Pork, cured, separable fat (from ham and arm picnic), roasted

This is the same cured ham and arm picnic fat as its raw counterpart, but roasted, the way it comes off a whole roasted holiday ham. In this form, the crisped fat cap is often sliced and served alongside the sliced meat, prized by some for its concentrated, salty-savory flavor and crackling texture after roasting. The drippings that collect in the roasting pan from this fat are commonly used as the base for a pan gravy, or spooned sparingly over roasted vegetables served alongside the ham.

Once a ham has been roasted, refrigerate any leftover fat trimmings or drippings promptly and use within a few days. Because it is cured, sodium remains concentrated at 624 mg per 100 g, so it is treated as a flavoring component rather than a food to eat in quantity, working best crumbled over vegetables or stirred into gravy. At 591 calories per 100 g, largely from its 61.9 g of fat, it also carries 7.64 g of protein per 100 g, about 15 percent of the daily value, reflecting the meat fibers that remain attached to the fat after roasting a bone-in or semi-boneless ham.