Guanciale () is an Italian cuisine salt-cured meat product prepared from pork jowl or cheeks.
Production
Guanciale
is usually rubbed with just salt and ground black pepper by cooks in
Rome, but some producers use other spices, herbs,
peperoncino or red pepper,
and sometimes garlic. It is cured for three weeks or until it loses approximately 30% of its original weight. Its flavour is stronger than that of other pork products, such as
pancetta, and its texture is more delicate. When cooked, the fat typically melts away.
In cuisine
Guanciale may be cut and eaten directly in small portions, but is often used as an ingredient in
pasta dishes
such as Carbonara]] and sauces such as sugo all'amatriciana.
[ republication of La Buona Vera Cucina Italiana, 1966.]
It is a specialty of central Italy, particularly Umbria and Lazio. Pancetta, a cured Italian bacon, is sometimes used as a substitute when guanciale is not available.
See also
