The Salo Spread (with Garlic and Herbs)

Ukrainian Salo 2

Salo is such a common and beloved food product in Ukraine that you won’t find a farmers market in any village or town without a row of vendors selling it. Salo is a slab of white pork fatback, salted fresh or smoked. Ukrainians admire salo and consider it a tasty and very Ukrainian food. There are many sayings that feature salo, one of them being “The cat knows whose salo it ate,” interpreted as “a sneaky person who knows they did something wrong .”

In many European countries, they know salo under other names. While curing and smoking are the most common methods of preparation of salo across Europe, seasoning varies from country to country. For example, Italians call salo a lardo, and it has been made since the Roman empire. In Poland, they call salo slonina, and in Czech and Slovakia, salo is known as slanina. Germans render the pork fatback and name the purified fat schmalz. In Ukraine, they render salo too and have a similar name for the refined salo – smalets. Ukrainians use Smalets as a spread or for frying.

You can use the Ukrainian salo spread as an appetizer. To make this spread, you will need a good quality fresh pork salo, garlic, black pepper, and fresh herbs, such as parsley or cilantro and it takes only 15 minutes to prepare this dish. It may not be a typical appetizer in American restaurants. Nevertheless, if you try it you will be surprised how good it is and will understand why Ukrainians like salo so much! Glory to Ukraine!

Ukrainian Salo Matusyas kitchen

The Salo Spread (with Garlic and Herbs)

For this recipe, we use a meat grinder to mince salo, garlic, and parsley. Then we mix all the ingredients well and sprinkle them with black pepper.
Prep Time 15 mins
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Ukrainian
Servings 4 people

Equipment

  • meat grinder
  • Chef's knife

Ingredients
  

  • 250 g white cured salo without meat strips
  • 8 cloves garlic
  • 1 tspn black pepper
  • 5-6 branches fresh parsley or cilantro
  • salt to taste

Instructions
 

Method of preparation:

  • With a sharp knife, remove the skin from the salo. Cut the salo and mince it in a meat grinder.
  • Put the garlic and parsley through the grinder too.
  • In a bowl, mix salo with all the ingredients. Season the spread with black pepper and add salt to taste.
  • Transfer the salo spread to the glass container and keep it in the refrigerator.
  • Serve cold.
    Ukrainian Salo Matusyas kitchen
Keyword Appetizer, lard, lipids, salo, salo spread, Ukrainian recipes, Ukrainian salo, Ukrainian traditions

How to serve salo

Serve salo in many different ways. The salo spread with garlic and herbs makes a great appetizer, just like another not-so-common Ukrainian appetizer Shuhy. You can serve it with marinated vegetables and Black Radish Salad. If you don’t have time to make a spread, you can cut the frozen slab thinly and place these slices of salo on a piece of bread. Serve salo with rye bread, pickles, onion, or spring onion as a snack, with borsht or bean soup. The salo spread pairs really well with the Ukrainian Dill Sauce  – a refreshing blend of dill, lemon, garlic, and spices. Ukrainian also serve fried salo chips (shkvarky) with potatoes, vegetables, omelettes, or porridge. The salo spread or thin slices of cold salo will also go well with strong spirits, such as “horilka.” Smalets (rendered salo) is used as a spread or for frying instead of vegetable oil.

How they make salo in Ukraine

In Ukraine, they typically make salo by curing slabs of fresh pork fatback with salt and spices such as black pepper or red pepper, then hanging them to dry for several weeks. The Italian lardo is seasoned with rosemary. The result is a deliciously salty and fatty treat that can be sliced and eaten on its own or used to flavor other dishes. This is an ancient food preservation method, free from harmful preservatives. Treating fresh fatback with salt kills the growth of microbes and preserves the salo for a long time if put in the refrigerator or freezer afterward. if you are interested in learning more about Ukrainian Culinary Traditions, please be sure to check out our page dedicated to exploring the rich and diverse flavours of this great country.

What is the nutritional value of salo

The nutritional value of salo is a topic of much debate on controversy. On one hand, salo is high in saturated fat and calories, which can contribute to weight gain and other health problems if consumed in excess. However, salo is also composed of lipids, the main function of which is to store energy and protect cell membranes. As I was working on this article, I came across some interesting information about lipids. It turns out that salo is not just fat, as lipids include fat and fat-soluble vitamins, such as A, D, E, K, waxes, monoglycerides, and other complex molecules that play an essential role in metabolism and overall health of the human body. If you are afraid of cholesterol, just don’t eat too much salo. Everything is good in moderation.

Thank you!

Thank you for visiting our website! Ukrainians admire salo and use it in so many different ways. The recipe for salo spread is an easy-to-make appetizer that goes well with vegetables or just on a piece of bread. Salo has nutritional value as it is composed of important lipids. So, it is not just cholesterol. Try the salo spread and let us know if you like it. Please pray for the brave people in Ukraine!

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