The eleventh Charcutepalooza challenge is curing. Alex and I have cured and dried many meats including saucisson sec, fermented chorizo, and coppa. I asked my daughter Lillian to complete this challenge with me. She's been around hanging meat for most of her life. Curing requires minimal skill and can be left for days at a time, perfect for the distractable mind of a six year old. Watch how Lil cures lardo:

While the lardo cured and dried, our family began reading Columbus-native Jeff Smith's iconic juvenile comic series Bone. One character in the book, an adversarial rat creature, is so mesmerized by quiche that he wants to cook the protagonist Bones into quiche, dreams about quiche, and even argues so adamantly about quiche that the Bones repeatedly escape capture. For the rest of the series, the Bones call the quiche-loving, negligent soldiers 'stupid, stupid rat creatures'.

As Lil says in the video, she doesn't like lardo raw but loves it cooked like bacon. We cooked some salted, dried back fat into a quiche that a Lil' rat creature might like - no green stuff or spice. We arranged a few strips of lardo into a star pattern on the center, another recurring theme in Bone.

Alas, our lardo-making daughter did not like the quiche. Alex and I, however, think the the stupid rat creatures were right on: quiche is a great way to enjoy cured meat.

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Stupid Rat Creature Quiche Makes: 6 Time: 20 minutes preparation, 40-50 minutes baking

4 ounces lardo, diced, plus several slices for garnish if desired 5 eggs, beaten 3/4 cup whole milk 1/2 teaspoon salt 10 grinds fresh black pepper 1 cup shredded cheddar single pie crust (my recipe here)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 2. Cook lardo in a skillet until lightly browned, drain fat. 3. In a mixing bowl, beat together eggs, milk, salt and pepper. 4. Line a 9-inch quiche or pie pan with crust. Tuck under edges and finish with a fork or fingers. 5. Scatter lardo and cheese on the bottom of the crust. 6. Pour egg mix over the top. 7. Bake in oven for 40-50 minutes or until top is browned. 8. Cut into six slices and serve.

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This post is a part of the year-long Charcutepalooza challenge. Read below for our other meat-curing adventures and reflections.

Modern Mistletoe: Meat, Marriage, & Duck Prosciutto Pizza Waste Not, Want Not Squirrel Rillettes English Pork Pie Photojournal Almost All-Ohio Mouselline How to Make Hot Dogs Like a Girl Mint Lamb Sausage Inspired by Jorgensen Farms Taco Truck Chorizo Sopito Red’s Canadian Bacon or Why I Had to Kill a Pig To Eat Meat Again The Story of the Rachel Salt Cure Old and New Cider Syrup Bacon

Added to Simple Lives Thursday.