Baked Salo with Garlic
A slab of pork fatback with the skin on, cured with salt, garlic and paprika, then slow-baked until silky and sliced thin on rye bread.
About this dish
Salo, cured pork fat, is a cornerstone of Ukrainian food and table culture, eaten raw, salted, smoked or baked with garlic and pepper alongside bread, pickles and a small glass. Baked salo is the gentle cousin of the raw kind, with the fat softened and the skin turned golden and chewy. In village kitchens it was a way to keep winter fat for months, and today it is the centrepiece of a cold platter.
- Gluten-free
- Lactose-free
- Not vegetarian because of Pork fatback with skin
Ingredients
- 1200gPork fatback with skin
- 60gFine sea salt
- 8clovesGarlic cloves
- 2tspGround black pepper
- 2tspSweet smoked paprika
- 4leavesBay leaves
Instructions
Rinse the fatback, dry it well and rub the salt thoroughly into the flesh side and all the cut edges.
10 minTip: Salt does the preserving and flavouring, so cover every cut surface. Use a slab at least 3 cm thick for the best texture.
Press the pepper, paprika and torn bay leaves onto the slab, place in a dish, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours, turning once.
1440 minTip: Curing seasons the fat through and firms it, so the baked salo slices cleanly. Do not shorten this step.
Brush off excess salt. Cut deep slits across the flesh and push in slivers of garlic.
15 minTip: Slits let the garlic flavour reach the middle of the slab. Cut down to, but not through, the skin.
Wrap the salo tightly in foil, skin side down on a tray, and bake at 160°C for 2 to 2 hours 30 minutes, until a skewer slides in with no resistance.
150 minTip: Foil keeps the fat from drying out so it bastes in its own juices. Prick the skin first if you want it softer.
Cool the salo in its foil, then press under a weight in the refrigerator for 8 hours before slicing thin.
480 minTip: Pressing compacts the fat into a dense slab that slices in clean, thin sheets. Keep it refrigerated and eat within 7 days.