Smoked lard. Is there a person who doesn't love him? Most likely, someone who has never tried this delicacy. Each person has his own taste preferences, however, many people believe that the salted product is much tastier, more aromatic and much softer.

There are many ways to smoke lard. Of course, the main methods are cold and hot smoking of the product. Both methods in the cooking process have their advantages and disadvantages. Naturally, to prepare smoked lard you need to have a smokehouse. What the product is, how to smoke it correctly so that it turns out amazing and brings you pleasure, we will tell you below.

There are several methods for this product. We present to you one of the simplest ways to make a smokehouse with your own hands.

Smokehouse for lard from a barrel

In order to independently build a smokehouse for lard, you need to find a 200-liter iron barrel without a lid and bottom, or an ordinary iron cylinder equal in size.

It is necessary to install hooks in the top lid for attaching future smoked meats. The hooks can be welded to ensure they are securely fastened. That's it, your smokehouse is ready. Now you need to pour sawdust into the bottom of the bucket, put it on the fire and cover with the lid that you prepared in advance. Smoke will seep through the gaps between the sides of the bucket and the lid. We install the top lid with the product and smoke. It should be noted that smoking in this design is carried out at an elevated temperature, so the product is hot smoked. The duration of smoking in such devices is from 15 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the smoked product.

Second option

You can make a smokehouse out of a bucket in a different way. To do this, take a bucket and measure the diameter just above the center in height. A grating of the required size is made as follows: a ring is rolled up from pre-prepared wire with a diameter of 3–5 mm according to the measured size, and a mesh of metal thread one millimeter thick is attached to it. We lower the resulting lattice to the measured height in the bucket. The cells in the grid should be as small as possible (1–2 cm). Keep in mind that it is advisable to make all parts of the ring and mesh from stainless steel, so as not to spoil the product that will come into contact with the metal.

Any metal cup can serve as a tray for collecting fat, which should not block the flow of smoke.

Smokehouse for lard using improvised means

A similar structure of lard can be made from a pan, and the grates are made with legs of the required length.

You can also make a structure for use in an apartment. The smoke exhaust pipe must be taken outside, and a water seal must be built at the top of the device. To do this, an edge is welded around the perimeter of the cylinder, which is filled with water.

The disadvantage of such devices for smoking lard is the impossibility of preparing a cold smoked product.

Brick smokehouse

All previous methods for constructing a smokehouse are given to quickly create a device from available means.

Of course, if you have the means and space to install a smokehouse, then it is better to build a universal stationary installation in which you can cook meat and fish products, including lard, using both hot and cold smoking methods.

Before starting construction, you must first decide on the construction site. It should be located as far as possible from flammable materials, residential buildings and not disturb neighbors.

Video about smoking lard at home

It is advisable to contact specialists, obtain drawings and build everything according to the drawings. Although it should be noted that the structure of both the stationary smokehouse and the mini-structures is almost the same.

Lard has long supported the energy of a person engaged in hard physical labor. Humanity has learned to prepare this product by salting and smoking for long-term storage. Thanks to smoking, lard becomes aromatic, soft and tasty; it can be stored for a long time and consumed daily.

Lard is a tasty product, rich in vitamins D, E, A and useful elements: calcium, potassium, phosphorus, selenium, magnesium.

If you eat less than 100 grams per day, it will not harm your health or figure.

Lard strengthens the immune system, stimulates bile formation and protects the gastric mucosa, which is why it has become a favorite snack “with vodka.”

It is eaten salted, boiled and smoked; Ukrainians produce lard in chocolate, but it is especially valued when smoked.

How to smoke lard in a hot smoker

Even a beginner can handle hot smoking lard. Cooking does not take much time if the product is properly prepared.

How to choose

By these signs you can distinguish “correct” lard from low-quality lard:

white color (yellowness is a sign of an old product);

light odor or no odor;

thickness from 2.5 to 4 cm;

thin layers of meat.

Pieces are taken from the sides or peritoneum. They should be fresh, juicy, with skin.

