich terrines and pâtés, or cut into ribbons and added to game birds under the skin to protect the lean meat. The French also practice a technique called, literally, larding, where strips of pork fat are actually sown into meat with a specialized needle. Pork rinds, scratchings, cracklings, and chicharrones can all be made by deep frying fatback until the attached skin becomes golden brown and crunchy.0 -
no help on the pig heart. (ugh) peel the tongue after you boil it in seasoned broth. you can serve it slices or bread and fry. You are right on the fat. that is all their is to do.0
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Preparation and Use
It may flavor dishes like collard greens, be strained to make lard, fried into crispy strips called cracklings, or used to wrap around other types of meat to retain freshness, called barding.
One of the most well known uses of fatback is rendering it into lard, which is where the fat has been melted to remove impurities and then re-set, producing the snow-white shortening beloved by bakers, potato-roasters, and other fans of the delicious. Cured with spiced salt mixtures and left to hang, fatback turns into the highly prized Italian all-fat salume lardo (try it on pizza, famously, at a number of Mario Batali's restaurants). The French like to use fatback to enrich terrines and pâtés, or cut into ribbons and added to game birds under the skin to protect the lean meat. The French also practice a technique called, literally, larding, where strips of pork fat are actually sown into meat with a specialized needle. Pork rinds, scratchings, cracklings, and chicharrones can all be made by deep frying fatback until the attached skin becomes golden brown and crunchy.
Wow. Who knew! I have some serious googling to do.0
