Thread: Pancetta...work in progress!

I am as excited as a moosehunter bringing down a orignal with a sixty inch rack spread, honestly!! It being the seventh day, I washed the spices and salts off the meat then dried it off with kitchen towels.



then I fried a couple of pieces to do a taste test...tres bon!!!

Then sprinkled on a further tablespoon of cracked pepper...



Due to the weather, I decided to dry the pancetta out in the fridge...rather than hang it up somewhere...it is set on a cake rack placed in a container...



then covered the whole container with meat cloth...



and will leave it for at least a week...

Here is the recipe...

This is what you need for a kilo of belly...

2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp of pink salt
4 just rounded tsp rock salt
1 tbsp brown sugar (although I used caster sugar as I did not have any brown)
1 tbsp cracked pepper (and a further tbsp for sprinkling after the curing)
2 bay leaves crushed
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 sprig of fresh thyme

Mix altogether well before rubbing into all surfaces of the meat. I would not leave the strips of meat between the ribs on the piece of meat again. If it turns out a bit too salty, you only need to slice and blanche in water until the water comes to the boil, drain then fry or grill as per normal.