12-3-11
Last Sunday in the pouring rain, with creeks over the banks, our pond over the dam, we received a not unexpected call from our neighbor Melanie. Her brother had killed a buck down in Georgia that she had hauled back on ice. If I would help cut one of the haunches into three roasts, we could have the other. With nothing else to do but watch the farm slide down the hill I jumped in the truck with a butcher saw and a couple of boning knives and headed to Paint Rock.

Have you ever watched a video on butchering? Well, I have, and they make it look so easy, a few quick and effortless cuts and the whole beast is neatly packaged into recognizable roasts and prime cuts. For me…after about ten minutes of hacking and sawing I managed to separate one haunch into three distinct roasts (I hope it was worth it, Melanie). Loading up my reward into the truck, I said my goodbyes and headed back out in the rain.

Tuesday morning before work I pulled out the venison from the fridge and three pounds of fatback from the freezer. My goal was to cure the ham and to make lardo. Lardo is a cured product consisting of fatback and various herbs and spices. It was the classic food of the anarchist partisans in Italy while they roamed the hills taking potshots at fascists and the nobility. And, one never knows when they might need the inspiration of having lardo on hand.

To cure the venison I used a recipe from the Missouri extension service. The cure consists of salt, sugar, nitrates, black pepper, all in specific quantities. Laying the ham out on butcher paper I salted the mixture into the meat. Using my knife I lightly scored the flesh so that the salt would get quicker penetration while also forcing some of the cure into the ends of the bone. The next step was to wrap up the ham in the paper, tape it securely, place in net with the shank end down and hang it to cure.

I hung the ham to cure in the well-house, placed a bucket under it to catch the drippings and left it. Within a day it began to drip as the salt extracted the water. It should finish curing around Christmas. When the cure is complete the ham will be taken down, removed from its wrapping and washed. It will be hung back in the well-house for three months to age. At which time Cindy, Melanie and Sara have sworn that they will be willing to eat it. Provided, of course, that I sample it first and survive for 24 hours. Oh, ye of little faith.

The lardo was made using a combination of recipes from the book Charcuterie by Ruhlman and from the wonderful blog Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook (well worth checking out). Again, you begin by mixing your cure. In this case I took the portion remaining from curing the ham and added fresh thyme and rosemary sprigs. The slabs of fatback were slathered on all sides with the cure. The herbs were placed in between the pieces of fat. I covered the whole pile with plastic wrap and weighted it down with foil covered bricks (to help expel moisture).

The lardo will cure for about two weeks. I have it in the fridge although one could keep it in any cool dark place. Fat will quickly turn rancid if exposed to light. At two weeks or longer, if desired, the lardo will be pulled out of the brine, washed and dried. I’ll then puncture a hole in the top and loop some string through it and hang under the stairs for another two to four weeks. At that point it should be cured.

Traditionally lardo is eaten sliced thin on warm bread. But, it can be used anytime you are cooking for something that requires a bit of salt pork. Or, save it for when you have to take to the hills.