tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7757350942807174715.post1605021965979291699..comments2012-01-07T09:15:40.270-08:00Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13599208082890099005noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7757350942807174715.post-77402421336734776942012-01-07T09:15:40.270-08:002012-01-07T09:15:40.270-08:00Hi Dale - Welcome to the wonderful world of cured meats! As for Pancetta, did you know that it&#39;s usually cooked before eating?<br /><br />Even so, if your fresh belly was clean and properly handled, you shouldn&#39;t have anything to worry once it&#39;s cured. As you probably know, if it is present, botulism can grow and produce toxins under anaerobic conditions (no oxygen) -- but the pink salt will prevent that! <br /><br />If you&#39;re really concerned, but do want to eat the Pancetta without cooking, you could make <a href="http://menuinprogress.com/2010/09/pancetta-tesa-curing-meat-easy-way.html" rel="nofollow">Pancetta Tesa</a> next time. It&#39;s not rolled up, so there&#39;s not really any place where anaerobic growth can take place. <br /><br />It sounds like you&#39;ve done all the right things and I&#39;m sure you&#39;ll be happy with the result - Enjoy it!Sherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01537895061325954653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7757350942807174715.post-57520004176791370442012-01-06T07:46:43.505-08:002012-01-06T07:46:43.505-08:00OK, so I have been reading your webpage for over a year and finally decided to enter my own world of Charcuterie. I live on the east coast, and find it difficult to find great cured meats. I purchased the book &quot;Charcuterie&quot; and my addiction has begun. I seasoned and cured a fresh belly, and then tied it up and hung it in the basement. It looks amazing, I just want to know how I get it through my head that I will not consume any botulism toxins. I know my pink salt and cure were done proportionately, its just the uncooked pork aspect that i cant get out of my head. Any ideas?Dalenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7757350942807174715.post-31616341804524616762011-03-04T10:30:21.629-08:002011-03-04T10:30:21.629-08:00Hi Kelly - we&#39;ve been making pancetta for years now, and it has always been great. Siesel&#39;s doesn&#39;t generally have large belly pieces out, but they sometimes have it if you ask. They will also order it for you.<br /><br />You might also want to consider doing <a href="http://menuinprogress.com/2010/09/pancetta-tesa-curing-meat-easy-way.html" rel="nofollow">Pancetta Tesa</a>, the non-rolled version. It is easier and just as tasty - if not quite as pretty.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13599208082890099005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7757350942807174715.post-89846532800599865042011-03-04T09:08:42.941-08:002011-03-04T09:08:42.941-08:00Hi, I&#39;ve been reading quite a bit about many taking on making their own charcuterie and pancetta is a favorite of mine. Good to know Ranch 99 has decent sized pieces of pork belly, because I was at Secil,s recently and the only had a couple of small frozen bits. With the weather as chilly as it&#39;s been lately, I&#39;m thinking this is a project I could get my teeth into! Thanks for the great directions.kellypeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13266678780105919817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7757350942807174715.post-22645603328688806012010-02-19T10:20:00.980-08:002010-02-19T10:20:00.980-08:00Hi Anon. - Ruhlman suggests that you need enough of the cure mixture to evenly coat the outside of the meat, and make sure it&#39;s fairly firm before hanging it. I usually go with proportions like you did (erring on the side of excess cure), but we&#39;re not really experts, so I&#39;m not sure it&#39;s right either. Sorry!Sherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08612061023791517741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7757350942807174715.post-78688051727263933382010-02-16T11:15:13.255-08:002010-02-16T11:15:13.255-08:00Question on proportions: I made my first pancetta a couple of weeks ago and it is aging now. The pork belly was a little less than half the weight called for in Ruhlman&#39;s book, so I scaled the curing mixture recipe down by 50% on the assumption that it should be proportional to the weight of the pork belly. I can&#39;t find any validation on whether I was right or wrong, but I thought I would ask you before I tried it. Any thoughts? Thanks for this post!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7757350942807174715.post-33940871112798832792009-12-12T14:18:12.059-08:002009-12-12T14:18:12.059-08:00Liz in Grenada. Stick to your own curing methods and you can stop rubbing in details about your perfect climate!<br /><br />Guy in Somerset England 7c by day -2c by night humidity 30-40.<br /><br />But Pancetta is fab, air dried Hams amazing, Salami sublime and chorizo delicious! all from our own saddleback and rare breed large black pigs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7757350942807174715.post-51083533348394037752009-10-26T14:59:55.638-07:002009-10-26T14:59:55.638-07:00pleased to hear that it worked in a higher temperature. We have a temp of 30 by day and 26 by night and humidity of around 70 what are the chances.