ottawa foodies

So we had a big ham for supper and there is a pretty massive piece of fat left over. And being a frugal sort of guy I was considering canning it up just in case I could figure out something useful to do with it. So I put that into my facebook status and almost immediately a German friend of mine is telling me about his aunt and uncle saving bacon fat to put on bread.

Hmmmm ...

It seems to me that I must be able to make some kind of yummy spread out of this which is no worse for me than cheese.

Anyone?

Happens in Denmark, too. I don't think there's any real recipe other than "take pork fat, spread on bread, eat."

I don't know if you get the same effect from buying lard from the store and using it in the same fashion.

I would add "take pork fat, spread on bread, sprinkle with salt, eat with green pepper."

Good with duck fat, too.

Or use it to start a split pea soup.

As I'm sure many of foodies here know, using pork fat in cooking and as a spread is fairly popular in Russian and Ukranian cuisine, as well as probably in many other Eastern European ones. There are two basic approaches: 1) mincing pork fat (normally salted for several days in the fridge) in blender/food processor (we usually use meat grinder back at home) and then adding salt, pepper, garlic(!), paprika (my typical mixture) - and here you may actually use any spices you personally like. and you finally have a spread which is perfect with dark bread and soup (borsh!). 2) cutting fat into small cubes and melting it on a very low heat - here as the result you have lard and cracklings. lard is normally used in cooking, mainly frying, but as an option it can also be mixed with spices and used as a spread. I personally prefer first option since its taste is more full and diverse. I also know people mixing pork and duck fat and having what Heston Blumenthal would find "in search of perfect fat spread" :)

I went with option 2 which is the only thing I could think of at the time - but will try option 1 next time. I ended up with about 75 ml of lard, which I simply minced garlic into. Just had some on my bagel and it was really yummy! And in fact I'd wager it is better for me than cheese because I only needed a very small amount to produce a whole lot of flavour - probably 1/4 or 1/5 what I would use in cheese, or mayo, or other spread.

I'll experiment with option 1 sometime as well ...

The way I had it first was similar to the meal Moscovite suggested: dark bread, lard, rødkål (finely-chopped red vinegar-based coleslaw) and pork loin. Mmmmmmm. This is a thing that I should try.

Of course pork fat, lard and cracklings are all part of Quebecois cuisine as well... although I can't say I've ever seen anyone do the lard spread thing (but that doesn't mean it wasn't common place at one time). I though have seen many a person eat the cracklings off a roast pork. Yummy.

And for the record, entry from Wikipedia regarding Pork Cracklings (British term) / Pork Rind (American term) and Canada:

Scrunchions is a Newfoundland term for small pieces of pork rind or pork fat-back fried until rendered and crispy. They are often used as a flavoring over other foods, such as salt fish and potatoes. It is mainly used as a condiment for fish and brewis.

In Quebec, they are often called "Oreilles de Christ" (christ ears) or "Oreilles de crisse", and are eaten almost exclusively as a condiment for traditional meals with maple syrup.

The above referenced Quebec entry is how I remember them eaten most often when I was a kid... a big honking pork roast at Easter cooked the night before, and eating the cracklings while they were hot with maple syrup.

I go with out the spread and use the rendered ham fat to poach fingerling potatoes (that have been salted for a hour) then crisp them up in a frying pan, finish it with a good glug of chicken stock and glaze them up.. Eat with bitter greens, ermite cheese and a splash of tarragon vinager....

With respect to fat-based spreads, two considerations I can offer are:

Rillettes: A type of French charcueterie consisiting of fine diced braised pork shoulder suspended in rendered fat, left to cool in a ramekin and spread on bread.

Cretons: Quebecois breakfast dish, not sure exactly how to make but it seems like little more than rendered pork lard whenever I have had it. Spread on toast. Very good. Not for calorie counters ;)

Yeah, I was thinking rillettes too. Based on what I know of cretons, it seems like it is probably based on rillettes, however any recipe I've ever been able to find on line only uses ground pork and does not seem to specifically use pork fat. I have a recipe for rillettes kicking around with my old LCB school notes - I'll see if I can dig it up (story of my post moving life- even a year later everything is still in boxes of course). I did find one recipe on epicurious:

www.epicurious.com

Also, there are classic french technique called "larder" and "barder" in which you take pieces of fat and wrap them around a roast, or thread thin strips of fat through a roast with a needle. This help a less fatty cut to stay moister while cooking by protecting the meat and/or by simply adding more fat which will melt into the meat.