What is Pork Fatback? A Comprehensive Guide to the Versatile Ingredient

Pork fatback, a culinary treasure derived from the back of a pig, is a versatile ingredient that adds richness, flavor, and moisture to various dishes. This guide delves into the world of pork fatback, exploring its culinary applications, varieties, and storage techniques.

Understanding Pork Fatback

Pork fatback is the solid fat located on both sides of the backbone of a mature pig. It is a hard fat with a high melting point, making it ideal for various cooking methods. Fatback can be used in its solid form, diced, ground, or rendered into lard, a popular cooking medium.

Culinary Applications of Fatback

Fatback’s culinary versatility shines in numerous applications:

• Sausages, Charcuterie, and Pâtés: Fatback adds flavor and juiciness to ground meat preparations, enhancing the taste and texture of sausages, pâtés, hamburgers, meatloaf, and meatballs.

• Larding and Barding: Strips or pieces of fatback can be inserted into leaner meats or poultry to infuse flavor and moisture. Larding involves inserting fatback into larger fatless sections of meat, while barding involves wrapping lean meat in thin slices of fatback.

• Cooking Medium: Rendered fatback, known as lard, has a high burning point, making it suitable for high-temperature sautéing. It imparts a subtle pork flavor to dishes, adding richness to veal scaloppine, chicken breast, or pork medallions.

Varieties of Fatback

While fatback generally refers to the hard fat from the pig’s back, there are several variations:

• Streaky Pork: Located between the hard fatback and the bacon at the belly, streaky pork has streaks of pink meat running through the white fat. It is commonly used in Asian cuisine.

• Salt Pork: Fatback cured with salt to extend its shelf life, salt pork is a staple in Southern cooking, adding flavor and juiciness to greens and other dishes.

• Lardo: An Italian salumi, lardo is made by curing fatback with salt, herbs, garlic, and other seasonings. It is typically aged for six months or more, resulting in a delicate and flavorful spread.

Purchasing and Storing Fatback

Fatback can be purchased at butcher shops, meat purveyors, and online retailers. When buying fatback, look for firm, white fat with no signs of yellowing or discoloration.

Fresh fatback can be stored in the refrigerator for four to five days or in the freezer for six months to a year. Salt pork has a longer shelf life, lasting six months to a year in the refrigerator or freezer.

Pork fatback is a versatile and flavorful ingredient that elevates the taste and texture of various dishes. Its culinary applications range from adding richness to ground meat preparations to infusing moisture into lean meats. Whether you use it in its solid form, diced, ground, or rendered into lard, fatback is a culinary asset that deserves a place in every kitchen.