For scaling to different sizes of roasts, remember to use about 2 ounces of fat for 1 pound of lean meat. Salt pork may be blanched briefly to desalt it, then left to dry.

I. WITH PORK FAT

Cut into ⅛- to ¼-inch-thick batons:

Toss in a bowl with any of the following:

Insert short lengths near the surface with a thin larding needle as shown above. Longer lengths can be inserted across a roast, with the needle parallel to the grain (they will show up when the meat is sliced across the grain).

II. WITH FLAVORED BUTTER

Seasoned butter is excellent for larding meats that you do not plan to turn over during roasting; just remember to insert it on a diagonal as directed below or it may leak out.

Prepare:

While the butter is still soft, carefully spoon it into a channeled larding needle, making sure that it is evenly distributed. Freeze the filled needle for 20 minutes, or until the butter is firm. Insert the needle halfway up the side of the roast, parallel to the grain, and angled downward (this will discourage the butter from leaking out). Push the needle until it is just short of going through the other side. Stick a narrow object (like the handle of a spoon) into the channel of butter right at the meat’s surface and pull the needle from the roast. Repeat at intervals down the roast, refrigerating the roast while freezing more butter in the needle if needed. If you do not have a larding needle, you may also make a slender incision diagonally into a roast so that the opening is on the top and work softened butter into the pocket with a teaspoon.