Salo; a food that is endearing to the Russian Villager almost as much as Vodka is. Salo is considered a food of the foods and the one who brings Salo to the party is the guest of honor. But…. it better be good homemade Salo… 🙂
Good link as any to what Salo is…
I heard that, “Ewwww!”
Here is how we made Salo at my buddies Vova’s…
Gather what you need…
1.) A kilo of Pork Belly…
2.) At least two cups of Sea Salt…
3.) Two Bay Leaves…
4.) Ground Black Pepper and or Peppercorns… (to taste)
5.) Fresh Garlic and an Onion… (to taste)
Lets make Salo…
Place the pork belly on a plate and let it sit for at least an hour or two in room temperature. This allows it to soften properly…
Grab a glass container large enough to hold the kilo of raw fat and has room on all sides to allow turning the chunk of fat to make sure it is covered thoroughly… (Do not cut the fat, leave whole.)
Put about an inch of sea salt in the bottom of the container. Then finely dice half the garlic and half the onions, layer onto the salt, with pepper and a bay leaf…
Then place the kilo of fat on top of the salt, garlic, onion and bay leaf. Press into the salt bed the fat…
Then layer a bay leaf, peppercorns (? up to you and or crushed red pepper is fantastic), ground black pepper and diced garlic and diced onion on top of the chunk of raw fat and cover it fully with salt…
Leave it in the fridge for 2 to 3 weeks, check on it occasionally, to make sure no one is bothering it and it’s done! Take it out of the salt mix and wrap and put in the freezer and wait for your drinking buddies to show up and proudly show them your creation
Lets eat Salo…
– Take Salo out of your freezer, slice thin your Salo… (smile as you buddies exclaim how wonderful you are!)
– Slice thick your black bread… (Or white if that is all you have?)
– Smear your bread with a good layer of hot mustard and lay Salo on top… (Some like raw garlic at this point also!)
– Pour a shot of vodka and say, “To your health!”
– Down the shot of vodka… (Straight please!)
– Grab Salo and bread combination and eat…
– A Salo sandwich can be used for several shots of Vodka, but you may find it so good that you eat it too fast… (Or maybe not!)
Sides with this Russian treat are; salt pickles, whole small raw onions, whole garlic toes and what ever catches your fancy…
Just drink and eat food every time, that is the Russian way…
Have a nice day…
Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…
PS: Salo cured this way will last a year in the fridge easy, but in my place it will last only a few days. I like Salo…