Streak O’ lean, Fatback, and
Cracklin’s
In the winter when there was a cold snap
it was hog killing time. Since there was no refrigeration,
hams and shoulders were smoked or salt cured, some of the
meat was made into sausage which was stuffed in casings and
cured, streak o’ lean and fatback were rendered into lard
(which also produced cracklin’s) or they were salted down .
All of the hog would be used. It was said that all was used
except the squeal. Because it was difficult to preserve
much of the meat, fresh meat was often shared with
neighbors who were always willing to reciprocate. Many
called this a time of living “high on the hog.”
Fatback is actually a fresh layer of fat that runs along
the back of the hog. This was the part that usually was
used to make lard and cracklin's. We also called this part
“fatback” after it was salt cured. To us there were two
kinds of salt pork: fatback and streak o’ lean (which was
like fatback but had streaks of lean in it).
Not living in the rural part of the county, my family never
raised hogs. We bought fresh meat, sausage, and hams from
those that peddled these during the time when it was
necessary to get rid of the meat that could not be used or
cured. Grocery stores always sold cured meats like ham,
salt pork, lard and some refrigerated items like sausage
and pork chops.
Two very essential items for most family diets were flour
and lard. If they had nothing else, families had flour and
lard, even the poorest. I never thought of my family as
being poor, although we didn’t have much and ate a lot of
biscuits and “lard gravy”. My daddy bought some hoop cheese
one time thinking we would have a special breakfast of hot
biscuits and cheese. As a baby I’d only had biscuits and
lard gravy for breakfast and I pitched a fit to have some
gravy. Daddy never let me forget this episode as long as he
lived.
Working in several grocery stores as a teenager, I noticed
an interesting fact. After the great depression and World
War II, most families’ financial status improved. Many quit
farming, had salaried jobs, owned automobiles, and dressed
better but they still bought that large sack of Holly Hawk
flour and a package of Rex lard. (During World War II the
red metal lard bucket was replaced by a durable cardboard
container). We also sold many pounds of fatback and streak
o’ lean. Having acquired a taste for certain foods, even
out of necessity, it’s hard to give them up.
Although I work hard to keep a diet low in saturated fat,
it would be a real treat to have a breakfast of streak o’
lean, hot biscuits covered in lard gravy (and in memory of
Daddy a small piece of cheese). For dinner I’d like a pot
of turnip greens cooked with a chunk of fatback, cracklin'
bread, and a large glass of buttermilk
You can only take the boy out of the country.