Hog Heaven:: DIY Pancetta
Photos and Words by Jeremy Boles
Hipstamatic’s web magician, Jeremy Boles, comes from behind the computer and into the kitchen to share one of his secret recipes for mouthwatering pancetta
Earlier this year, my family spent a month in Lucca, Italy. Aside from the beautiful countryside, amazing wine, and wonderful pizzerias, the thing that I probably miss the most is the salumerie, or delis, that have their cured meats displayed in the windows. This recipe for pancetta, which is the Italian technique for curing pork belly, will get you very close to what you’d find in Italy, complete with rolls of meat hanging from the corner of your kitchen.
Ingredients:
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1 4 or 5 pound slab of pork belly
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4 cloves garlic
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2 teaspoons pink curing salt like DQ Curing Salt
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¼ cup kosher salt
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2 tablespoons brown sugar
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2 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons ground black pepper
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2 tablespoons juniper berries
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4 bay leaves
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1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
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4 sprigs fresh thyme
You may need to ask your butcher if they have any whole pork belly available for you. Ask for a slab without skin on it or have the butcher cut the skin off for you. If your pork belly was frozen, let it thaw completely in the refrigerator. Ingredients like DQ Curing Salt can be found online from websites like www. butcher-packer.com.
Gather all of the ingredients with just 2 tablespoons of ground black pepper. Crush the bay leaves and smash the juniper berries in a mortar and pestle or with rolling pin. Combine everything into a bowl and mix it together.