How to prepare lard for smoking in a smokehouse

Whatever recipe for smoking lard in a smokehouse you choose, it is important to properly prepare the product.

Cut into large pieces up to 10 cm wide (any length).

Don't remove the skin!

1. Salt or marinate.

The ideal lard is 3-4 cm thick with layers of meat. Pieces thinner than 2.5 cm should not be smoked - it is better to salt them.

How long to smoke lard in a hot smoked smokehouse

The smoking time of lard in a hot smoked smokehouse is affected by

pieces sizes;

salting duration.

The larger the piece, the longer it will take to cook! A sign of readiness is a golden brown crust and a dry surface of the product.

Boiled bacon is cooked for 30 minutes at a temperature of 50-60ºС (over coals or medium heat).

Hot smoking salted lard in a smokehouse will require more time. The temperature should initially be above 80ºC. After 15-20 minutes, reduce the heat to medium and leave the product for at least another 30 minutes, and if the pieces are large, then for 1 hour.

Helpful advice! Watch the color of the smoke.

While the food is being smoked, you should not open the smokehouse. To make sure the process is proceeding correctly, keep an eye on the smoke. It should be thick at first as the moisture evaporates. Then, when the food dries, the smoke will turn white. This is the "correct" color.

Yellow or brown smoke is a sign that food is burning. You need to reduce the heat. If the wood chips catch fire, fill the fireplace with new sawdust. The wood chips should only smolder.

When the fat actively melts and gets on the wood chips, the smokehouse begins to smoke. To prevent this from happening, do not heat the lard for too long or too much. And don't forget to use a grease tray!

Popular recipes for hot smoked lard in a home smokehouse

Marinating lard is an important stage in preparation for smoking. Necessary to add flavor to the future delicacy.

Recipe 1. Wet method

To prepare a simple brine for smoking lard in a smokehouse, prepare the ingredients in advance:

allspice and/or peas;

Bay leaf;

optional - cloves of garlic, a few buds of cloves.

The bacon should be placed in a container and water should be poured in so that it covers the pieces completely. This way you will determine the required volume of marinade. Then start adding salt. On average, they take 100-150 grams per 1 liter, but it is better to resort to tricks.

To avoid oversalting the marinade, use a raw egg!

Dip it into the brine and add salt to the solution until the egg floats to the surface. If you oversalt the bacon, the layers of meat in it will become tough.

Add the indicated spices to the prepared brine, omit the lard and do not forget about the pressure. You need to marinate food in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Then dry and smoke first over high heat. After 15 minutes, the heat can be turned low and the lard can be left for 1-1.5 hours.

Recipe 2. Dry method

If there is no time to prepare a marinade for hot smoked lard, dry-salted products are placed in the smokehouse. Use spices according to your taste. Goes well with lard

• black pepper;

  Bay leaf;

  coriander;

Rub each piece thickly with salt and spices. Salt is also poured onto the bottom of the container where the lard will be marinated. The pieces are laid in layers, adding laurel leaves from time to time.

Salt the lard in this way for 2.5-3 hours. If you don’t have time, you can leave it under pressure in the refrigerator for an hour, and then send it to smoke.

The better the lard is marinated, the faster it will smoke!

Before sending food to the smokehouse, you need to rinse it of salt and dry it. Time and temperature - as in the previous recipe.

Recipe 3. Boiled smoked lard

To prepare boiled-smoked lard, you need to salt the products, as in recipe 2. Then boil the bacon.

Pour water into the pan with the food, add another 3-4 tablespoons of salt, dried dill, and a few peppercorns. There is no need to cook for a long time - 30 minutes after boiling is enough.

Cooked smoked lard takes 30-60 minutes over medium heat. This is an approximate time - the exact time depends on the size of the pieces.

How to store homemade hot smoked lard

When the lard smokes (becomes golden brown), it needs to be cooled and ventilated. You can leave it overnight or for a day in the refrigerator or hang it in a dark place with good ventilation.