<br /><br />Liz in GrenadaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7757350942807174715.post-68130700048595688052009-10-01T17:27:31.365-07:002009-10-01T17:27:31.365-07:00You said you couldn&#39;t think of anything to do with the skin. Here is what I do with it...<br /><br />I cure it and then cut it into a couple of largish strips and then let it dry.<br /><br />Instant dog treats.<br /><br />I sometimes to the same with the skins from the cured bacon. (I tend to smoke it skin on, and then remove it in one peice).<br /><br />Trust me, I have never seen a more attentive and obedient dog than one that thinks it might get some of that smokey mapley goodness.Moulardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255736833160206042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7757350942807174715.post-44617964547004224382009-02-11T09:18:00.000-08:002009-02-11T09:18:00.000-08:00Rhea - that's great! I'm glad it came out well!Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13599208082890099005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7757350942807174715.post-73927826563530595822009-02-10T16:52:00.000-08:002009-02-10T16:52:00.000-08:00Inspired by this post, I made my own pancetta which I'm eating for the first time right now. Just used it as an accent for some sauteed veggies. Man o man, flavour is great. I was a bit concerned about the curing, the temperature in my downstairs bathroom (i.e. don't have a curing chamber), etc. In the end, it turned out just fine. Better than fine, actually, best pancetta I've ever had. <BR/><BR/>My heart is set on tackling gunciale next.Rheahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06881077027167965607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7757350942807174715.post-81762144514029084912008-10-25T19:23:00.000-07:002008-10-25T19:23:00.000-07:00Hi Gail - glad you enjoyed the pancetta! We need to make some more -- all of our recent pork belly purchases have gone to making bacon... :-)Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13599208082890099005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7757350942807174715.post-23605862826804131972008-10-25T07:39:00.000-07:002008-10-25T07:39:00.000-07:00Ohhhh me oh my. I am drooling!!!! I LOVE PANCETTA! I am adding you to my bloglist RIGHT NOW. mmmmmm!gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259855418636495840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7757350942807174715.post-64565978059066979232008-09-19T13:21:00.000-07:002008-09-19T13:21:00.000-07:00Hi Michael - definitely give it a try. It is surprisingly easy to make.Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13599208082890099005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7757350942807174715.post-11057817509578676122008-09-18T22:09:00.000-07:002008-09-18T22:09:00.000-07:00Wow I'm very impressed. I've been cooking a lot lately with pancetta, so I'm inspired by your blog to give it a go. Well done. Thanks for the detailed post. I only hope I can do the knotting anywhere nearly as effectively as you did there.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06377229939616007779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7757350942807174715.post-18971814215898177982008-07-11T18:52:00.000-07:002008-07-11T18:52:00.000-07:00Hi Shortie,<BR/>You're really lucky to have access to fresh, wild hog meat!<BR/><BR/>Yes, I believe that you should be able to use the same technique for making Wild Boar Pancetta at home. It might be a little leaner than regular pancetta, but it should still taste great fried up into crispy, chewy lardons or cubes. (Now I'm hungry.)Sherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08612061023791517741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7757350942807174715.post-55635433894953275522008-07-11T17:50:00.000-07:002008-07-11T17:50:00.000-07:00I live in Florida. My son traps wild pig (boar). Can I use the belly of the boar to make pancetta? shortieshortiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16744383117797124379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7757350942807174715.post-44363448616514527202008-01-07T16:38:00.000-08:002008-01-07T16:38:00.000-08:00I have raised pigs for years (for home use) and made many versions of cured bacon and always in search of something new. This recipe looks great and your post illustrates the recipe without fear. Thanks! JohnJohnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7757350942807174715.post-52921239401452890042007-12-09T15:37:00.000-08:002007-12-09T15:37:00.000-08:00Thanks, Frank. <BR/><BR/>You're right, Niman Ranch doesn't ship pancetta, but it looks like they do sell the <A HREF="http://www.nimanranch.com/control/product/~category_id=pork-specialty-cuts/~product_id=2005" REL="nofollow">whole pork belly</A>. That's a good -- if more expensive -- method of getting started on making your own pancetta if you don't have a local Asian market.<BR/><BR/>We're starting another pancetta today. You should too! Yum.Sherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08612061023791517741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7757350942807174715.post-17930839967783938102007-11-30T08:44:00.000-08:002007-11-30T08:44:00.000-08:00Looks amazing. Now that it has cooled off where I like, I should try this. Too bad Niman Ranch does not ship Pancetta anymoreFrankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05027492748130306286noreply@blogger.com