Ingredients
Cracklings
- 2.5 kgpork back fat with some meat attached, skin removed
- 200 mlwater
- 2 tbspcoarse salt
To serve
- raw onion, sliced
- rye bread
- a glass of țuică
Directions
- Cut the fat into even 3 cm cubes. Even sizing matters more than it sounds — mixed sizes mean the small pieces burn while the large ones are still raw inside. Chill the fat first; it cuts far more cleanly cold.
- Put the cubes in a heavy pan with the water and set over low heat. The water stops the fat catching before it has rendered any of its own, and it boils away within the first half hour.
- Render very slowly for about two hours, stirring every 15 minutes. Low heat is the whole method: rendered fast, the outside browns while the inside is still raw, and those pieces are tough rather than crisp.
- When the cubes have shrunk by half and turned pale gold, raise the heat slightly and cook for a final 20 to 30 minutes, stirring constantly now, until they are deep gold and float on the surface.
- Watch closely at this stage. They go from perfect to burnt in about a minute, and burnt jumări taste bitter all the way through.
- Lift them out with a slotted spoon, salt them at once while they are hot — salted cold it simply falls off — and drain on a rack.
- Strain the rendered lard through muslin into jars. It sets snow white and keeps for months, and it is half the reason for making these at all.
- Serve the jumări warm or at room temperature with raw onion, rye bread and țuică.
Technique
- Low and slow for two hours, then close attention for twenty minutes. Every failed batch fails at the end.
- Salt them hot, straight out of the fat.
- Do not cover them while they cool. Trapped steam makes them go soft within an hour.
Substitutions
- Goose or duck fat trimmings, which render the same way.
- A splash of milk in the last ten minutes, which the Croatian čvarci method uses for extra colour and crunch.
Variations
- Ground and worked into bread dough, or into pogacea.
- Chopped over mămăligă with brânză and smântână.
History
A product of the winter pig slaughter, rendered for lard and eaten with mămăligă and raw onion.
Frequently asked questions
What is Jumări?
Jumări is a charcuterie & cured from Moldova: crisp pork cracklings left from rendering lard, eaten with onion. A product of the winter pig slaughter, rendered for lard and eaten with mămăligă and raw onion.
How long does Jumări take to make?
Jumări takes 20 min of preparation and 2 hours 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes makes about 600 g, plus lard. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Jumări?
Yes, within limits. Goose or duck fat trimmings, which render the same way. A splash of milk in the last ten minutes, which the Croatian čvarci method uses for extra colour and crunch.
What is the most important thing to get right in Jumări?
Render very slowly for about two hours, stirring every 15 minutes. Low heat is the whole method: rendered fast, the outside browns while the inside is still raw, and those pieces are tough rather than crisp.
