New Word Wednesday: Is That a Lardon in Your Meal . . .

. . . or are you just happy to see me?

If you're at all like me, the first time you saw the word lardon your mind immediately conjured a politically incorrect definition involving obesity and sexual arousal.

We should be ashamed of ourselves.

The first time (the only time so far) I saw lardon, it was on a menu as an ingredient in a fancy mac and cheese dish. (Make your off-color creams/cheeses jokes now.) Even though I didn't know what lardon was, I was pretty sure I didn't want to put it in my mouth.

I ordered the blackened salmon sandwich.

Lardon — or lardoon — is a piece of bacon or salt pork used for larding.

Larding (I didn't know lard was also a verb, did you?) is the act of coating or smothering a food with lard or other fat or stuffing meat with strips of fat or bacon before cooking. I think my heart appreciates that I didn't order the meal that included lardon.

Lardy, lardy, lardy get your clogged veins here!
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

But wait — the dish in question was mac and cheese! Not exactly something you can stuff with bacon. Does that mean it was covered with lard?

Or, really, was this just a hoity-toity way of saying they put a little bacon in it?

All things considered, I don't regret ordering the blackened salmon sandwich at all.*

*Except that I accidentally ordered blacked chicken. Still better than putting lardon in my mouth.