Pork Belly Butter with Roasted Garlic (Whipped Сало)

I am a Jew. Good Jews do not eat pork. 

My whole life I’ve been Good. I was a Good daughter, a Good student, a Good friend, a Good wife, a Good Jew. My middle name is Borisovna but it should have really been Good. Faina Good Shpiler.

I was programmed to be Good from the day my mom brought me home from the hospital. In a family of frequent conflict and mental illness, I was obedient. I made sure I caused no issues between my parents, and I made sure I made them proud.

Lifted out of my safety at the age of 12, and dropped into a country whose language I did not understand, I did not rebel. I just quietly cried into my pillow and convinced myself that was happiness.

As a teenager, I navigated life by passionately agreeing with those whose language I did not understand. 

I married another Good Jew and, together, we were really really Good.

We had many friends and empathetically tended to all their needs, each Saturday and Sunday, with food and wine, for many years. Our friends liked us. We liked us. We were really Good.

We birthed a really Good daughter. 

And a son; he was not Good. He was not like us. He was Jacob! He was unique and he pleased nobody but himself! And that was Good.

With Jacob, I was born. I could no longer stay Good forever. I realized that if I remain Good, I remain Dead. I needed to hear the sound of my own voice. And when I finally spoke, I yelled,  “I no longer want to be Good. I want to be Me! Unapologetically Real Me!”

Unapologetically, Pork Belly Butter with Roasted Garlic (Whipped Сало)

Whipped Salo

Salo (сало) is the traditional Ukrainian delicacy, made of cured pork fat.

Ingridients

• 4 cloves garlic, peeled 
• 1/2 lb salo, store-bought or made at home (recipe below) 
• 1 tbsp Russian mustard or regular 
• CuceeSprouts bread (for serving)

Directions

1. Prehead oven to 350°F.
2. Wrap the garlic in aluminum foil and roast in the oven for 20-30 min. Let it cool.
3. Wash the access salt off the salo. 
4. Trim off the skin and meat. 
5. Roughly chop the fat and add to the food processor with the mustard. Whip, using short pulses, until everything is well incorporated and the mixture is smooth and fluffy. This should take just a few mins.
6. Keep in the refrigerated. Serve cold with CuceeSprouts bread.

Homemade Salo (recipe)

You can buy Salo at any Russian Grocery store. Or you can make it yourself, very very easily!

Ingridients

• 2 lb organic pork belly
• 2 cups sea salt
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 2 tsp black pepper
• CuceeSprouts bread (for serving)

Directions

1. Place the pork belly on a cutting board and let it sit for at least an hour at room temperature.
2. Mix salt and pepper together.
3. Fill about an inch of glass container with salt and pepper mixture and place bacon on top. Layer bay leaves and garlic on top and cover it fully with salt.
4. Cure in the fridge for 3-4 days.
5. Serve cold with CuceeSprouts bread. 

Drink pairing

There is a belief that if you coat your stomach with fat, you won’t have as big of a hangover the next day. So, Ukrainians serve Salo with Vodka. I am not a Vodka-kinda-girl so I recommend this incredible Tequila with the whipped salo. Mexico meets Ukraine :)