Pancetta


 
Rich G

Rich G

TVWBB Honor Circle
Hopefully the TVWBB community will forgive the posting of pictures that don't involve cooking of any sort......my only defense is that I know how everyone here loves pig parts! :)

Made some pancetta out of the last belly I bought at CostCo. Cured 10 days (pink salt, salt, bay leaf, pepper, garlic powder, something else I'm forgetting), tied and hung for about three weeks. This is not fully cured/dried, so needs to be cooked before eating.....so, semi-dried, non-smoked bacon....kinda. :)

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Fried up a thin slice.....whoa! That's good stuff! Pancetta Recipe

Rich
 
Rich, you were wrong, this post did involve cooking. The last pic says you fried up a piece. That in my book is cooking. And a job well done in my opinion. Keep up the good work. This is an inspiration to others to try the same thing.
 
Rich
Beautiful Pancetta,photography and Knife. Ill can't wait to see the finished product.
 
Bob Ivey said:
Rich, you were wrong, this post did involve cooking.
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You got me there, Bob! :) ....and, my Weber was no more than 20 feet away while I fried it up (on the stove!) :)

JeffG said:
Rich
Beautiful Pancetta,photography and Knife. Ill can't wait to see the finished product.
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Jeff, it's all done.....save for adding it to some upcoming cooks (pasta, brussels sprouts, etc.) :)

Rich
 
Thanks for posting this! As much as I love smoking stuff, it's nice to see a belly recipe that doesn't require me to assemble/fire up/monitor. AND still get a satisfying product.
 
Len Dennis said:
Thanks for posting this! As much as I love smoking stuff, it's nice to see a belly recipe that doesn't require me to assemble/fire up/monitor. AND still get a satisfying product.
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Give it a try, Len. The low level of hands-on with pancetta is one of the things that attracts me to it as well (oh, and, of course, it's tasty pig parts!) Mix and apply cure, then let it do its thing. Roll, tie, hang, and let it do its thing. Slice, add to pasta carbonara and enjoy!

Of course, you can get all crazy and involved with building a curing chamber to control temp/humidity, but I went with the approach that before electricity and other modern conveniences, folks like me were just finding the best place they had to hang something up to cure, and that's what I did. Seems to have worked out, and I probably invested a total of 20-25 minutes of hand's on time (not including the trip to Costco to purchase the belly.)

Cheers,
Rich
 
Len Dennis said:
I was thinking of some way to suspend it over the bar sink in my basement and came up with using the same hanger I use for smoking sausages: Weber Original Expandable Smoking Rack for 18.5in Smokey Mountain

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00FDOOOVO/
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That should work great, Len! I just suspended mine from the underside of a shelf in the garage with something under it to catch any drips (there wasn't much.....) Looking forward to your results if you give it a go!

R
 
Looks and sounds delicious Rich! I love pancetta and I know that must be delicious. I'll have to read up on that process.
 
Rich, that recipe calls for the cure and ALL the spices to be ground up then applied etc.

Yet further down it says to toast the peppercorns and roll them up in the meat prior to drying.

Which is it: ground peppercorns/brine or whole toasted peppercorns and rolled? OR half and half?
 
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Pancetta is something that I have not yet been lucky enough to try. Your picture is sure encouraging me to find some. Looks Amazing!
 
Len Dennis said:
Rich, that recipe calls for the cure and ALL the spices to be ground up then applied etc.

Yet further down it says to toast the peppercorns and roll them up in the meat prior to drying.

Which is it: ground peppercorns/brine or whole toasted peppercorns and rolled? OR half and half?
Click to expand...

That recipe does leave a bit to be desired in terms of clarity, Len!! I think that they intended for you to grind up SOME of the spices for the cure, then rub with the remaining spices for the drying period. I went off the script here, and just went with spices in the dry cure (no brine here), as I didn't want my finished pancetta coated with spices. I think there's plenty of room for your own creativity (or common sense), depending on what you want to end up with. Since I use the pancetta primarily as a flavor ingredient in dishes, I went somewhat simple.

Hope that helps!!

Rich
 
Bob H. said:
Pancetta is something that I have not yet been lucky enough to try. Your picture is sure encouraging me to find some. Looks Amazing!
Click to expand...


Bob, it's pretty much the same as bacon, only not smoked, and usually at least "semi-dried", so, if you have made your own bacon, you are most of the way there. I think there's an endless variety of ways to season your pancetta, and I like the way this one turned out with the pepper and bay. The biggest challenge I think most people have (aside from getting over the mental idea of hanging uncooked meat up for a few weeks) is finding an appropriate place to hang it.....out of the way of kids, pets, rodents, etc., that is relatively cool, but not too dry (too dry, and the outside of your pancetta dries too fast, not allowing any of the internal moisture to escape.) However, since this is not intended to be a fully cured/dried product (read, you still have to cook it before eating it), you don't need to be quite as strict on that.

Give it a try!

Rich
 
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