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Are you also obsessed with carbonara? Did you know that carbonara is made with guanciale and not pancetta? A real italian might shiver if you put pancetta into carbonara.
Today we would like to introduce this magic fresh product: the italian guanciale – also known as cured pork jowl.
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Let’s discover something more about it.
Guanciale derives from the word “guancia” that in italian means “cheek“, it comes from the hog’s jowl. Is true that it can be used in many of the same ways that pancetta is used, but they are not the same thing and guanciale has a own personality. Italians used it for making carbonara and it represents a special ingredient that gives flavor to the dish.
It may seems that this product is originally only from Lazio, but it is not true. Guanciale obtained the traditional agri-food product label (PAT quality seal) also in the Abruzzi, Calabria, Molise, Sardinia, Tuscany and Umbria regions.
Guanciale may be cut and eaten directly in small portions, in a nice sandwich or can be used also to make pasta like spaghetti all’amatriciana, gricia and carbonara. People use guanciale in sauté with peas, asparagus and spring onions or toss crispy bits of sautéed guanciale with pecorino cheese, plumped currants, and toasted pine nuts in salad. Have you ever tried orecchiette pasta with broccoli, anchovies and pork jowl? Trofie pasta with broad beans, peas, lesser calamint and pork jowl?
It always tastes amazing! And homemade guanciale is made with pork jowl, seasoning and white wine.
Pork jowl and pork belly are NOT the same thing. Guanciale comes from the jowl, or cheek, whilst other pork bacon products come from the belly, like pancetta.
Guanciale, pork cheek, has a stronger flavour than other pork products, such as pancetta. It’s texture is more delicate and during the cooking his fat part melts away giving a special flavour to the dishes. It is unsmoked and cured for several weeks with salt, pepper and rosemary.
Remember that pork jowl contains a lot of fat: when you cook it, you don’t need to add any oil to the pan!
Are you abroad? Do you want to taste guanciale?
Take a look at our fresh product in Delizie Locali category.
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