Illegitimate Sun

It’s common knowledge that I’ve moved to a frozen wasteland where I know no one. My none work hours are spent in futile quest for joy and warmth.

Because of this, I’ve decided to break the laws of man and god.

I’m curing my own meats in my little one-bedroom apartment.

Helping me is the book Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing.

I’ve already made bacon following a variation of their recipe from the New York Times. This bacon has been the hit on both sides of the U.S. / Canadian border.

It was now time for something more complex.

Read on for how I made the splender you see before you.

Pancetta is an Italian form of bacon that is more savory than commonplace U.S. bacon and not smoked. It requires air drying to complete it’s formation.

Following the recipe in Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing I applied a dry cure to a slab of pork belly I bought from a local Asian grocery store.

After letting this cure in my fridge for a solid week. I rinsed, dried, and rolled the pork belly into a log shape.

Rolling a raw pork belly is not easy. Greasy hands, trichinosis, and no skill in culinary roping left me a slimey carrier of disease with nasty string.

It was time to apply novel approaches to my problem.

The solution: zip ties.

Zip ties strung together can be long enough to fit around a rolled up pork belly. Even better, they can be tightened to make sure the rolled slab is a tight as possible.

After rolling and securing the belly, I wrapped in it cheesecloth and hung it in my coat closet for a week.

One week later, the unwrapped pancetta looked a little worse for wear.

Once I cut into the pancetta roll, I saw a lovely marbled goodness that can not be resisted.

I immediately thought of all the uses of round bacon. Pancake sandwiches! The pancake bacon stacker!

Dialing back the bacon craziness, I sliced and diced up some pancetta.

The fried pancetta was tossed with raw egg, boiled angel hair pasta, ground parmesan cheese, parsley, and fresh-ground pepper to make spaghetti alla carbonara.

It was delicious. The pancetta has a tangy flavor and a texture like a country ham.

Note: that ring of pancetta in the bowl is going onto the best chicken club sandwich for lunch tomorrow.

Even I cannot each that much bacon in one sitting.

So as the winter progresses, I’m planning other health code violations I can undergo in the name of cooking and entertainment.