At room temperature, hot smoked lard is stored for 10-14 days. In the refrigerator - up to 3 months. In the freezer - a year. A cellar/basement is not suitable for storage due to high humidity!

Even a beginner can master smoking lard in a home smokehouse! It is important to choose a fresh product, marinate it well and smoke it on alder chips. You can add a little cherry or currant sawdust, a sprig of rosemary or juniper berries. The main thing is not to overdo it! The base should remain alder chips.

Delicious smoked lard is a wonderful product that can be quickly prepared at home. When you have a large amount of lard, it is better to smoke it so that it does not spoil. You can use smoked lard even for six months without harm to your health. What is the best way to smoke lard at home to get a truly appetizing dish? This is quite easy to do when you have a good home smoker. It is best (and more practical) to smoke lard after salting it, using the cold method, having prepared firewood and sawdust from hardwood, as well as large containers for salting and smoking lard. It’s possible to prepare homemade smoked lard in half an hour.

It is more profitable to salt lard in good brine. Boil water, and calculate about 800 grams of water per jar with a capacity of three liters. Think about what the salt consumption will be: 12 grams of salt are required per kilogram of lard. Try dipping a raw egg into the cooled brine. It will float, which means there is enough salt. Lard should be salted for ten days (maximum two weeks).

Build a home smokehouse. Make a regular firebox, dig a trench near it, about a couple of meters. Insert a large-diameter pipe into the trench, and place a container above it. You can purchase an old iron barrel without a bottom, strengthening it with iron bars across it. Place alder sawdust on the bottom of the smokehouse (you need three large handfuls). Let the firewood burn out a little so that coals form. Place the smokehouse on the fire, on the grate, and cover the lard with a lid. Let the lard itself be smoked for a couple of days; by the way, you need to carefully monitor the wood and smoke so that the lard is smoked evenly. It is better to coat hot lard with a mixture of crushed garlic and ground red pepper. This is how you can safely smoke lard at home. The fire can be extinguished at night and rekindled during the day. Such lard must be stored in a clean and cool place.

You can smoke both brisket and meatloaf. To do this, the products must be soaked in cold water for about three hours. Then place the lard in a large saucepan of boiling water. One kilogram of lard should be cooked for about an hour. After cooking, it is better to fold the products and hang them to dry in a cold room, tying the dried hams with a twine net. Next, the lard is smoked in a smokehouse at a low temperature of 20 degrees for two to four days. It is best when the lard does not come into contact with other objects. With quick smoking, lard can be processed at a temperature of 50-60 degrees for half a day. It is better to place lard skin side down in the smokehouse.

Smoked lard is an excellent product that will come in handy for the holiday. It is especially appropriate to serve it on the Easter table.

If you need to smoke a very small amount of lard, you can use the method described in the following video.

Smoked lard is a unique product. It can be served either in combination with other dishes or as an independent snack. After smoking, the product receives a wonderful taste and aroma that few people can leave indifferent. Despite the fact that smoking is a difficult process that takes a lot of time, such a delicious dish can be prepared at home without expensive equipment.

Taste qualities of smoked lard

After a long smoking procedure, lard acquires an incredible aroma and taste, as if it were soaked in “smoke.”

The taste quality of the final product directly depends on:

• selected piece (raw material);
• smoking method;
• marinade.

Did you know? Smoking was very popular in Rus'. Only there were no special smokehouses at that time, so they used baths that were heated black, and the meat (or fish) was hung on hooks near the stove.

Smoking methods

Before you start smoking, of course, you need to choose a convenient method, of which there are only two: cold and hot. It is important to note that you must follow all instructions exactly, because the product is very delicate and can be easily damaged.

Cold

Cold smoking is an ideal option for those who want a lighter product, after all, the result of cold smoking is less fatty than hot smoking. This method requires a special smokehouse.

