Although this article is about cooking fat in the oven in foil, it’s still worth starting with an interesting fact.
If someone had to meet the word “xenotransplantation”, he certainly knows the meaning of this term and the underlying principles of this area of medicine. The essence of this trend lies in the fact that some cells and tissues of pigs, after modification and removal of antibodies, serve as material for implantation in the human body.
Based on this fact, it is quite possible to assume that pork meat is the most valuable product, since its biochemical composition is, even if in natural rather than purified form, is most suitable for a person, accelerating cell renewal in his body. Just one example: the notorious drug “Pepsin” is obtained from porcine cells.
In lard there is a group of vitamins D, vitamin E, choline; it is rich in selenium and zinc, lipids, a full set of amino acids (albeit to a small extent), rarely found in plant foods, arachidonic acid — an unsaturated fatty acid responsible for removing cholesterol (!) in the body, stimulating reproductive activity, participating in metabolism and elimination of toxins.
Fat - a source of energy, contributes to the rapid recovery of strength.
Of course, fat is a product that contains more cholesterol. But this cholesterol does not linger in the body, when eating fat with garlic.
Salo in the oven in foil - general technological principles
Such properties of the product, of course, could not go unnoticed.
It is prepared for the future using salted and smoked methods. Once upon a time, there was a tradition in peasant families — pigs were slaughtered only at a certain time of the year, which was mainly timed by large religious holidays, marked by the end of fasting. People prepared for the holiday feast with great diligence, and, of course, meat was the main product from which they cooked many dishes: cooked, fried, baked. All that remained after the feast was being prepared for the future: they smoked and salted in order to save supplies, due to the lack of refrigerators. Meat of cattle was a luxury - the ancient Slavs cared for the preservation of animals that give milk, no less valuable source of animal food.
The best option for meat was pork. Much of the fat contained in pig carcasses was also harvested and used for food. In addition to salting and smoking, pork knuckles, nuggets, bacon and other parts of the carcass were pickled, stuffed and then wrapped in clay, baked in a stove or on a charcoal fire.
The emergence of food foil and modern kitchen appliances has greatly facilitated the process of roasting lard in the oven, in foil.
In addition, being in an impermeable to air and moisture shell, the finished product retains its taste and nutritional properties, being subjected exclusively to heat.
The pig's age for receiving meat is no higher than 10 months, and for fat more suitable carcass, slaughtered after 12-15 months. In order to get fat with a layer, pigs are fattened by a special method, alternating nutritious and low-calorie feeds in the pig's diet.
The choice of bacon, like pork, is carried out according to the same criteria. The best fat, nevertheless, is easier to choose in the market, and it should be fresh, “fresh”. The back is more tender in terms of density and consistency. Externally, fat of the abdominal part - brisket looks very attractive. Rolls of bacon (or under-cooking) are prepared.
When buying lard, which is usually prepared with the skin, you need to pay attention to the quality of its processing. After slaughter the carcass of the pig is burnt with straw to remove the bristles. This method is the most eco-friendly, and gives the skin of pork carcass a pleasant aroma. Beware of buying lard, whose skin was tarred with a blowtorch filled with gasoline or kerosene. Such meat has a specific, slightly appetizing smell.
Another point to pay attention to is the age and sex of the pig. Adult male and female boar meat after mating also has an unpleasant odor. Therefore, do not hesitate, when choosing lard or pork in the market, to conduct an independent sensory research before buying: in other words, smell it. When you come home, carefully wash the fat with warm water (30-50 ° C), rub your skin with a brush.
Further actions depend on the recipe and processing method.
Recipe 1. Lard in the oven in foil - smoked bacon with oranges
Ingredients:
Fresh Orange Juice 250 ml
Grated peel 100 g
Pepper, ground - black and fragrant
Juniper berries, dried (ground)
Soy Sauce 10 g
Basil, green
Sugar 30-40 g
Bacon (boneless, with meat layer) 1-1.5 kg
Cooking:
Place the prepared, smoked bacon in a lockable container. Pour it with cooked marinade, from juice and cooked ground spices. Soak the day in the refrigerator. After reach and dry; Place on a prepared baking sheet (covered with foil), on top also tightly cover the form with a second sheet of foil and bake for no more than 20 minutes. Ready bacon reach their ovens only after cooling.
Recipe 2. Lard in the oven in foil - brisket
Ingredients:
Breast (middle part, with interlayer) - 2 - 2.5 kg
Spice:
pepper, black (ground),
coriander (ground),
Bay leaf,
salt,
Sodium Nitrite (additive, to preserve color)
Garlic (optional)
Preparation:
Before baking the bacon in the oven, salt it by preparing a solution. To do this, pour water (cold, boiled) in a suitable dish and pour salt into it so that the raw, peeled potato tuber is kept on the surface. Soak the pig part in cooked brine for at least 72 hours. Remove the brisket, rinse, remove the salt solution from the surface, and dry it.
