[Sca-cooks] Adventures in redaction...LONG

[Nick Sasso]

> At 10:49 AM 4/28/03 -0700, you wrote:
>Laura C. Minnick wrote:
>> Yes, when I asked Morwyn she said that 'lardo' could be lard >>or salt pork. (The linguist at the table agreed.) It was >>determined that the thick-cut bacon I used wasn't that far off >>(glory be!) but the ends and pieces that are mostly fat may be >>closed to what they were looking for.

SOMEONE ELSE WROTE:
>I agree that lardons is probably the closest analog to what the >recipe really wants.  I've seen several modern recipes for >similar tarts from Eastern France, Germany, and Switzerland and >all either use lardons or thick-cut bacon (which is probably a N>orth American redaction, come to think of it).

While American style bacon approaches the item you are probably seeking for the recipe, I think that the sugar curing and smoking will give you a different result than other products available.  "Lardo" in my version of Neapolitan Cuisine and Giacossa's rendition of Apicius is suggested to be fatty tissue as the item you want, kinda like fresh pork belly.  Rendered lard will simply melt away when heated, while the fresh belly will give the callogen as well as fat.  It also has the advantage of not being sugar cured nor smoked.

This is probably harder to find than bacon, but butchers should be able toget it for you.  I find it in most days Altanta in the International Farmers Market in Chamblee . . . ususally $1.39 per pound.  It has the skin on, so I can do pork rinds as well.  this is also my prefered fat addition for sausage.

niccolo difrancesco

Nick Sasso