Smalec

Does anyone know how to make Smalec ?

You take bacon and diced it up then heat it until melted. Pour it in a container and let it cool. the more fat the bacon has, the better the smalec.

Szmalec is a type of Polish lard created from rendered pork fat. Homemade szmalec is typically imbued with pork cracklings, chopped and fried onion, marjoram, salt, pepper, and other seasonings. It is a classic peasant dish typically used as a substitute for the ‘rich man’s butter’ and is spread on bread. Approx. equal to one month’s supply of cholesterol on a single slice of bread. My pastor notes that szmalec and bread were the daily ration for seminarians in Poland during the dark days of communist oppression.

.....and it tastes absolutely horrid.

...........and it tastes fantastic!!!!!!!!!!

i agree wozzy, its fantastic with a nice cold beer, yes very unhealthy

Is there an acutal Smalec recipe to go by or is it just made by taste? I know the major ingredients that are involved but I just don't know how much.

A recent visit to Krakow re-kindled my childhood memories of smalec and how good it was on some good Polish bread. Further to the replies already posted, is there a particular cut of pork that is best for making smalec ?.

To make 'smalec' you need not only bacon 10dkg but also pork fat called 'słonina' 20dkg (more słonina then bacon). You cut them into pieces and melt in a pot on a small fire. At the end you can add a bit of garlic and onion (of course cut into pieces) and fry till they are gold in colour. Then pour this liquid into a small jar and your smalec is ready.

[[b][/b]quote=ale39] pork fat called 'słonina' [/quote]

Now there's somthing I haven't tasted for a l o n g time.....thin slices on bread...

1500 cal of pure pleasure......

Most of the people who say smalec is bad eat margarine instead.
Since when is saturated fat worse than trans fat?
Most people eat fish and chips. The old way of cooking in dripping is actualy more healthy.
I believe one should enjoy a balanced nutritional diet including smalec and have daily exercise.
See website ...bantransfats.com/

I need a recipe for smalec. Help!

I'm eating smalec now, It's almost pure fat :)

Hmm...it IS pure fat G

Fat w/ flavor :) This was my very first PL food.

Better than paper.

Ha ha :)
sure is I guess

what is smalec?

It's something you can eat...

Covers most of the food groups in one serving.....

Yep, very economical, one saves a lot of money on groceries.

I just had smalec this weekend at a traditional wedding party in Lodz. Very good - but definitely not for everyday eating! - David

I too have memories of having smalec when i was a child,and it was the solidified bacon fat with onions fried in it then spread on bread. delicious! I see they now sell it in jars at tesco obviously catering to the polish community where i live. Wanda.

Add finely chopped mushroom and a clove of garlic and you're realy rocking............

smalec is great, my parents made it last night... def not for everyday eating.... one little trick they always do is when it reaches room temp he put it in the freezer for the night and its super ready for the morning.... just like i said before try to limit yourself to it .. def not a daily food source

Whenever I'm in Warsaw i always go to this restaurant in Usrus called Polski Chata (or the other way round :) ), they serve mean smaleccccccccc yummy!

and yes it is damn unhealthy...but I'm only in Warsaw 2 times a year :)

Smalec, is sooooo fattening, but to die for if it has bits of bacon in it...

Only had smalec when I was VERY young and can't remember it well but seem to recall it was pretty good. I was told that during the war when things were very bad and food scarce, my grandfather took bones and scraped out the marrow and made something that roughly resembled smalec. That's how desperate they were. In the American South West, in many supermarkets, you can get LARGE tubs of lard. Mexicans love it. But I'm not sure they spread it on bread. Follow the fat people.

Cook pork chops with a lot of fat on it and save the fat.

You can also finely chop onions and cook these in htis fat and then let it cool and spread it on Rye bread


Paul

by driving one 6' under.. hehehe

smalec is indispensible in some Polish pastry products. For instance chruściki aka faworki. Ver yummy. Very unhealthy, just like life itself :)

A French fella I know, commenting on dieting and so called health food: if you tak sugar out of sweets, alcohol out of wine and fat out of meat then why eat at all?