Every cuisine has its own traditional delicacies, which are made from different parts of the pig. An interesting challenge in terms of taste comes from Italy, more precisely from the regions of Umbria and Lazio. This is Guanciale, a delicacy made from pig cheeks.
How is Guanciale made?
In translation, the name of the delicacy Guanciale means pillow. This is a figurative meaning of the word cheek, obtained by association. The meat is delicious and aromatic, as it is dried with various spices for 3 weeks. This allows the spices to penetrate the texture of the meat and give it the distinctive flavor and aroma when consumed.
Preparing Guanciale is not difficult. The difficult thing is to find the right room that is cool and ventilated and to dry the meat there. If there is no such room at home, drying can also be done in the refrigerator.
The preparation of the specialty follows several steps. The selected piece of pork cheek, about half a kilogram, is poured with cabbage juice and water in equal proportions and boiled for 1-2 hours.
In a container, the spices are crushed and mixed - sea salt, peppercorns, allspice, dill seeds, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper and juniper.
The cooked piece of meat is cooled, rubbed with the dry mixture and wrapped in household cling film. The long stay in the refrigerator guarantees its tough and appetizing flavor. Its flavor is especially pleasant and mild after a month.
The meat can be consumed as an appetizer with various drinks, but culinary experts also include it in numerous recipes. The most famous of them is in the traditional dish spaghetti Carbonara.
Guanciale is increasingly used instead of the more traditional Pancetta because it has a much more distinctive flavor that combines very well with other ingredients such as parmesan, pecorino, vegetables, highlighting the flavor of each ingredient.
Guanciale has a better flavor than bacon because the meat is from the muscle in the cheek of the animal and this makes the texture much meatier. This delicacy can also be fried like regular bacon.
Find out what pork cheeks are and find out how to make homemade bacon.
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