Lardon

Lardon, also called lardoon, larding needle or larding, is a small strip or cube of pork fat (usually subcutaneous fat) used in a wide variety of cuisines to flavor savory foods and salads. In French cuisine, lardons are also used for larding, by threading them with a needle into meats that are to be braised or roasted. Lardons are not normally smoked, and they are made from pork that has been cured with salt.

In French cuisine, lardons are served hot in salads and salad dressings, as well as on some tartes flambées, stews such as beef bourguignon, quiches such as quiche Lorraine, in omelettes, with potatoes, and for other dishes such as coq au vin.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines "lardon" as "one of the pieces of bacon or pork which are inserted in meat in the process of larding", giving primacy to that process. According to the Middle English Dictionary, the earliest occurrence of the word is in 1381, in the work Pegge Cook; it advises to insert lardons in cranes and herons.

Lardons may be prepared from different cuts of pork, including pork belly and fatback, or from cured cuts such as bacon or salt pork. Since the true French lardon is salt-cured but not smoked, "the flavor comes through cleanly, more like ham but richer because the meat is from the belly of the pig, not the leg". One food writer takes this as evidence that the French "do bacon right". The meat (fat) is usually cut into small strips or cubes about one centimeter (3/8 inch) wide, then blanched or fried.

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