Fatback is, as the name suggests, the solid fat from the back of a pig. While that might not sound particularly appealing, fatback can be used in many ways to make food taste better. It can even be delicious on its own, cured with sea salt and herbs. Learn more about this useful if often maligned ingredient and how fat, in moderate amounts, can be your friend. What Is Fatback?Fatback is a slab of hard fat on both sides of the backbone of a mature pig that can be used in many ways. Cut into tiny pieces or finely ground, fatback is a key ingredient in the preparation of many sausages, charcuterie, and pâtè, to add flavor and juiciness. Strips of fatback can be inserted into leaner meats to make them moister and tastier. Fatback can be rendered and used as a cooking medium or an ingredient in pastry. And it can even be salt cured and thinly sliced, or seasoned and whipped with salt and roasted garlic to create a special appetizer on its own. How to Use FatbackThere are many ways to use fatback. Here are some of the most important ones.
Fatback vs. LardFatback and lard are both fat, and both come from pork. But not all fat is created equal. Fatback is a solid slab of fat from the back of a pig, whereas lard is pork fat that has been rendered—that is, slowly melted and strained—before being allowed to cool and solidify again. The rendering process makes lard smooth and scoopable, with a texture like whipped butter, while fatback is solid and fibrous. But this is not the only difference. While fatback comes only from the back of the hog, lard can be rendered from most any fatty place of the pig, of which there are many. So, though fatback and lard are both pure pork fat, they are not interchangeable. Adding lard to a sausage recipe in place of fatback would lead to a giant mess, and there is no good way to work fatback into pie dough in place of lard. While hard fatback can be rendered into lard, the porky result is not nearly as desirable as the more delicate leaf lard rendered from soft fat from the abdominal cavity. Lard from fatback will have a more noticeable pork flavor than leaf lard does. VarietiesWhile fatback is generally thought of as the two hard slabs of fat on either side of a pig's backbone, there are a few different variations.
Where to Buy FatbackFatback cab can be purchased at many butcher shops and through meat purveyors, especially those specializing in pork. Many don't always have it on hand, so you may need to preorder it. There are also purveyors who sell fatback on the internet. Storing FatbackYou can keep fresh fatback tightly wrapped in plastic in the fridge for four to five days. Fatback can also be kept in the freezer for six months to a year or more, but unless you are planning to render it, it is best to freeze in small individual packages so you can defrost what you need. Salt pork will keep in airtight plastic for six months to a year in the fridge or freezer. Is fatback the same as lard?Like other types of pig fat, fatback may be rendered to make a high quality lard. It is one source of salt pork. Finely diced or coarsely ground fatback is an important ingredient in sausage making and in some meat dishes. Fatback is an important element of traditional charcuterie.
What's the difference between fatback and salt pork?Salt pork refers to heavily salted slabs of pork belly and pork sides. Dry or wet brine is used to cure and preserve the fat and small amount of meat in these cuts of pork. Salt pork shouldn't be confused with fatback: fatback is from the back of a hog, and it isn't salted -- most often it's rendered into lard.
What is another name for fatback meat?Through the years certain synonyms for fatback have arisen, among them salt pork, fat meat, fat pork, (dry) salt meat, salt bacon, seasoning meat, side meat, sowbelly, white bacon, and middling meat.
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