Homemade Pancetta
Pancetta is Italian style cured pork belly, and it's easy to make at home with little more than pork, salt, and seasonings.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10 lbs 4.5 kg Pork Belly, with or without skin
Pancetta Cure
- 4.8 ounces/135 grams sea salt or at least 3% the weight of the meat
- 2 teaspoons/12 grams pink curing salt Instacure no. 1 * see notes
- 1/4 cup/50 grams packed brown sugar **see notes
- 1/4 cup/20 grams red pepper flakes crushed
- 3 Tablespoons/18 grams black peppercorns toasted and coarsely cracked
- 2 Tablespoons/10 grams garlic powder or 8-10 fresh cloves, peeled and crushed
- 2 Tablespoons/10 grams dried thyme leaves or 10 sprigs fresh thyme
- 8 bay leaves crumbled
For Aging
- 1/2 cup 48 grams cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Prepare the pork belly by removing the rib bones (if still attached), and trimming it to square. The skin can be intact or removed, depending on your preference. The starting weight for this recipe should include 10 lbs prepared pork belly, ready to go into the cure. If you have more or less, adjust the quantity of cure accordingly. Be sure to use at least 3% salt, calculating 3% of the weight of the pork belly.
- Combine all the cure ingredients in a non-reactive container large enough to hold the belly flat (or in a plastic Ziploc bag or vacuum sealer bag).
- Add the belly, and rub the cure into all sides of the meat.
- Refrigerate for 5 days, flipping each day and ensuring that all sides remain evenly coated in cure.
- Remove the belly from the cure and rinse the excess cure off the meat in cool, running water. Pat dry.
- Cover the meat on all sides with coarsely ground black pepper. (Use roughly 1/2 cup total or as much as you need to get the job done.)
- If rolling, roll according to the instructions in the article, using a continuous tie of butcher twine. Roll tightly to make sure all air is removed from the roll before hanging.
- Hang the belly to dry for 2-3 weeks. It should be kept at 50 to 60 degrees F (10-15 C) and 60-75% relative humidity.
- After 2-3 weeks, weigh the meat. It should have lost 30% of its original weight. If not, continue the drying a bit longer.
- Once done, tightly wrap the pancetta and store it in the refrigerator for short-term storage (or freeze for up to a year, tightly wrapped). Do not leave it hanging, it will continue to dry further.
Notes
*Curing salt is technically optional for pancetta when it's made as a flat slab, but it is manditory for rolled pancetta. Either way, I strongly recommend using it for both quality and safety regardless of the type of pancetta you make. There's a detailed discussion covering the reasoning for this in the article, and I'd suggest reading through it if you choose to omit the nitrites.
**Sugar is optional, and you can omit without compromising food safety. It's added for flavor, and it's used to balance out the salty flavors in the cured meat. I'd recommend it for best quality and flavor.
Pancetta is meant to be eaten cooked, and should be chopped or sliced, and crisped in a hot pan to prepare once the curing time is complete.