Sauces and condiments
fried pieces of lašiniai or bacon
living tradition
Lašiniai, bacon, onions, rendered pork fat, potato dishes, porridges, sauces
Spirgai sauce, Fried lašiniai
What are spirgai?
Spirgai are fried pieces of fatty pork and the fat they release. They work as a sauce, cooking fat, and flavor base.
Many potato dishes are hard to imagine without spirgai: cepelinai, kugelis, potato pancakes, or porridges.
Why they matter
In traditional cooking, lašiniai were a long-keeping pork reserve, and spirgai were a way to quickly turn that reserve into a hot condiment. In the pan, both fat and browned meat pieces are released, so one product performs two functions.
Spirgai suit flour and potato dishes especially well because those dishes are neutral by themselves: skryliai, virtiniai, kugelis, or mashed potatoes gain salt, fat, and the sweetness of fried onion.
For that reason, spirgai are not just leftovers from lašiniai. They are a separate Lithuanian table condiment that often determines the whole dish's flavor.
When to add onions
Onions are added when the fat has already begun to render. If added too early, they will burn before the lašiniai are ready.
Sour cream makes spirgai sauce milder, but the classic base is the spirgai and their rendered fat.
Recipe
How to make spirgai
Spirgai are fried slowly so the fat renders and the pieces turn crisp. Onions should be added later because they burn faster than lašiniai.
Ingredients
- 250 g lašiniai or smoked bacon
- 1-2 onions
- Pepper
- A splash of water or sour cream, if making a milder sauce
Method
- Cut the lašiniai or bacon into small cubes.
- Put them into a cold pan and heat over medium or lower heat.
- When the fat renders and the pieces begin to brown, add chopped onions.
- Fry until the onions soften but do not burn.
- Serve with the rendered fat or stir in sour cream.
Notes
For crisp spirgai, do not fry over very high heat.
