- Season
- Sold all year. It was traditionally made at the winter home pig slaughter (zabijačka) and kept through the following months.
- Price
- Low
- Nutrition per 100 g
- 773 kcal
- 2.8 g protein
- 88 g fat
- 0 g carbs
Pork Fatback
Meat
Pork Fatback
Špek is the Czech name for salted pork back fat (hřbetní sádlo), usually smoked and often sold with the rind still on one side. It contains little or no lean meat.
In practice
How to store
- On the counter
Do not leave it at room temperature for long. Historically, well-salted, smoked špek was hung in a cool, airy, dry place such as a chimney or pantry, but this does not apply to shop products. Follow the storage instructions on the label.
- In the fridge
Keep at 2–6 °C, wrapped in paper or a breathable cloth inside a container so it does not dry out or pick up other smells. A whole piece keeps well within the use-by or best-before date on the label. Once a vacuum or modified-atmosphere pack is opened, follow the producer's instructions, which are often a few days.
- In the freezer
Freezes well for about 3–6 months, tightly wrapped so it does not pick up other smells or go rancid. Cut it into portions or cubes before freezing so you can take out only what you need. Thaw in the fridge. Frozen špek is also easier to slice very thinly.
How to choose
Read the label first. Classic špek is listed as pork fat (vepřové sádlo, hřbetní sádlo) plus salt. Products made from pork belly (vepřový bok) are closer to slanina, even when the name says špek. Choose a piece with firm, white to ivory fat and a clean, even smoky colour on the surface. The rind should be thin and properly scraped. Avoid pieces that are yellow, greasy or soft, or that smell sour or rancid, because the fat has started to oxidise. Thicker back fat usually comes from fattier breeds such as Mangalica or Přeštice Black-Pied pigs. Thin fat about 1–2 cm thick is typical of modern lean pigs. If you plan to eat it raw, check whether it is labelled as heat-treated (tepelně opracovaný) or only cured and smoked.
What to swap in
Best swap
Italian lardo or Ukrainian/Polish salo, which are also cured pork back fat
In a pinch
Fatty smoked slanina (bacon) for frying and flavouring, or plain pork lard (sádlo) as a cooking fat when the smoky flavour is not needed
Preparation
To eat it cold, chill the piece well and slice it as thinly as you can with a sharp knife, cutting across the rind or removing the rind first. To cook with it, cut it into small cubes and put them in a cold pan over low to medium heat so the fat renders slowly before the cubes brown. For larding, cut chilled špek into thin strips and push them into lean meat such as game, beef or rabbit with a larding needle or the tip of a knife. Treat špek that is only cured and cold-smoked as a raw meat product. Pregnant people, small children and anyone with a weakened immune system should eat it only after cooking it thoroughly.
Don't toss it
Keep the rind. Simmer it in soups, cabbage dishes or bean and pea stews for flavour, or render it with the trimmings into lard. Small leftover pieces can be fried into škvarky (cracklings), and the fat left in the pan can be used to cook potatoes or eggs.
In the kitchen
Cooking
Cold, sliced thinly on bread. Fried until crisp for scrambled eggs (vajíčka se špekem), potato pancakes and potato dishes. Diced into dumpling dough for špekové knedlíky. Used as the cooking fat for sauerkraut and pulse dishes. Pushed into lean roasts and game as larding. Laid in strips over meat to baste it while roasting. Rendered slowly into lard and cracklings.
