Larding

The act of threading strips of chilled pork fat through a roast.

A traditional use for lardons is in a technique called "larding", in which long strips of chilled pork fat are threaded (with the use of a needle) into meats that are to be braised or roasted, such as beef filets or veal (especially lean cuts[15]), poultry,[16] and lean fish such as tuna.[17][18] These lardons are to be cut in strips about 3 mm thick and 3 mm wide, and it is essential that the fat be chilled before cutting and threading. The technique is explained at length in the classic book of French cuisine La bonne cuisine de Madame E. Saint-Ange, which details two techniques: surface larding, or "studding", in which the lardons are threaded onto the surface, and interior larding, in which the lardons are left in a channel (made with a larger-sized needle than is used for studding) inside the meat.[19] Madame St. Ange recommends larding for braised calf's sweetbreads[20] (as does the French Laundry cookbook[21]) and for a specific style of cooking hare.[22] American food writer James Peterson specifically recommends using fatback for larding; salt pork, he says, "has a funny taste and won't work".[23] Julia Child recommends using lard or porkbellies (pancetta); she too thinks that neither salt pork nor bacon work, and suggests blanching these first, to get rid of the overwhelming cured or smoked flavors. The origin of larding is in the Middle Ages, when hunting game was a popular activity amongst the upper classes and the meat acquired from it was often too lean and tough because of the animal's natural physical activity; larding provided the equivalent of today's marbling.

The needle used is a larding needle (also "barding needle" or lardoir).[23] There are two basic kinds of larding needle, hollow and U-shaped. Hollow larding needles are about 5 mm in diameter with some sort of teeth or hook to keep the lard strip attached; they are passed completely through the meat. U-shaped larding needles, often called by the French name lardoir, are long needles with a "U" cross-section.

Four larding needles, accompanied by two crossed turning spits, are found in the coat of arms of the Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, a French gastronomic society.[24]