This is one cured product you will almost never see done with wild game; I’m not saying it’s impossible, but to make really good lardo — which is cured and dried back fat — you need that fat to be at least an inch thick. This is even rare on most domestic hogs. You can also do this with belly, but again, it needs to be thick.
Why make lardo? It is definitely a conversation piece, served over bread on a charcuterie platter. But lardo also works well in any recipe you might want to use English salt pork or French petit salé in — only lardo is better.
lardo, cured pork fatback
A few things to remember: Don’t bother trying this with a factory pig. They’re bred lean and pumped full of nasty hormones and antibiotics, and those things tend to lodge themselves in fats. Go with a small grower who is raising pigs the old way; my source is a farmer named John Bledsoe in Yolo County, California.
Another thing to remember is that fat hates light. Light can turn pork fat rancid, so cure and hang lardo in the dark.
Makes 3 pounds of lardo, but you can halve the recipe if you want.
Prep Time: 60 days
- 3 pounds high-quality pork back fat, in roughly 1-pound slabs
- 1/2 pound kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon smoked salt (optional)
- 1/4 pound sugar
- 1 ounce Instacure No. 2, about 2 level tablespoons
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh rosemary
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons cracked black pepper
- 3 tablespoons dried thyme
- 3 star anise pods
- 10 crushed bay leaves
- Mix the salt, curing salt and sugar together in a bowl. Do the same with the herbs and spices.
- Lay down a layer of the salt mix on the bottom of a large non-reactive (plastic, stainless steel or glass) container, then a layer of the herbs. Put a layer of pork on it, then cover with more salt and spices. Keep layering like this until you are out of pork. Top with the rest of the spices and salt.
- Cover with a layer of plastic wrap, then put a plate or other lid on the pork that is smaller than the top of the container. Weigh down this lid with something heavy, like a dumbbell or some heavy canned goods.
- Let this cure for 12 days, rotating the pork every three days.
- After 12 days to 2 weeks, remove the pork and rinse it well. Pat it dry, then poke a hole about 1/2 inch in so you can run some string through it to hang. Hang the pork for 2-4 weeks in a dark place; you’re looking for 50-60 degrees and 60-75 percent humidity.
- NOTE: You can leave the fat in the brine that forms far longer than 2 weeks. The Italians leave it for 6 months or more. It will get saltier the longer you leave it.
Hey, Hank! I read your posts religiously and love the blog. I am currently finishing my studies in my Germany (no hunting, no real kitchen, no real money) and I feel like your blog gives me a list of projects to riff off of when I finally get back to the states. Thanks for sharing all of your hard work and great ideas. If I ever come across some bit of local food lore, I’ll make a point to share it.
BUT, did you cure the lardo in a marble “tub”? It’s the same with Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery Bitter, Nut Brown Ale and Porter. They ferment in slate vats. My best understanding is lardo is aged in marble.
I read with interest, the 60 day recipe for Lardo. My question is how do the contestant chefs on Iron Chef shows manage to create what they call Lardo within the hour time frame of the show?
Barb: They don’t. Lardo cannot be made quickly. What they are doing is quickly salting raw pork fat and serving it. Not my cup of tea…
Hey great article! I’m super interested in making this myself but I have a few questions and would love it if you would oblige in answering them for me
During the curing process where abouts would it be best to store the fat? In the fridge? Or in a dark room as you do during the hanging process?
When you rotate the fat do you flip all the layers as a whole or separately?
And lastly, is there any particular method you use for rinsing the fat after curing? Just under a tap? Do you agitate the surface to remove as much salt as you can?
That’s it. I don’t know if these questions seem stupid but thanks for being patient.
Cheers again
J-Bob: You cure the fat in the fridge, hang it in a curing chamber. I flip the layers separately, and I just rinse thoroughly under cold water from the tap.
Hope that helps!
1 oz of Instacure seems like far too much. I know 1 oz cures 30lb of meat so about 1 tsp for 5 lbs. I know it’s not mixed in here and is just a rub but this still seems like a great deal. Any info?
Jimmy: It’s a good ratio for the full 2 pounds of salt I am packing the fatback with, but yes, you could probably cut it in half and it would still work. If you try it, let me know how it turns out, OK?
Great article, I just finished cured pork belly in the same fashion you described above. Its great I recommend anyone give it a try. I would like to get ahold of some backfat. The contrast of meat and fat is good for texture, however it needs to be sliced very thinly.
Awesome all the same
keep up the great work.
Just finished nine pounds from one of my Large Black hogs. Not as thick but tastes great. How do you store it for longer periods?
August: I vacuum seal it and freeze it.
[...] were talking about Lardo as we walked around the market and literally, right in font of us, was an Italian stall selling it [...]
because of the high fat content and large surface area, do you think lardo could be hung in a walk in fridge like pancetta?
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