baleron
File:British Pork Cuts.svg, for comparison]]
In Polish cuisine, baleron is a cold cut from cured and smoked of boneless {{ill|pork neck|pl|Karkówka (mięso)}} {{cite book|chapter= Polish Baleron|chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=srgvtq14f1AC&q=baleron+&pg=PT950|pages=950 |title= Encyclopedia of Meat Sciences|isbn= 9780080924441|last1= Devine|first1= Carrick|last2= Dikeman|first2= M.|date= 19 August 2004|publisher= Academic Press}} After ham, baleron is the second most valued cold cut in Poland.Małgorzata Michalik, Marek Łebkowski, Mała encyklopedia sztuki kulinarnej, Wydawnictwo Tenten, 1996, p. 371. ISBN 83-86628-33-2.
Preparation
The Encyclopedia of Meat Sciences summarizes its preparation as follows. It is dry-cured, then immersed in the brine for 8–10 days, then drained, stuffed in a casing, smoked in warm smoke, cooked, and cooled. The cross-section of the final product is marbled meat. Polish sources describe a more complicated process.Kazimierz Stańczyk, [https://web.archive.org/web/20161222213038/http://miesnetechnologie.pl/artykuly/110-zapomniane-technologie-wedlug-kazimierza-stanczyka/82-baleron-w%C4%99dzony-gotowany Baleron wędzony gotowany], Mięsne Technologie, Spring 2014
Etymology
Older Polish dictionaries derived the word from the French word paleron for chuck steak.[https://archive.org/stream/sownikjzykapolsk01karo/sownikjzykapolsk01karo_djvu.txt SŁOWNIK JEŻYKA POLSKIEGO], 1900, Internet Archive Newer dictionaries derive it from German Ballen-rolle.Uniwersalny słownik języka polskiego, [https://books.google.pl/books?hl=pl&id=SDcZAQAAIAAJ&dq=baleron&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=baleron p.181]Słownik wyrazów obcych [https://books.google.pl/books?id=mY1gAAAAMAAJ&q=baleron+s%C5%82ownik&dq=baleron+s%C5%82ownik&hl=pl&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjC-4nRo-3QAhXCrxoKHSuTBNYQ6AEISjAI p.105]
Registered products
Several balerons are registered as protected traditional food by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development:
- 2008: Smoked baleron from Masurian butcher shops[https://web.archive.org/web/20161220102500/http://www.minrol.gov.pl/Jakosc-zywnosci/Produkty-regionalne-i-tradycyjne/Lista-produktow-tradycyjnych/woj.-warminsko-mazurskie/Baleron-wedzony-z-mazurskiej-masarni Baleron wędzony z mazurskiej masarni]
- 2008: Baleron nadwieprzański (baleron from over the Wieprz River)[https://web.archive.org/web/20161220102554/http://www.minrol.gov.pl/pol/Jakosc-zywnosci/Produkty-regionalne-i-tradycyjne/Lista-produktow-tradycyjnych/woj.-lubelskie/Baleron-nadwieprzanski Baleron nadwieprzański]
- 2014: Smoked baleron from Proszówki[https://web.archive.org/web/20161220102407/http://www.minrol.gov.pl/Jakosc-zywnosci/Produkty-regionalne-i-tradycyjne/Lista-produktow-tradycyjnych/woj.-malopolskie/Baleron-wedzony-z-Proszowek Baleron wędzony z Proszówek]
- 2016: Smoked baleron from Wisznice
- ::Quote: "Meat from pork neck (after removing the bones), cured, placed in a bladder and smoked, brown in color with a shade of dark cherry, dark pink in cross-section, slightly juicy consistency, soft, salty taste. Smoked necessarily in a smokehouse fired with alder wood."Lubelskie ze smakiem. Produkty regionalne i tradycyjne, p. 8.
- 2019: Baleron from Płock{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.pl/web/rolnictwo/baleron-plocki|title=Baleron płocki|website=Ministerstwo Rolnictwa i Rozwoju Wsi - Portal Gov.pl|accessdate=30 May 2021|language=pl}}
See also
{{portal|Food}}