Yes or fix it?
Usually, after the described steps, salted lard becomes a homemade delicacy that most of the family wants to try. But incidents also happen. Is the product so salty that you can’t even bite into it? What is the reason? What to do if the lard is too salty? Do you really have to get rid of a delicious snack?
Don't panic. It is important to understand some nuances. Firstly, everyone's taste buds have different sensitivity. Don't just trust yourself in this case. Treat someone at home to a piece of this lard. Secondly, do not rush to say that the product is spoiled: do not judge the taste by the first bite. It's more salty anyway. Better cut off the next one and try it. Perhaps the lard will taste quite decent.
If the second taster confirms that you have gone too far with salt, then we will correct it. Below we will consider what to do if the lard is over-salted and eating it is unpleasant, and even unsafe for health in this case.
How to remove salt from lard after salting
Disputes about whether it is possible to over-salt lard often move from purely culinary discussions to chemistry, biology, and even other subjects of the school curriculum. Facts are presented, assumptions are made, and things are still there.
The situation has become too salty; how to correct it and prevent mistakes in the future requires some preliminary explanations. Lard is a general name for the product, which doesn’t make it clear enough that you actually over-salted it.
It consists of fat (lard itself), thin mesh films inside it, layers of meat and skin (skin). Fat itself does not absorb salt at all; this must be clearly understood.
The mesh, which can be found when slicing, on the contrary, is salted wonderfully. It is she who leaves the impression that the lard is salty. Meat also absorbs a lot of salt; if you have a slice with a layer of it, some of it goes to the skin.
Such knowledge, with a reasonable assessment, suggests what to do if you have over-salted the lard. The first step, of course, is to peel off the layer of salt from the slices, then rinse them with cool, then warm, and finally again with cold water. If your lard is wet (brine) salted, just rinse it.
Next, it’s worth assessing the salinity of the product. Cut and set aside a piece from any edge, and try the next one. If the lard still seems too salty to you, cut off another piece and this time cut the outer edges into strips up to half a centimeter thick.
Of course, remove the skin and layers of meat. Don't worry, you probably won't have to throw away this yummy food. The lard you have left will be 100% edible.
What to do, how to remove excess salt from lard in order to save the appetizing layers? You have few methods, but they are quite effective. First of all, evaluate the thickness of the slices: will we remove fat from large pieces, or is it easier to cut off the layers?
The fact is that, depending on the method of cutting the lard, the amount of meat on portioned pieces may be insignificant, and in general they will not seem over-salted. If the lard is initially thin, and even half consists of layers, you just have to either boil it in unsalted water or soak it for several hours or days.
We will consider the second method separately, but let’s talk briefly about boiling lard, since this is not an entirely honest way to remove the salt from too salty lard. In fact, after heat treatment you will end up with a completely different product.
In addition to simple cooking, salted lard can be dissolved into thin slices and used to sandwich boiled pork before baking. Cut pieces from the edges of a slice are good for greasing a pan for pancakes; you can melt them a little and fry potatoes with cracklings in lard.
Dry salting
The simplest and most popular way to prepare lard for future use is salting by sprinkling with salt. The pieces are cut to the skin. Garlic cloves and other spices are inserted into the slits. What to do in this case, if you discover that the lard is over-salted? What to do in this situation?
This is perhaps one of the easiest ways to fix a product. In this case, it is enough just to remove such lard from the container and remove salt crystals from its surface. Use a knife to reach the slots in the product and remove them from there. After the described steps, the product will be ready for use and the taste will be much softer and improved. Now it’s clear what to do if the lard is too salty.
Oversalted lard in brine: what to do
First, rinse the product in clean and always cold water. This removes the surface salty layer. Dry the product with a kitchen towel, cut a piece and taste.
If the lard is over-salted, what should you do when the previous method did not help? You can try one more way. Pour cold boiled water into a container. Place the washed rice grains in a gauze bag. We send it into the water and then lay out the lard, cut into large pieces. After 6 hours we take it out. Remove drops of water by wiping lightly with paper napkins. Wrap the pieces in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for several hours. Now you can eat the lard. It became less salty.
Cooking method
Didn't the methods described above help? You can free lard from a shock dose of salt as follows. Boil water in a small saucepan. And boil several small pieces for no longer than one to three minutes. Excess salt will go into the broth. Remove the pan with lard from the stove and add a few cloves of garlic, after crushing it.
Cool the contents of the pan and place the lard in the resulting brine in the refrigerator for a day. Remove after 24 hours for tasting. Do not forget to remove excess moisture and store this product in the freezer.
Over-salted smoked lard
What to do when, due to the taste of salt, the taste of the smoked product is not captured? The simplest and most accessible action is to remove the skin from a piece of lard. Perhaps after this it will become less salty. It all depends on the dose used during the salting process. If possible, the meat layers on the underside of the lard should be cut off and used in the preparation of any dish. For example, you can fry potatoes with them without adding salt.
You can, as in the previous versions, soak the lard and smoke it again. But then the product will not have the taste we expect.
How to soak highly salted lard
It is better to add less salt than more. In such a situation, a small supplement will correct the situation.
But when there is an overdose of crystals, the housewife panics and gets upset because of the spoiled products.
There is an exit! Read what to do if you over-salted a dish and how to correct the situation.
If lard is over-salted, what should I do? We urgently save the product!
