Not all meat was created equal, and let's say you're looking for something different to top
a pizza, sprinkle over a salad, or add a dollop of flavor to some otherwise boring vegetables.
We have just the thing for you, and it's a pork product you'll need to stock ASAP.
A crispy cube of pancetta is one of the most purely delicious bites on earth — for carnivores,
at least. Decadent, salty, and slightly fatty, pancetta tastes a bit like a union of bacon and
prosciutto — without any smokiness — and it elevates any dish that it's added to.
When pancetta and pasta come together, for example, it's pure magic.
So, where do the differences come in? Pancetta and bacon are both made with pork belly,
whereas prosciutto is made from a pig's back leg. Of course, these three pork products
can all be used interchangeably if you're in a pinch, but their flavors are certainly varied.
If pancetta isn't a part of your grocery rotation and a regular on your cheese boards,
here's why it should be.
A cured Italian pork product, pancetta is essentially pork belly that has been seasoned,
salted, and lightly spiced. It’ss often seasoned and cured with salt, sugar, pepper,
juniper, bay leaves, nutmeg, and thyme. How delicious does that sound?
Pretty perfect for a special, pork-centric dinner, right?
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Making pancetta isn't a quick process, and the curing and drying process usually takes
between three and four weeks. Once cured, the pork belly is seasoned and refrigerated,
then washed, rolled, and slipped into a casing before being tied and hung.
Making pancetta from scratch takes patience and time. However, making pancetta doesn't require
an abundance of ingredients — and aside from the pork belly itself, you may already have all of the
other ingredients on hand. If you want to pursue making homemade pancetta as a culinary project
of sorts, use the freshest pork belly available and be aware that it's a multi-day process.
The easiest way to describe pancetta is that it's similar to bacon,
but without the smokiness. That's because while bacon is smoked, pancetta is cured.
And unlike bacon, pancetta is often eaten chilled and can be eaten raw.
Whereas bacon often receives its flavor from the wood used in the smoking process,
pancetta's flavor comes from the spices it's brined and aged in.
Pancetta's flavor tends to be a bit more subtle than bacon but a bit more forward than prosciutto.
While sliced pancetta is often served chilled as part of a charcuterie board or as a salad topping,
pancetta cubes are a great addition to pasta recipes.
If your dishes could use a salty kick, pancetta should be on your radar.
Pancetta is sold in large hunks, thinly sliced, or chopped into small bits.
Depending on its preparation, pancetta can be used in a multitude of ways.
Pancetta lends amazing flavor to soups and stews, pairs well with green vegetables,
and bolsters salads, pizzas, and more. It can also be added to a cold antipasto platter.
Many grocery stores now stock pancetta alongside prosciutto and bacon,
so it shouldn't be too difficult to find this porky, salty gem. Brands including Volpi Foods,
Boar's Head, and even Target's Good & Gather line sell uncured and cubed pancetta.
There is a footnote to this, and it's the fact that pancetta tends to be more
expensive than bacon and prosciutto because of the time-intensive curing process it undergoes.
Even though you'll likely find it at your local supermarket without issue, you may
want to consider it a specialty ingredient if you're trying to stick to a tight grocery budget.
Pancetta, while not an especially good-for-you food, is perfectly suitable in smaller servings.
It contains hardly any carbohydrates, sugar, or fiber but is also somewhat high in calories,
clocking in around 212 calories per serving. It's also high in fat and sodium,
but like all the best things in the world, you can definitely enjoy it in moderation.
If pancetta is the star of a dish, that particular meal may not be the most
nutritionally sound. But if pancetta is merely a small part of the dish,
you should be good to go — you just might not want to eat it with every meal.
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