There are some difficulties here, namely, the preparation process is very long and consists of several stages. Before starting the smoking process, the raw materials must be salted for 2-3 weeks. To do this, you need to rub it with spices and salt and put it in the refrigerator. After the required time has passed, the workpiece is taken out and all the salt and spices are removed with a knife.

After performing manipulations with the raw materials, it is necessary to load the chips of fruit trees into the smokehouse and hang the raw materials in the smoking box. The whole process will take another 2-3 days.

Important! Wood chips neededregularlyadd. Otherwise, the product will smoke unevenly.

Hot

Hot smoking is a less labor-intensive process. Before it, it is also necessary to salt the raw materials, however, for a maximum of a day. The procedure is the same as for cold: rub the workpiece with spices, salt and garlic and leave in the refrigerator for a day (less is possible, but at least 8 hours). After this time, everything is also removed with a knife.

The raw materials are smoked in a special smokehouse, which is located directly above the flame. Before laying, the product must be cut into small pieces, light a small fire (using fruit trees), place the smokehouse with lard over the fire and leave for 30 minutes to an hour until an appetizing crust appears. It is important to monitor the fire; the fire should not be too large, otherwise the workpiece may simply burn.

Afterwards the product is removed from the smokehouse and placed on a plate.

Important! Hot smoked products must be completely cooled before use. Cold appetizers have a richer taste.

Rules for selection and preparation of lard

Regardless of the smoking method, the main role is played by the selection of the right raw materials, since it is the only ingredient, and, of course, its preparation for subsequent smoking.

How to choose lard

Salo- the product is simple, but it’s easy to get confused. The product should be white, with a small layer of meat (this will make the result even tastier). The best part is the brisket.

Read also about the processes of slaughtering and butchering a pig.

Salting lard

Immediately before smoking, the workpiece must be properly prepared, namely, salted, and, depending on the smoking method, leave the raw material for a certain time.

Dry method

The dry method is the easiest for salting lard, but the end result is in no way inferior to products after the most exquisite marinade.

For such salting you need to take salt, pepper, dry mustard, garlic to taste (you can use any spices) and thoroughly grate the bacon on all sides, rubbing with force for greater contact of the product with the seasonings. It is necessary to leave the lard in this form for a day in the case of hot smoking and for a week or two if the cold option is chosen.

Method with marinade

The liquid salting method will also give the lard an unusual spicy taste, and there is nothing complicated in preparing the marinade. It is important that the dry ingredients remain the same (salt, spices, garlic), but they are mixed in soy sauce or other traditional liquids. The product is completely rubbed with marinade and placed in the refrigerator for the period required for impregnation.

Did you know? Peoples who had access to the sea used sea water as a marinade, and in Scandinavia some types of fish are still soaked in it.

How to smoke lard

So, the product has been selected and prepared, the smoking method has been determined, and it’s time to start cooking.

In a hot smokehouse

Soft, tasty lard is obtained after cooking it in a hot smokehouse.

You can use a purchased “special grill” as a smokehouse. or make it yourself from available materials (old barbecue, pots with grates, etc.).

In a cold smokehouse

After cleaning the lard after salting, it must be placed in a prepared cold smokehouse (20-30 degrees) for 2-3 days, depending on the size and preference for smoked meats. If the product has turned brown, it is completely ready and can be served.

Video: recipe for cold smoked lard

In the oven

This method requires prepared raw materials(at least 24 hours in spices or marinade) place in a heat-resistant container and place in the oven, preheated to 120-130 degrees. You can determine readiness by the characteristic spicy smell and smoky appearance.

Video: how to smoke lard in the oven

On a gas stove in a cauldron

To prepare lard in a cauldron we will need:

• deep cauldron with a lid;
• pickled bacon;
• foil;
• lattice;
• wood chips (alder and fruit).

So, all the ingredients are ready, let's start cooking.

1. We take a cauldron and pour a small amount of wood chips into it.
2. Wrap the grate in foil and place it inside the cauldron.
3. Place lard on top (skin side down).
4. Cover tightly with a lid and place on high heat.
5. Cook for 15 minutes without lifting the lid or turning off the heat.
6. Let it cool and put it in the refrigerator overnight. The lard is ready.

