[Sca-cooks] bacon, lardo etc

[Terry Decker]

Bacon and salt pork generally fall into three classes:  lean, which is 
mostly meat, streaky, which is divided between meat and fat, and fatty, 
which is mostly fat.  They are determined by visual examination.

Bacon and salt pork are usually cuts from the back, belly and side (and the 
jowl in the case of guanciale).  Back cuts are usually the leanest.  For 
salt pork, the cuts are packed in salt.  For bacon, the cuts are salted or 
brined, possibly spiced, then cured, by air drying, boiling or smoking.

There are three types of fat on a pig.  Visceral fat, from around the 
kidneys and inside the loin, subcutaneous fat, from between the skin and 
muscles of the pig usually from the back, and caul fat, from around the 
inner organs.  If I understand your reference, you are going to be blogging 
on the production of grasa de pella, which is lard rendered from visceral 
fat.  As I understand the process, the fat is cut or diced into cubes (the 
lumps) which are first browned and then simmered in water to separate the 
pure fat from the extraneous tissue.

Actually, there is a difference between medieval pigs and modern pigs. 
Medieval pigs were leaner.  Many modern pigs are hybridized with Oriental 
breeds, producing more fat.  And there is a discernable taste difference 
between pigs fed grain mash and pigs fed acorns.

Bear


I thank you too but I am still so confused because the English from England 
have terms that I have had a hard time grasping like streaky bacon. To 
simplify things when translating recipes I generally call for bacon but if 
it is a Muslim recipe I call for lamb fat.

I don’t think I should I use the term pork belly??? When we slaughter the 
pigs there is fat all over the place. - Yeah, so when streaked with fat I 
call it bacon. . .

On Feb 24, 17 I will be publishing a blog title "pella," which translates as 
lumps of fat. Its hard for me to explain it. I see when we open the pig but 
how can I explainI it?

I don’t think there is a difference between pig fat in the Middle Ages and 
pig fat now??? Doesn’t the pig have the same proportions of fat throughout 
its body is feed on acorns from Huelvas cork oak orchards?