As anyone who read my bacon blog knows, I was a bit frenetic at the beginning of this challange, flying through the bacon curing process with little creative input.   Even my final production of a Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado and Tomato sandwich was to say the least, uninspired.   I hoped to do better with this one,  taking a deep breath after placing the bacon belly in the refrigerator.  

Off to the garage refrigerator to join the bacon- 

I guess I have to admit I wasn’t quite a believer, yet, though, because at 7 days I was certain that the pork belly wasn’t ready to roll.  I’m sure it was just a case of not trusting myself to make the subjuctive assessment as to the change in texture- what does “feel firm” mean? How firm is firm? End result of this lack of confidence?  I left the pancetta to cure for another two days.  Based on my test fry off of trimmings taken at this point, it’s probably a bit saltier than I would have liked.  But, wonderfully  garlicy and flavorful!

The roll was not as difficult as I expected- though I went though an awful lot of twine getting it tied snuggly.   This is when I took some cuttings- I cut enough to do away with that little overlap so that it would have a smooth, flush finish at both ends. 

Then I started running around the house with an instant read thermometer looking for somewhere that registered within the ideal zone of 50-60 degrees.  Not an easy task in Southern California, I found that even the guest bathroom, which has no windows and is always dark, registered at 69 degrees.   My ideal place to hang it (for dramatic effect and nothing else) was here over the center island, so that the pancetta could be oohhhed and ahhhed over by all who came to visit over the next few weeks, but, alas, it was 75 degrees there. 

So, without the aid of extra hands, I managed to suspend the pancetta roll off a shelf in the garage refrigerator, surrounded by Japanese beer and Diet Cokes.  Without going into detail, I can say it was not an easy feat, as the weight of the pancetta, suspended, seemed like much more than the 5 lbs. it started out as, and I felt the need for at least one more hand to get it secured.  After a day and a half the pancetta was starting to get hard, so I did add a dish of salt water to the bottom of the refrigerator.  Again, convinced this couldn’t possibly make a difference, I was happy to find out I was wrong, and it did indeed change the humidity enough to soften the pancetta within another day.

After a week in the refrigerator, I sliced three 1/4″ slices off the pancetta, and the drying progression was obvious!  I am becoming a believer!  It really works!  The outer edge had changed consistency, drier and more dense, but the inside had not. 

Here are the three slices after being diced- you can see the difference in texture. The top right was the first slice, the bottom right was the second slic, and the left is from the third slice.  

Fried up, it was wonderfully crispy, with a much milder, less salty taste than those scrap pieces that I had fried up last week before the roll. While this pan full of pancetta was draining on paper towels, half of it was snacked on by husband, son and granddaughter.  I had to beg them to stop so I’d have enough to make a recipe for this blog!

So, for dinner tonight- a Penne pasta with Pancetta, Spinach, Canelenni Beans and Harley Farms Feta Goat Cheese (two day old baby goat above is one of Harley Farms newest kids! Saw them on Sunday.)

8 ounces penne pasta

1 Tb. olive oil

1/2 cup diced pancetta

2 cloves of minched garlic
1/2 tsp. crushed chili flakes, or to taste

2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced

1/2 lb. baby spinach

1 cup cooked cannelini beans

1 Tb. preserved lemon

salt and pepper to taste

2 ounces of crumbled feta goat cheese

Drizzle of olive oil that has been infused with preserved lemon-

 (heat 1/2 cup EVO, remove from heat, add 2 Tb. preserved lemon, cover and let sit for 1/2 hour).

Cook the penne pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water until it is al dente.  Don’t over cook- it will get a bit more cooking when added to the sauce!  Drain, reserving some of the pasta water for later.  Set aside.

In a medium sized skillet over a med low heat, add the olive oil. 

Once the oil starts to sizzle a bit add the pancetta and cook, stirring often, until it is brown and crisp. Remove the pancetta, placing it on a paper towel to drain.

Add the minced garlic to the pancetta drippings and cook for a minute; then add the chili flakes, tomatoes, spinach and preserved lemon.  Cook until the spinach has wilted, stirring to cook evenly.

And I finish this project a true believer- after less than a week of drying, the pancetta has mellowed and has the most wonderful flavor and texture- garlicy, only slightly salty, and it fries up beautifully.  It’s on the menu again tomorrow night- canellini soup with pancetta croutons.  And the next night, maybe a chard and pancetta frittata, and then….