Salted and smoked pork fat, sliced raw with onion and bread or grilled on a stick over an open fire. It is cured at the winter pig slaughter and eaten with țuică through the year.
It is raw pork fat cured at ambient temperature and eaten uncooked, where the salt penetration is the only safeguard, and the winter slaughter timing exists because the method needs cold a kitchen does not supply.
What goes into it
- pork back fat in thick slabs, rind on
- coarse salt, in quantity
- garlic and paprika
- hardwood smoke
How it is made
Slabs of back fat are rubbed heavily with salt and packed in a crock or box, layer on layer, for two to three weeks in the cold. They are then rinsed, rubbed with paprika and garlic, and cold-smoked over hardwood for several days before hanging in a cold larder. It is never cooked before eating.
How long it takes: three to six weeks from slaughter
How it is eaten
Sliced thin and raw onto bread with onion and țuică, or grilled on a stick and dripped over bread.
History
Cured at the winter pig slaughter and eaten raw with onion and țuică, or grilled on a stick over an open fire.
Frequently asked questions
What is Slănină?
Slănină is a charcuterie & cured from Romania: salted and smoked pork fat sliced raw with onion and bread. Cured at the winter pig slaughter and eaten raw with onion and țuică, or grilled on a stick over an open fire.
How is Slănină made?
Slabs of back fat are rubbed heavily with salt and packed in a crock or box, layer on layer, for two to three weeks in the cold. They are then rinsed, rubbed with paprika and garlic, and cold-smoked over hardwood for several days before hanging in a cold larder. It is never cooked before eating. It takes three to six weeks from slaughter.
Can I make Slănină at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. It is raw pork fat cured at ambient temperature and eaten uncooked, where the salt penetration is the only safeguard, and the winter slaughter timing exists because the method needs cold a kitchen does not supply.
What goes into Slănină?
Pork back fat in thick slabs, rind on, coarse salt, in quantity, garlic and paprika, hardwood smoke.
How is Slănină eaten?
Sliced thin and raw onto bread with onion and țuică, or grilled on a stick and dripped over bread.
