With this recipe, making pancetta at home is simple! All you need to do is be patient while your pancetta cures for two weeks in the refrigerator once you’ve started with a high-quality piece of pork belly and the proper combination of salts and spices.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Additional Time: | 14 days |
| Total Time: | 14 days 15 mins |
| Servings: | 10 |
| Yield: | 10 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons red wine
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 5 whole allspice berries
- 4 juniper berries
- 3 whole cloves
- 1 ½ teaspoons whole black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- ½ teaspoon whole white peppercorns
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 ½ tablespoons salt
- ½ teaspoon Prague Powder #2
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 pounds pork belly
Instructions
- Combine wine and garlic. Set aside.
- Combine allspice berries, juniper berries, cloves, black peppercorns, fennel seeds, white peppercorns, and red pepper flakes in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Grind to a fine powder. Add salt, Prague powder, and nutmeg and stir well to combine.
- Place pork belly in a glass or ceramic dish. Cover on all sides with the spice mixture. Pour wine mixture evenly on top. Cover with a wire rack and then with a large piece of muslin; the rack prevents the muslin from touching the pork.
- Refrigerate for 2 weeks. After 2 weeks, slice the pancetta and use in your favorite recipe, or pan fry as you would bacon.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 479 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 1 g |
| Cholesterol | 65 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 9 g |
| Saturated Fat | 18 g |
| Sodium | 1891 mg |
| Sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 48 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I made the recipe and it was easy and fun to do. However, after it was cured and I fried some slices, the taste was one of too much cloves and salt. I rinsed the rub off and the it tastes much better.Also, if you have a meat slicer to make thin slices would help. Don’t be fooled, it’s doesn’t taste nearly as good as what you can get in the store. I’m going to stick with the store bought or play with the recipe.