Ukrainian Salo for Borscht

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 1 kg pork back bacon with rind (fresh Salo)
• 100 g rock salt, coarse
• 12 slice(s) bread(s), dark
• 1 bulb(s) garlic
• a few sprigs of dill
• some pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 5 minutes; Rest period approx. 1 day; Total time approx. 1 day 5 minutes

traditional Ukrainian cuisine, premium quality back bacon

Fresh salo is salted for curing. For this, a fresh piece of back bacon with rind, consisting of pure fatty tissue and 7-10 cm thick, weighing approximately 1 kg is taken. This can be ordered from organic farms. The rind is lightly burned with a Bunsen burner to remove any bristles. The soot is then scraped off with a knife and washed off with water – this gives the salo a light smoky aroma. In Ukraine, fresh salo is usually sold with the rind already slightly burned, so this preparation step is then omitted. The salo is then cut into pieces approximately 5 x 10 cm in size and weighing approximately 200 g, rubbed liberally with coarse sea salt (or rock salt), left in the refrigerator for a few hours (so that the salt liquefies and absorbs into the salo), and then frozen. The salo is ready to eat the next day. If necessary, the required piece can be easily cut from frozen, salted salami. For most Ukrainian dishes, you will need about 50 g. Important note: Please only use coarse sea salt or rock salt without any additional chemical additives for salting salami. Unfortunately, fine iodized salt with additives will not work in this recipe. For salami for borscht – thinly slice the salted salami, cover the bread slices with salami, garlic, and dill, and season with pepper. Add fresh, coarsely chopped onions or spring onions and serve with the Ukrainian national dish, borscht. Notes: Salami that is more than 2-3 months old is considered inedible by some gourmets in Ukraine, as it takes on a fishy taste. Salami is the most traditional, highly valued, and popular food and a cult in Ukraine. It is used in many ways in Ukrainian cuisine – whether raw, salted, smoked, or fried. Good salo shouldn’t be chewy and literally melts in your mouth. Good salo is always a welcome souvenir from Ukraine.