In a convection oven

Cooking lard in an air fryer is very simple and, most importantly, quick. To do this, you need to marinate it in the same way as for hot smoking, after clearing it of salt and spices, spread the lard with “liquid smoke” and leave for another hour.

The article discusses popular recipes for making smoked lard, following which you can get a fragrant delicacy at home.

What you need to know about smoking lard?

Any lard is suitable for smoking, but the product with layers of meat is especially tasty. For uniform heat treatment during hot smoking, it is recommended to cut the product into pieces no more than 4-5 cm thick (for convenience when slicing, you can measure the pieces using 3 fingers).

A salted product is used for smoking. Lard can be salted using the dry method or using a marinade. If you plan to ➤ SMOKE LARD, which subsequently needs to be stored for a long time, it is better to salt it in a marinade with heat treatment.

Methods for smoking lard

Depending on the equipment used, recipe and method of processing the product, the following smoking methods are distinguished:

• In the smokehouse. A traditional way to produce tasty lard that has absorbed the aroma of natural smoke. Depending on the temperature in the smokehouse, there are two subtypes of this method:
• Cold smoking. For cooking, large industrial or small home smokehouses are used. The cooking time can take up to three days, during which it is necessary to maintain a uniform concentration of smoke in the smokehouse. Cold smoked lard is characterized by a reduced water concentration, long shelf life, and a deep smoky aroma.
• Hot smoking. It involves the use of factory-made or home-made smokehouses, in which, in addition to fumigation with smoke, the product is subjected to heat treatment. The cooking time for lard in hot smoked smokehouses is about 5 hours. The finished product takes on a beautiful brown-golden color, but remains juicy inside. Ready-made hot smoked lard can be stored under normal conditions for several weeks, and in the freezer - up to a year.
• In improvised containers that replace the smokehouse. In the absence of a smokehouse, lard can be prepared in a container that can serve as a simplified and less functional replacement, for example: a deep frying pan, grill, metal bucket, etc. Wood chips are placed at the bottom of the container, above which grates or fastenings for crossbars are installed. The product is fixed on them. This is an easy option for getting a smoked delicacy within 2-3 hours. However, it requires additional materials and the quality of the finished delicacy is most often inferior to a similar product prepared in a specialized smokehouse.
• Unnatural smoking. This is the name for the method of cooking lard, which is similar in appearance and taste to the product from a smokehouse. In this case, the desired effect is achieved by cooking, grating and marinating the product with the addition of liquid smoke. It is used when there is no smokehouse or when it is necessary to prepare a significant amount of lard in a short time at home.

Regardless of the cooking method, to obtain the desired result, you need to use a fresh product without signs of spoilage. Smoking will not help preserve lard that has begun to deteriorate or has become saturated with unpleasant odors (for example, after lying in the refrigerator for a long time).

Let's look at the basic recipes for smoking lard at home.

Recipe 1. Cooking lard in a home hot smoked smokehouse

To prepare the product, you need a factory smokehouse made of regular or stainless steel. You can familiarize yourself with the range of high-quality smokehouses of the KEDR Plus, Alder Smoke and Privolzhsky Mechanical Plant LLC (MPZ) brands in the catalog of our website.

A factory smokehouse is usually a metal container with wood chips placed at the bottom. Then the device is installed on a heat source: a fire, barbecue, gas burner, etc. Modern models are equipped with special shelves for laying out the product, made in the form of a stainless steel grid with the ability to load in one, two or three tiers.

Lard can also be prepared in an electric smokehouse, but the resulting product is inferior in taste and aroma to lard prepared with natural wood chips.

