Learn about Lardo

Mon 10/2

Busy day. Drove up through Chianti to Castellina in Chianti then on to Radda in Chianti where we parked outside the wall of the city and walked through the lovely little town looking in shops and enjoying the views.

The black rooster is the symbol of Chianti

Then on to Volpaio where we intended to have lunch. The bar where we wanted to have lunch was closed on Mon's and two other restaurants stopped serving lunch at 2 and it was about 2:15. The only other restaurant was packed and not very appealing so we drove on finding the town of Lucarelli, a tiny place with an Osteria right on the road. I had a nice ribollita and Dick had a pasta dish.
Then on to Panzano to the most famous butcher shop anywhere.

Dario Cecchini is the butcher and he was actually there serving customers.

He had also put out all kinds of snacks for the customers and also gave Dick a glass of grappa.

I had my first taste of lardo which was sooo delicious I bought some to bring back to the apartment.

This is lardo,

And this is how lardo is made: "To make lardo, a trimmed piece of lard is placed immediately in marble basins that have been rubbed with garlic.

The meat should not be refrigerated before curing. Salt, black pepper, rosemary, and garlic are placed in between the layers of lard.  Some producers also add sage, star anise, oregano, coriander, or even cinnamon, cloves or nutmeg.

The aging occurs naturally in warm, fresh caves.  It takes a minimum of 6 months, during which the amount of liquid released by the salt-covered lard is measured regularly. 

Lardo di Colonnata has been made this way since the beginning.  It is an extremely effective curing and aging practice because it does not require any additives or preservatives."

Back at the apartment we went to visit the horses and the burro to feed them some carrots that we had bought just for that purpose and then visited the ducks and geese and wandered through the orto (a kitchen garden.) There was an apple tree so we picked some apples for the horses also.

Dinner was salad and meats and cheeses. And LARDO!