Goes well with
- Rye Bread
- Onion
- Garlic
- Sweet Paprika
- Pickled Cucumbers
- Eggs
- Potatoes
- Bread Dumplings
- Sauerkraut
- Game
- Rabbit
- Caraway
- Horseradish
- Beer
What it is
Špek is the Czech name for salted pork back fat (hřbetní sádlo), usually smoked and often sold with the rind still on one side. It contains little or no lean meat. In Czech shops it is sold as a whole slab or in pieces of about 150–300 g. You find it at the butcher's counter, next to the slanina (bacon) in the chilled cured-meat section, and from farm and heritage-breed producers. To make it, the fat is dry-salted, sometimes brined, and left to cure for several weeks. It is then usually cold-smoked at a low temperature, so the fat stays soft and does not melt. Czechs eat it cold, sliced thinly onto bread with onion, paprika and pickled cucumber. They also cut it into cubes and fry it as a cooking fat and flavouring, or push strips of it into lean meat before roasting (larding, Czech špikování). Špek is not the same as Czech slanina. Slanina is made from pork belly and has visible layers of meat. The two are related to Ukrainian salo and Italian lardo, but are separate products.
How it tastes
Cold špek tastes clean, salty and gently smoky. The fat melts in the mouth, and the beech smoke and any paprika or garlic coating add flavour. The rind is firm and chewy. When fried, the cubes turn golden and crisp at the edges and give off a smoky fat that flavours the whole dish.
Common questions
What is the difference between špek and slanina?
Can I eat špek raw?
Is špek the same as Tyrolean Speck?
How long does špek keep?
What is špek used for in Czech cooking?
Deep dive
3 min read
Varieties
Smoked špek with rind (uzený špek s kůží)
is the standard Czech form: dry-salted back fat, cold-smoked, with the rind on one side.
Paprika špek (paprikový or uherský špek)
is coated with ground paprika after curing and is especially popular sliced on bread.
Heritage-breed špek
is made from fatty breeds kept by Czech farms, mainly the Hungarian Mangalica and the Czech Přeštice Black-Pied pig. The fat layer is much thicker and the texture is usually softer.
Beef špek (hovězí špek)
is a niche product that some Czech butchers make from beef fat. It is not pork špek.
Belly products sold as špek
: some shops use the name for cured and smoked pork belly. Those products contain meat and are closer to slanina.
Related products elsewhere
, which are separate from Czech špek: Italian lardo is cured back fat seasoned with herbs and is usually not smoked. Ukrainian and Polish salo or słonina are salted back fat, sometimes smoked. Tyrolean Speck (tyrolský špek) is a lightly smoked cured ham made from boned pork leg, mostly meat with a layer of fat, not from back fat.
History
Špek was traditionally made in Czech households at the winter pig slaughter (zabijačka). Back fat was rubbed with salt, packed tightly into containers for several weeks to months, and often smoked afterwards. This kept a valuable source of fat available long after the slaughter. Smoked špek was often hung in the chimney or another dry, airy place to keep it from getting damp and going mouldy. Before vegetable cooking oil became common in the 20th century, špek and lard were, alongside butter, among the main cooking fats in Czech kitchens.
Science
Salt draws water out of the fat and the small amount of tissue in it, which slows microbial growth. Curing salt with sodium nitrite, where used, also fixes colour and helps limit some bacteria. Cold smoking at low temperatures adds flavour compounds and an antimicrobial surface layer without melting the fat. Back fat forms a dense, even layer held together by connective tissue, so it slices cleanly and holds its shape during longer cooking, while the flakier leaf fat from inside the body cavity is mainly rendered into lard. Exposure to air, light and warmth makes the fat oxidise and go rancid, which is why špek should be kept cool, dark and well wrapped. When heated, the fat renders out and the remaining tissue browns and crisps, which gives cracklings and fried cubes their texture.
Sourcing and ethics
Most špek sold in Czech supermarkets comes from conventionally raised pigs. Modern lean pig breeds have only a thin layer of back fat, often just 1–2 cm. Thicker špek usually comes from fattier heritage breeds such as Mangalica or Přeštice Black-Pied, which are often raised on smaller farms. Buyers who care about animal welfare can look for farm or organic (BIO) products and named breeds, and can check the country of origin, which must be stated on fresh, chilled and frozen pork in the EU but is not generally required on cured products such as špek. Using the whole piece, rind and trimmings included, makes full use of the animal.