Barding and larding

Barding and larding are techniques of adding fat to a lean piece of meat for roasting to increase its tenderness and moisture.

Barding consists of laying strips of bacon or other fats over a roast, typically a game bird.

Larding consists of inserting lardons, strips of pork fat, often seasoned, into a roast with a larding needle (also called a barding needle or lardoir). 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. The lard strips are pushed through, then as they are held on the far end, the needle is withdrawn. Lardons are streaky bacon cut into strips, they are often blanched and added to many dishes especially useful for pasta dishes. The fat used for "Larding" is the back fat cut into strips then threaded through the meat. It could be used for braised meat and roasted and is used for meat that is lacking in fat by inserting fat it keeps the meat moist.

* A traditional method of preparing filet mignon of beef is to wrap them in strips of bacon before cooking.