The shiny side to the fat, lay a foil on the work surface. On it, start rubbing brisket with prepared ground spices and spices. Properly wrap the prepared semi-finished product in foil: the packaging must be sufficiently free so that the hot steam does not break it, and sealed to prevent leakage of juice and burning or drying of the product. Fat must be laid in the form of the skin down. Lard, unlike meat, begin to bake in an unheated oven. It is better to set the thermostat to an average level so that the breast would languish. Each pound of product - 15 minutes for baking.
If you want your brisket to have a golden crust, 5-10 minutes until ready, lift the top layer of foil and brush the surface of the brisket with soft mustard.
Recipe 3. Salo in the oven in foil - Belarusian-style bacon
For this recipe, you can use dry salted lard, without a layer, 3-4 cm thick. The amount of spices is adjusted to taste. But for the traditional Belarusian fat there is a certain set of them.
Ingredients:
Garlic;
Ground, black and fragrant pepper;
Dill, chopped (fresh)
Bay leaf (ground)
Oregano (dry grass)
Cooking:
If you use already salted lard for baking, without spices, then just clean it from excess salt, scrape it off the surface of the fat with a knife. After that, divide the layer in half, cutting it with a knife. Each half of the fat rub with prepared, chopped spices and herbs and put together, skin out. Wrap the semi-finished product in foil as above. Roasting time: for 1 kg - 40 minutes; for 2 kg - 1 hour 15 minutes.
When the fat has cooled, remove the foil. You can store it in the refrigerator for up to one month, in a sealed package.
If you use unsalted lard for this recipe, then it should be cleaned, salt with coarse salt, and spices should be placed inside the two halves. Wrap tightly or place the pieces in an airtight container (it is better to use enameled or ceramic), and remove the product for a week in the cold. After peeling off the salt, wrap in foil and bake.
Recipe 4. Smoked bacon in oven in foil - hot pepper roll
Ingredients:
Fat of the abdominal part (with thin skin) 1.5 - 2 kg
Salt (solution) 10%
Spices: coriander, bay leaf, red sweet and hot pepper (ground)
Cooking:
Take a strip of peritoneum, approximately 20x40 cm, so that it is convenient to wrap it in a roll. Peel the fat and beat it off from both sides. Put in saline by adding bay leaves and coriander. Keep in brine until complete salting, for at least three days. Remove from brine, dry and repel. It is necessary to ensure that the skin becomes very soft and begins to exfoliate. Remove it carefully with a knife and lay it on spreading foil. Lard, again on both sides, rub with a mixture of red peppers and tightly twist into a roll. Wrap the prepared lard with the separated skin. If necessary, tie a string or twine. Wrap the foil roll and bake. Readiness can be determined by the brownish edge on the bends of the foil.
Recipe 5. Lard in the oven in foil with potatoes
For this recipe, it is better to use potatoes with low starch content, crumbly varieties.
Ingredients:
Fresh fat, with a layer of 0.5 kg
Potatoes, peeled 1.0 kg
Salt, garlic, pepper
Cooking:
Peeled tubers (preferably the same size) cut in half. Fat cut into slices. At the bottom of the form, lined with foil, lay the slices of bacon, season them with salt and spices. On top, lay out the halves of potatoes, for each piece of bacon. And finally, cover the potatoes again with slices of bacon. Stir in salt and spices again. Cover the form with foil and bake until the potatoes are ready. Serve hot.
Recipe 6. Stuffed lard in the oven in foil with meat and prunes
Ingredients:
Pork tenderloin 0.5 kg
Prunes (pitted) 200 g
Mustard with honey (sauce)
Garlic
Peritoneum, without skin (fat) - 700-800 g
Salt, spices
Cooking:
Prepare the tenderloin: cut it into transverse plates, 1.5-2 cm thick, repel and rub with spices from both sides. Peel the fat from the skin, cut it off with a knife, also beat it off and treat it with spices. Along a piece of bacon lay the "chain" chops. Put chopped prunes on chops. Wrap the roll. Grate it with mustard and honey garlic sauce. Wrap the roll in foil. Soak the bacon in the marinade so that it is soaked (leave it in the fridge overnight). Bake the next day. The oven must be preheated.
Recipe 7. Lard in the oven in foil with rye bread
Ingredients:
Borodino bread (slices) 500 g
Salo, salted 250-300 g
Garlic 50g
Pepper
Cooking:
Slice a loaf of bread (rectangular or square) into thin slices, and then divide each slice in half, diagonally. Fry the bread lightly in a toaster.
Prepare a paste of salted bacon with garlic and pepper, chopping all the ingredients in a blender or meat grinder. Spread slices of bread with cooked bacon and place them on a baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet with foil and bake in a heated cupboard. Hot sandwiches with bacon, in the oven, in foil will be ready within 10 minutes.
Salo in the oven in foil - tips and tricks
- Fresh and salted lard can be stored in the refrigerator - use the dry freezing method, pre-packed lard in sealed containers or vacuum bags.
- Salo can be stored in brine, tightly packed in jars and preserved.
