Whipped Mangalitsa Lard, Mangalitsa Seven Ways

I spent time with Chef Michael Clampffer of Mosefund Farm recently. He prepared seven different Mangalitsa courses.

The most interesting was the whipped Mangalitsa lard. This dish shows of the strengths of the Mangalitsa - the incredible fat quality. Turning stuff that normally gets thrown away (the rendered fat) into food is nice.

First, he roasted some Mangalitsa belly. As is clear from the photo below, the belly of this 95-lb carcass Mangalitsa is almost entirely fat:

Raw Mangalitsa belly

After roasting, the fat is a bit brown:

Roasted Mangalitsa Belly

Then he added his braising liquid and cooked it a long time. The liquid also contains some herbs and vegetables:


After cooking it got packed away into differen containers. If you look carefully at the photo below, you'll see a piece of belly floating in a bi-colored liquid. The top liquid, which is clear, is rendered fat. The cloudy liquid underneath is the braising liquid.

Mangalitsa Belly Floating in Fat and Braising Liquid

The next day, things have chilled. The fat is easy to extract, because it is semisolid:

Removing the Mangalitsa Fat

He whipped the fat in his mixer, adding in some cornichons, diced toast and vinegar.

Whipped Mangalitsa Lard

To serve the belly, he heated slices, and crisped the fat to get a nice texture. The braising liquid got reduced and used elsewhere. The whipped lard got served on bread.

The full list of things he prepared (all from the same pig) was:

• Braised belly
• Whipped lard
  
• Panko-crusted fatback, deep-fried in Mangalitsa lard
  
• Roasted Leg
• Italian Sausage (fennel-flavored sausasge, 60% lean, 40% fat)
  
• Bacon
• Pork Rinds (roasted skin)
  

The guests, all of them experienced food professionals, were very impressed by Chef Clampffer's dinner. Due to the fat-friendly nature of the guests, it was OK to serve fat, fat and more fat. Nobody complained about eating so much fat.