Ingredients

• lard, pre-cut into pieces
• pepper
• garlic
• Bay leaf

Product preparation

• Prepare the marinade. To do this, fill a suitable container with water. Its quantity can be arbitrary, but sufficient for all the pieces to be completely hidden in the liquid. To better dissolve the salt, the water can be heated. Then they lower a chicken egg into it and begin to add salt, stirring, until it floats to the surface. This serves as a signal that the required concentration of the substance in the solution has been reached. Be careful: if the salt concentration is too high, the meat layers will become too tough.
• Now add garlic, pepper and bay leaf. If desired, add any other spices and place the solution in a cool place until it cools completely.
• Then we dip the pieces of lard into the marinade, press with a lid with a weight or in another way and leave in a cool place for 4 days to a week. This is necessary for effective salting.
• After the specified time, remove the lard from the marinade, place it on a wire rack or hang it on hooks until it dries.

Smoking

You can prepare smoked lard outdoors or at home (for smoking at home, smokehouses equipped with a water seal system are used).

Procedure

• A handful of fruit tree chips is placed at the bottom of the smokehouse (if necessary, chips from several tree species are combined in different proportions to obtain the optimal taste and aroma of the finished products). Apple tree chips are suitable for smoking lard.

  To make cleaning the smokehouse easier, it is recommended to wrap the wood chips in a loose envelope made of heat-resistant foil. After smoking, it is completely removed from the smoking chamber, the bottom of which remains clean. If you don't have foil on hand, you can sprinkle a little clean sand on the bottom.

• To smoke lard, it is better to use smokehouses equipped with a tray. It will prevent fat from getting onto the wood chips, so that carbon deposits will not form during smoking. In addition, hot air and smoke will cool slightly as they flow around the pan, resulting in pieces of product that will cook evenly and not burn.
• A grate for food is placed on top of the pallet. When smoking lard, it is not necessary to lubricate it with oil: the fat from it will prevent burning. To prepare a significant amount of delicacy, smokehouse models with the ability to load in two or three tiers are used.
• The lard is carefully distributed on the grates. In order for the smoke from the wood chips to be evenly distributed throughout the smoking chamber, the pieces must be laid at intervals of 1.5 - 2 cm.
• The water seal trough is filled with drinking water.
• A hose is put on the smoke exhaust fitting, the other end of which is placed in the hood or window.
• The smokehouse is then covered with a lid and placed over a fire or other heat source. About 10 minutes after this, the chamber will begin to fill with smoke.
• The cooking time for lard in a smokehouse set over medium heat is from 30 minutes to 1 hour. You need to remove the product from the smokehouse when a golden brown crust forms on the pieces. If you are using a smoker at home, you need to turn off the stove and wait until the smoke stops.
• Then the product must cool completely. To achieve optimal hardness, it is recommended to keep hot smoked lard in the refrigerator for 1 day. After this, the product can be served.

Recipe 2. Cooking smoked lard in a cauldron (at home)

If you don’t have a smokehouse with a water seal, you can prepare smoked lard at home in a large cauldron.

Ingredients

• black pepper

In addition, you will need a shelf for laying out the product inside the smokehouse (preferably in the form of a lattice), a lid that allows you to tightly close the container, and also wood chips (apple tree chips are suitable for smoking lard; if this is not available, you can use cherry chips).

Smoking

• For cooking in a cauldron, you can use pickled lard (using the method described in the first recipe), as well as dry-salted lard. To prepare it, you need to generously sprinkle pieces of the product with salt, pepper and other spices to your taste, and then put them in a cool place for 2 weeks.
• Before use, pieces of dry salted lard are cleared of salt, and the lard must be dried after soaking in the marinade.
• Then wood chips are placed on the bottom of the cauldron. To make it easy to clean the wood chips later, you can wrap it in a loose envelope made of heat-resistant foil. Subsequently, the ashes can be easily removed from the cauldron.
• Pieces of lard are placed on a wire rack and carefully placed in a cauldron.
• Unlike factory smokehouses, equipped with a water seal system that prevents smoke from entering the premises, when using a cauldron, you will have to use improvised means for this. For example, you can make a batter from flour and water. It must be applied to the edges of the lid and cauldron. When closed, they must form a hermetically sealed seal that must not be broken until the end of cooking.
• Then you need to light the maximum fire on the gas stove (or set the maximum value on the electric stove). After 15 minutes, you need to turn off the stove and leave the lard in the cauldron for 2-3 hours. In this case, the lid must not be lifted until the product has completely cooled down.
• Before use, it is recommended to keep the lard in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

