Apple and Onion Pork-Lard Spread (Schweineschmalz mit Äpfeln und Zwiebeln)
Ingredients:
- 1500 g (3.25 lbs) of pork belly fat (if not available in the store, order at a butcher or the butcher in your grocery store)
- 250 g (9 oz) of diced apples
- 500 g (17.75 oz) of diced onions
- 2 teaspoons of dried marjoram
Preparation:
Cut your belly fat in pieces and press it through a meat grinder. Dice the onions in a food chopper or cut them by hand with a knife. Cut the apples in small slices. Place the ground fat in a large pan.
[Click the pictures to enlarge.]
Turn on the heat of your stovetop to about medium and slowly fry the fat while stirring it from time to time—so that it doesn’t stick to pan and burn. Once it has melted enough, you can turn the heat up a little. After all the fat has melted, pass it through a metal sieve (metal strainer) so that the greaves are separated.
Use some of the melted pork fat to saute the onions until they’re transparent. Add the apples and fry for about 5 more minutes.
At this point, you have four choices on how to finish your lard. The first is to let the melted fat harden in the refrigerator and save it for cooking. The second option is to make a spread by returning the greaves to the melted fat and adding marjoram. Just fill it in a ceramic bowl and store it in the refrigerator for hardening. Your third choice is to make another spread by putting back the grieves into the melted fat, add the onion/apple mix, and add the marjoram. Again, fill it in a ceramic bowl and place it in the refrigerator to harden. Finally, my favorite, which is to leave the grieves out of the melted sieved fat and just add the onion/apple mix along with the marjoram and fill it in a ceramic bowl and keep it in the refrigerator to harden. All spreads taste so good on fresh-baked bread with a little salt and pepper. If you like, add some sliced pickles on top. Enjoy!
