How to make Pancetta

Here is a simple way on how to make Pancetta at home. We had used all our pork bellies from our pigs, but luckily we have a good local butcher we can get product from. A word of warning though, curing salt is a poison if ingested directly in very small amounts

“You do need to handle it with care because it’s toxic if you ingest it directly. It’s colored pink to prevent accidental ingestion. Keep it out of kids’ reach. According to this link on Oxford University’s site, the exact toxicity is 71 milligrams per kilogram. I weigh nearly 100 kilograms. That means if I ate 7.1 grams, it could kill me (by binding the oxygen carried by my blood to the hemoglobin, making that oxygen unavailable to my cells). That’s about a teaspoon. If you’re a petite 110 pounds, 1/2 teaspoon would be toxic. This article on its toxicity suggest an even lower amount is harmful. Bottom line: Don’t be afraid of it, but keep it well identified, and use it only as a recipe calls for.”

http://ruhlman.com/2011/02/meat-curing-safety-issues/

find a good recipe and follow it, now is not the time to be getting creative, especially with curing salts

anyways, I assembled my supplies needed

and dumped in 2 tablespoons of garlic

I destemmed one sprig of rosemary

and 3 sprigs of thyme

a tablespoon of peppercorns

and 1/3 cup of kosher salt

4 bay leaves

and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar

2 teaspoons of nutmeg

and 12 juniper berries

I stuck them in a blender and blended well

I took my pork belly

and removed the skin

flip it over and you want to square off the meat so it tolls uniformly and trim the meat and fat so it rolls with no air pockets created that can harbor bacteria

the recipe I was using was for a 6 pound pork belly, but mine was 3 pounds and the recipe called for 4 tsp’s of curing salt, so I used one on each side, sprinkled on the meat

and rubbed it in

I took half of the spice mix and coated the meat

and flipped it over onto a piece of saran wrap and coated the other side

I wrapped the meat up with the plastic wrap

and stuck it in a pan in my fridge

After resting for seven days, it’s time to roll

I dumped 2 tbsp of peppercorn into a bowl

and used a measuring cup to crush the peppercorn

I unwrapped the belly and rinsed off all the cure under water and patted it dry with paper towels

I rubbed the crushed peppercorn into both sides

and rolled the belly up tight length wise

I used some twine and tied up the ends good

and tied the middle

I wrapped it along the length

and hung it in the pantry for the next 3 weeks

3 weeks later, it was ready

I set it on my cutting board

I cut the string off

and sliced it up

I diced the ends up

and fried them up, I had to try it

was good, salty due to being a end cut, but good, will post a recipe for using it later

Click HERE to see the thread in the forums