Recipe 3. Making smoked lard at home using liquid smoke

Using a concentrated liquid smoke additive, you can prepare smoked lard using a simple method that does not require much time and effort. If you comply with all the requirements and recommendations, you will get a product that will be slightly inferior in appearance and taste to lard prepared in a cold smoked smokehouse.

Ingredients

• Red pepper

Per 1 liter of marinade

• 100 g salt
• 3 tablespoons liquid smoke (about 50 ml)
• onion peel from 2 large onions

Preparation

• First you need to boil the onion skins in water for 5-7 minutes, adding salt and liquid smoke in turn.
• After this, the pieces of lard are placed in a container of a suitable size and poured with hot onion marinade so that the entire product is under the liquid (it is advisable to use pieces with meat layers).
• Then the lard should be placed in a cool place for deeper absorption of the marinade at least overnight, but preferably for a day (the larger the size of the pieces, the longer it will take for optimal marinating).
• After the specified time, remove the lard from the marinade and remove the remaining liquid. To do this, you can spread the product on a wire rack for about an hour (you can use hooks instead of a wire rack) or dry the product with napkins. Then carefully rub each piece with pepper. If desired, you can add dry garlic and other seasonings. After processing with spices, each piece is wrapped in cling film and placed in the refrigerator.

After a few days, the lard is ready for use.

Recipe 4. Smoking lard in the oven

A distinctive feature of this recipe is the need to pre-cook the lard, thanks to which it acquires special tenderness. In this case, the smoking time is reduced, since the semi-finished product is actually smoked. A tall tank or pan is used as a container for processing lard with smoke. Small metal rods are hung across the container, from which the product is suspended using metal hooks.

Ingredients

• lard (about 1.5 kg)
• salt (300 g)
• 1 large onion
• 5 cloves garlic
• 2 liters of water

In addition, food foil and wood chips are used.

Preparation - Product preparation

• Put the water on the fire and bring to a boil. Dip the chopped lard onto the food and cook after boiling for 3 minutes (no more).
• Place pieces of the product in a pan or food containers, add chopped garlic and onions, then pour in the broth in which the lard was cooked.
• After cooling, place the product in the refrigerator for 4 days.
• After the specified time, remove the container with lard, take out the product and place it on a wire rack (or hang it on hooks) to dry for several hours.

Smoking

• Wrap 2-3 handfuls of wood chips in a loose foil envelope and lower them to the bottom of the tank.
• Again we place the rods over the container and hang the lard on them.
• Cover the tank tightly with foil pressed against the edges.
• Turn on maximum heat for about 1 minute. After heating the tank, reduce the flame to the minimum level and continue cooking for one and a half to two hours.
• After the specified time, turn off the heat, but leave the product in the tank until it cools completely. After this, the lard will be ready for use.

Smoking lard at home: tricks and useful tips

• For uniform cooking, it is recommended to use small pieces of product weighing up to 0.4 kg.
• The product should exude a pleasant aroma of smoke, and not the smell of spices, so they should be added in a volume no greater than when preparing ordinary salted lard.
• You can preserve the delicacy for several months at normal temperatures only if it is a cold-smoked product (if you prepared hot-smoked lard, it is better to wrap it in cling film and place it in the freezer).
• The readiness of the product is determined by its color: as soon as the lard has acquired a brownish-red hue, smoking can be stopped.
• If during cooking the pieces of lard have acquired an arched shape, they can be placed skin side up on a flat surface and pressed down with a flat-bottomed press (a weighted cutting board will do). If necessary, the product can be continued to marinate in this position by filling it with brine.