Pork side, the cut used to make bacon (precise quantities below)
Salt
Garlic
Peppercorns
Mixed spices
Instructions
Purchase a piece of pork side weighing about 4 - 41/2 pounds (1.8 - 2 k) and lay it flat in a deep flat-bottomed container, rind side down. Dust it lightly with finely ground (as opposed to coarse) salt. Grind a couple of cloves of garlic to a fine paste in a mortar and spread them uniformly over the meat. Cover it with cracked peppercorns and spices (just a touch of cinnamon, cloves, or nutmeg -- for this amount I'd go with a half teaspoon or less). Next, cover it with a uniform, thick layer of salt, pressing down so it sticks throughout.
Leave the meat lie for 20 days, then shake off the excess salt, make a hole in one end with an awl, run a string through it, and hang it up in a cool well-ventilated place for a month.
It's now ready; you can use it in thin (1/8 inch, 1/4 cm) slices in whatever recipe calls for it.
Originally Submitted
8/19/2012
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