Okay. All the pork belly talk got me thinking about what else I could do with pork belly. Since I cook and eat Italian food, I thought I would try my hand at making my own Pancetta Arrotolata. Italian bacon is cured, but not smoked.
So when I went to Super Cao Ngyuen, I asked for a whole pork belly. They trimmed it up and cut into two pieces of about 5 lbs each. One half I used to make Bourbon and Brown Sugar Bacon and the other half I used for my Pancetta.
When you are trimming the skin off a pork belly, I found that my filet knives worked the best.
This is the recipe I followed. When looking for Juniper Berries, Homeland had them for $8 per ounce. Savory Spice Shop in OKC had them for about $2 per ounce.
http://www.ciaprochef.com/fbi/recipes/Dry-curedPancetta.html
So after smashing the Juniper Berries with my meat hammer, I mixed all the spices together and rubbed them into both sides of the pork belly. I put it into a 2 gallon zip lock bag and flipped it every other day until it felt very firm.
After 10 days of sitting in my fridge, I took it out and rinsed it off with cold water. I patted it dry and put it back into the fridge overnight on a rack that allowed circulation. I was then ready to roll it up. But first I sprinkled cracked black pepper on both sides. Be sure you practice your Chef's Knot before you start.
Then it was back into the fridge on the drying rack. I let it dry out and cure for three weeks before taking it out and slicing.
I sliced some and used it to make Pasta Carbonara. It was salty, but not as salty as I thought it would be. I could certainly taste the Juniper Berries, but it wasn't overwhelming.
So when I went to Super Cao Ngyuen, I asked for a whole pork belly. They trimmed it up and cut into two pieces of about 5 lbs each. One half I used to make Bourbon and Brown Sugar Bacon and the other half I used for my Pancetta.
When you are trimming the skin off a pork belly, I found that my filet knives worked the best.
This is the recipe I followed. When looking for Juniper Berries, Homeland had them for $8 per ounce. Savory Spice Shop in OKC had them for about $2 per ounce.
http://www.ciaprochef.com/fbi/recipes/Dry-curedPancetta.html
So after smashing the Juniper Berries with my meat hammer, I mixed all the spices together and rubbed them into both sides of the pork belly. I put it into a 2 gallon zip lock bag and flipped it every other day until it felt very firm.
After 10 days of sitting in my fridge, I took it out and rinsed it off with cold water. I patted it dry and put it back into the fridge overnight on a rack that allowed circulation. I was then ready to roll it up. But first I sprinkled cracked black pepper on both sides. Be sure you practice your Chef's Knot before you start.
Then it was back into the fridge on the drying rack. I let it dry out and cure for three weeks before taking it out and slicing.
I sliced some and used it to make Pasta Carbonara. It was salty, but not as salty as I thought it would be. I could certainly taste the Juniper Berries, but it wasn't overwhelming.
