Beaver Tail Lardo

Skin the beaver tails.

Prepare a salt box (exactly what it sounds like). Mix in some aromatics- rosemary, thyme, garlic, whatever you’d like.

Roll the beaver tail in the salt until it is completely covered. Add another layer over top to cover it. Add something on top to weigh it down, and refrigerate for 14 days.

After it is done curing, rinse off the salt, pat dry, and hang in the cure chamber for 12-20 days. We didn’t look for a particular amount of weight loss. When we pulled the beaver tail from the salt box, it was still pretty soft and the texture was still like raw fat. After a week or so in the curing chamber, there was enough moisture loss where it started to firm up and have a more sliceable texture. We just kept testing it until it got to where we wanted it.

If the outside gets too dry by the time you’ve reached the right texture, vacuum seal it and let it equalize in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. This will help bring the moisture from the center of the meat to the outside.