Home Cured Pancetta
This is the sort of pancetta that needs to be cooked, non-cooked edible pancetta needs a different cure and a much, much longer hang - will update when I've had a go!
Equipment
- 1+ Ziplock bag or...
- 10 Sheets of clingfilm (not advised!)
Ingredients
- 1 batch Pancetta cure Use this
CURE CALCULATOR - 1 kg Pork belly Or any amount really as you'll be using the cure generator!
Instructions
- If you have a large bone-in bellly remove the ribs (eat them, don't chuck them!) and skin the belly.
- Consider cutting the belly up into manageable pieces. I prefer to do lumps that fit into a gallon sizes ziplock bag. This also has the benefit that you can remove from the cure one batch at a time as you need them.
- Mix all the ingredients together to make the cure and coat the meat. Carefully drop the meat into a bag, or even more carefully wrap it in lots and lots of clingfilm (it's going to leak, so wrap it one way, then the other at least 2 or 3 times)
- Pop it in the fridge and turn every day for a fortnight - your belly is now bacon! (If you used clingfilm instead of ziplocks put it in something like a big roasting dish for example, otherwise you'll be cleaning your fridge a week from now)
- Wash off the cure under a cold tap and pat dry - now you need to find somewhere to keep it for another 2+ weeks!
Notes
A Word on Salt
Many recipes online call for 'kosher salt'. This is just American chat for salt with a larger grain, rock or flake, much like Maldon. You should never use table salt for curing as it usually has iodine in it, and anyway its too fine.
As you are about to become addicted to this it's worth buying a big box of Kosher Salt off Amazon.