Purchasing a salted piece of lard is not a cheap pleasure. It’s a completely different matter when you buy a fresh product and salt it yourself, relying on a family recipe or trying a new method. And so the lard was salted. All that remains is to wait the allotted time and you can proceed to taking the sample. In anticipation, we take the piece out of the container and, cutting it into bars, try it...
I over-salted lard and herring when salting: what to do
Was there an error in the proportions when salting lard? No problem, soak the product in water for 2-3 days.
Leave the lard to dry in the refrigerator for a week and you can enjoy the product again. It is recommended to do things differently with herring.
Soaking time – 2 hours. Place the herring in cold water immediately before eating.
Try the methods and let simple life hacks help you save an over-salted dish.
Under what conditions is lard stored?
Long-term storage of any type of lard should occur at a temperature that does not exceed 5°C - 7°C. It follows that it must be kept refrigerated or frozen.
Too low temperatures negatively affect the taste of the product. Therefore, lard should be stored in the freezer in moderate cold.
It is also possible to store lard in the cellar. But then it will be necessary to create good ventilation and the required level of humidity there.
The pieces are wrapped in food paper and placed in such a way that there is at least 5 cm between them. Lard can be stored in the cellar for no more than 6 - 7 months.
Step-by-step cooking recipe
I had salted lard, I had already bought it this way at the market, but Frau Blum and tatianowna’s recipes gave rise to the idea of improving it. I decided to add salt in the way I liked with the spices I liked. In a word, as Frau Blum wrote, she did not open America, I decided not to close it.
I simply collected the onion peels and weighed them in a super, as if there were onions in the bag.
The cashier did not have time to run away, gathered her will into a fist and asked: “What is this?” I explained, the girl simply turned her back to me and began to call the manager.
During the conversation, a couple of times she almost folded in half from stifled laughter, but finally she hung up the phone, turned around and said from her stony face: “I won’t call you, so take it, it’s not for sale...”
...already good luck! Freebies are sacred. I collected the onion skins with a lot of garlic in a suitable pan, filled it with drinking water, salted it and immersed the lard in it. Over medium heat, I brought the whole thing to a boil, added peppercorns and bay leaves, added “Liquid Smoke,” boiled for about 10 minutes, turned it off and forgot for a day.
And today I freed it from the husk, washed it, blotted it and dried the lard - oh, how beautiful it is. I mixed crushed garlic, chili, ground black pepper, chaman, and poured oil over it all. With its help, I turned a mixture of spices into a paste, which I coated the shmatok with.
Wrapped the lard in foil: I recommend it to everyone! The coating does not fall off, does not stick to the packaging, and it is very convenient to wrap and unwrap. And additionally placed it in two plastic bags so that the smell would not leak out.
As provided in the original recipe, I kept the prepared lard for two hours in the refrigerator and one hour in the freezer.
Finally the time has come. I took out the still soft but well-chilled lard for tasting. The taste turned out to be unusual: on the outside, especially on the skin side - bacon or brisket, on the inside - lard. The skin was especially tasty, I just didn’t expect it.
All the seasonings used made their contribution: there’s nothing to say about garlic and pepper, liquid smoke added a smoky taste, and chaman gave it an accompanying aroma. The garlic peel didn't add anything special, but it didn't do any harm either.
For a housewife who has this product on her table every day, the question may seem funny. If you salt lard at most a couple of times a year, then concerns about the saltiness of the product are quite understandable.
It is traditionally believed that it is impossible to over-salt lard, but this is too short an explanation.
Why you shouldn’t skimp on salt, and how to get rid of its excess in some cases, we’ll discuss today.
Last resort
It happens that lard spoiled by salt simply cannot be consumed in the form in which it was intended. Shouldn't you throw it away? You can pass such a product through a meat grinder and dilute it with fresh lard. Add garlic to the mixture and mix all ingredients. The resulting minced lard should be stored in the freezer. You can use it while preparing dishes according to your own tastes and needs. It’s good to fry potatoes with this lard for lunch. Also, some housewives add it at the time of roasting. Lard, minced through a meat grinder, can be used to prepare many dishes. A thrifty housewife will find a use for it.
What are the benefits of lard?
This is a highly nutritious food. If you observe moderation, it will only bring benefits. This is especially true for Russian climatic conditions. Have you noticed: as soon as frost begins, your hands naturally reach for a delicious snack?
There is an opinion that lard provokes excess cholesterol. In response, I would recall the origin of the “anti-cholesterol theory,” but I will do that some other time
100 grams contain 816 kcal, 1.4 grams of protein and 90 g of fat. The product is rich in fat-soluble vitamins and free of carcinogens. It contains arachidonic acid, one of the most important omega-6 fatty acids.
It supports the functioning of the central nervous system during increased physical and psycho-emotional stress, suppresses inflammatory processes in the body, and activates the regeneration of the skin. The substance helps resist the winter attack of viruses and improves the functioning of the heart muscle.
It has long been noted that lard with garlic strengthens the immune system and increases vitality.
Lard is a valuable source of selenium, which is contained in an optimal form for absorption. According to the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, up to 80% of our compatriots are deficient in this element.
In the old days, lard was used as a cosmetic product. During severe frosts, they lubricated the face to protect the skin. In case of wind, lips and hands were treated.
What harm could there be?
The daily norm is up to 30 grams. Anything beyond this creates a load on the liver and is deposited on the sides with extra centimeters.
If there are cholesterol metabolism disorders, diseases of the digestive system and other pathologies, discuss the menu with your doctor.
