I am excited to announce that the journey of our ‘house-cured’ pancetta has come to a close and very happy to say with much success.  It has been a fun to watch and document the process of ‘home’ curing using traditional Italian cured meat process , even more so that my son was interested it what dad was doing and he even jumped in to lend a hand along the way.

As expected the Pancetta Stesa finished with a seven day drying/curing time-line.  At day five it still was a touch soft and there was some concern if the flavor profile had fully developed.  Now that I’ve had the opportunity to cook a few dishes I am glad the two extra drying/curing days were added.

House Cured Pancetta Stesa

The Pancetta Arrotolata needed a full 2 weeks to reach the same ‘texture’ as our other pancetta.  The flavor profile is relatively similar between the two, if anything the Stesa has a touch more character – why?  The exposed surface area was much greater and therefore allowed more interaction with the outside environment.

Time in the kitchen was a joy; it has been quite a few days since having the opportunity to cook with homemade raw materials.  I thought it appropriate to test the pancetta in a few of the Italian recipes that found their way into the Authentic Volpi cookbook.  The recipes originally called for Volpi Pancetta, I have substituted my house made pancetta to honor the occasion. Here’s what we enjoyed

Grilled Prawns Wrapped with House-Cured Pancetta and Herb Vinaigrette

Gnocchi with Caramelized Wild Mushrooms and House-Cured Pancetta Sauce

Oven Roasted Free Range Chicken Breast with Corn, Green Beans and House-Cured Pancetta Ragu

The evening was a huge success and created a family memory we could all smile about in the years ahead.  The bonus, as a thank you for spending the evening with us my guests all took home a piece of pancetta!

I hope a few are inspired to make this journey on your own and create your own family traditions.

Grazie mille,

Michael