Oversalted fat: what to do and how to fix it?

Lard is not a very useful product in terms of good nutrition. However, many people like it. Salty, with meaty layers, lard is the best component for winter, hearty sandwiches of black bread with smeared mustard. By cutting up salted, frozen lard and boiling potatoes, you can quickly and inexpensively prepare a delicious, hearty dinner that will keep you warm in the cold season.

But, what to do if lard - bought or salted on their own, turned out to be over-salted? There is no need to panic and even less to get rid of it. Having tasted one piece, you should not be squeamish about trying the second one. Sometimes there are cases when there is a lot of salt only on the surface, but inside it remains very tasty. If the salt was really too much, then you can try to remove its surplus. Moreover, there is more than one option for this purpose. Since this product is prepared in different ways, then to correct the mistake should be based on the method of salting. This will be discussed below.

How to save over-salted dry salted bacon

Dry salted bacon is that the prepared pieces of bacon are cut and pour coarse salt, adding spices and garlic. Then it is placed under the weight for several days. It is almost impossible to over-salt the product, as it will take as much salt as necessary during cooking. However, if the lard will be stored for a long time in a container where salting was carried out, it will become unpalatable, and the salt content will be enormous. Before tasting such salts, you should carefully clean them from large salt crystals.

Since the salt for this method is taken coarse, its surplus remains on the surface. To do this, you need to arm yourself with a sharp knife and take your time, go over the whole surface of the slab, getting into the grooves and thoroughly removing salt there. After such manipulation, it will become much softer and more delicate in taste, and the excess salt will not harm the body.

How to remove excess salt from lard with meat layers

However, if the tallow has numerous, appetizing meat layers, the usual salt cleaning will not help to improve its taste. This is where soaking will solve the problem. You will need cold, the colder, the better, clean water. You need to soak a piece of such a size that will be eaten in three or four days. If you have a large reserve of over-salted lard with layers, you should soak small pieces, which will soon be consumed. The rest of the reserve is better stored in the freezer.

The lard should be in water for two hours. The remains of salt crystals are cleaned off with a sharp knife and place the product, wrapped in a bag or film, in the freezer.

What to do if over-salted lard in brine

Many housewives prefer the way of salting lard in a strong brine - a brine jelly. It turns out soft, tender and very tasty. However, long soaking the product in brine leads to deterioration of taste due to the high concentration of salt. The situation can be remedied by soaking the lard in cold, clean water. You should keep it for one or two hours, then dry it with a paper towel and cut off a piece and try to salt it. If the soaking didn't help with the over-salt, you can do the following:

1. In cooled, boiled water, place a bag of dried rice grains.
2. Cut lard into large chunks and put it in this water.
3. Leave it for about six hours.
4. Take it out and dry with paper towels.
5. Wrap it in clingfilm and put in the freezer.
6. After a couple of hours try it.

This method perfectly eliminates excess salt in the product, making it more tender and softer.

The right way to eliminate excess salt in lard

If none of the above methods did not give the desired result, you can try to eliminate excess salt in lard by boiling. The algorithm is as follows:

• bring water to a boil in a pot;
• put in the lard, cut into large pieces;
• boil for three minutes;
• turn off the heat and put a few crushed cloves of garlic in the pot;
• Leave it until it cools down completely;
• place the pan in the refrigerator for 24 hours;
• Take out the fat, dry it with paper towels;
• Wrapped in a bag and put in the freezer.

Short boiling and then standing in the same water ensures the elimination of excess salt from the product. Lard turns out soft, moderately salty.

How to fix the taste of smoked fat

What if smoked lard turns out to be over-salted? The problem can be solved by such a simple action as removing the skin. Together with the skin you need to cut off the bottom meat layer, which contains a high concentration of salt. After such manipulation, the taste of the homemade delicacy should noticeably improve. The cut off skins and layers can be used for various dishes, remembering that they are highly salty.

As a last resort, smoked bacon can be soaked in cold water according to the principle described above and smoked again. However, this will have a negative impact on the taste of the finished product.

An extreme way to improve the taste of over-salted bacon

From too salty lard, which cannot be soaked, you can make mincemeat. It is used for frying vegetables, potatoes. You can add tallow minced meat in the preparation of meatballs, meatballs, dumplings. But, do not forget that it contains a lot of salt!

To prepare over-salted frozen lard is passed through a meat grinder, adding a portion of fresh, unsalted lard. Add crushed garlic to the mass. Store the product in the freezer. This is a good option for using a low-quality product, which will not throw away a thrifty, thrifty hostess. However, one cannot use such a product as a spread on bread, because it contains fresh lard. But if you twist an over-salted delicacy with a not over-salted or cooked one, it is quite possible to use it as a spread.

It is worth saying that the greatest concentration of salt is collected in and near the pelt. In some cases, it is enough to remove these parts, so that the snack was to the taste of all the household.

Tips for salting lard

For salting lard to turn out a true delicacy, you should adhere to the following rules:

1. For salting, it is better to take fresh, steamed bacon, but in no case frozen - you can buy farm, homemade products.
2. Pieces should be about 15 cm in length, 10 cm in width with a height of 10 to 15 cm - smaller pieces are faster to salt, but do not take in all the flavor and aroma of spices.
3. Pieces that are more than 20 cm wide and long take longer to salt.
4. The product with meat layers should be kept in brine or salt longer than without it - the meat should cure, become reddish brown and absorb salt.
5. There is no need to leave the fat in the container in which salting has been done - take it out after a certain period of time, dry it and store in the freezer.
6. With the dry salting method you should keep the product in a warm place for the first two days, and then remove it to a cool place.
7. Salting the perfect size pieces, which were discussed above, takes about a week, if the pieces are larger, then pickle them up to 10 days.
8. Before putting it in storage, the excess salt crystals should be scraped off with a knife, but there is no need to wash the slices - this will reduce their shelf life.

Important! When salting garlic, spices and salt do not need to be spared. If you do not keep lard in the brine or container for a long time in the dry method of salting, it will not take in more salt than necessary.

How to buy delicious salted lard

And, finally, we need to talk about how to choose a salty delicacy in the store or in the market, so that later you do not have to eliminate the excess salt. So, when choosing a delicacy, you should pay attention to the fact that:

1. The thickness of pieces should be from 3 to 6 cm.
2. The skin should be light, without bristles - otherwise you can talk about the old age of the pig.
3. The color is soft pink and white, never yellow, which indicates the age of the product, its low taste and too much salt.

Buying fresh bacon for salting, you should know that the most delicious and tender product is the part of the pig, going from the neck to the shoulder blade. However, there are no meat layers. The bacon itself should be tender, easy to cut with a knife - no matter if it is salted and ready to eat or fresh. Before salting the fresh product should be washed and thoroughly dried, and only then proceed to cooking.