Thursday, May 16, 2013

Pancetta Steccata dei Monti Nebrodi - Tasting



The pancetta I made late last year is ready (well, it was actually ready in February!), and it's FAAAANTASTIC.

The quality of the pork from Mosefund farm is spectacular. The fat has a wonderful low melting point and just disappears on the tongue.
 The folding allowed the pancetta to stay quite a bit moister than leaving it all flat, while allowing for long aging.
The spicing is great, and evident, but the flavor of the pork stands out beautifully.
This is great both eaten sliced thin on bread, put on warm pizza or in cooking. It's a winner all around!

Thanks again to Mosefund for the Mangalitza belly. I can't recommend them enough. Their pork is great, go get some right now!
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13 comments:

  1. MaxMay 17, 2013 at 8:37 AM

    Looks fantastic. Once my curing chamber is up and running again I'll give it a try; although Mangalitza is difficult to come by here in the UK

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  2. UnknownMay 28, 2013 at 8:32 PM

    Hi Jason,

    Looks great! Couple of questions: I didn't see you mention anything about using pink salt. You didn't have any concerns with folding the belly onto itself, similar to rolled pancetta?
    Also, you're eating the pancetta without cooking it... Most of the books I've read (just a couple really) generally recommend cooking pancetta. Is there a rule of thumb that applies to when pancetta should be cooked vs when it can be eaten just cured?

    Thanks, great blog!
    Jens

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  3. JasonmolinariMay 28, 2013 at 9:19 PM

    Jens, i did use cure #2 for the exact reason you mention. It's folded over itself.

    There is no reason you HAVE to cook a properly salted and cured pancetta. It's just like any other cured meat.

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  4. UnknownJune 6, 2013 at 4:47 AM

    NOW THAT IS THE "BOMB" JASON ! BRAVO
    I assume you weighed all in November with the wood but how did you account for the wood handling the RH or gain in moisture over time at 80% RH of chamber or did you use wet wood or put wood in chamber a few weeks to equalize to RH of Chamber first...or i just a worry wort?! anyway you did it ..! and it looks FAB!
    oh yeah i went to Alaska and took Francois Vecchio's course in Palmer..., we did 9 pigs between 7 guys ... fantastic.

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  5. UnknownJune 6, 2013 at 3:43 PM

    Thanks. I went by time and feel for this. I rarely use weight anymore. Once you get a feel for it, it's not that necessary

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  6. SteveJune 19, 2013 at 11:05 PM

    Hi Jason,

    Love your blog...it's really helped me dive head first into curing.

    What's that yellow patch in the middle? I assume it's the spices bunching up in the fold's crease, but I can't tell by looking at it.

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  7. JasonmolinariJune 20, 2013 at 1:35 PM

    Steve, that's the color the spices gave the meat. I think it's mostly from the oregano.

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  8. SteveJune 21, 2013 at 12:14 AM

    Hmm...that's kind of weird. Never seen that before. Thanks for responding!

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  9. UnknownJuly 9, 2013 at 4:53 PM

    Hi I just want to know if you leave the skin on. Regards Walter

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  10. JasonmolinariJuly 9, 2013 at 10:52 PM

    it's removed when you use it.

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  11. Edith King@Online PhD SchoolsJuly 23, 2013 at 6:47 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  12. crimsonfancyApril 27, 2014 at 1:40 AM

    Thanks for your hard work and documentation. I've bookmarked your blog a long time ago, but now that I'm reading daily the Sausage Debauchery group at FB, I'm more actively interested and moving forward to my own setup.
    I'm curious about one thing here and I apologize if it's been covered somewhere I should be reading.

    In the photos of your pancetta, what is the yellow color near the fold? I've seen it in other products in photos, but your photo here shows it quite well.
    I've attached a clip pointing to the area I'm curious about if that's ok.

    Thanks for your help.


    https://www.evernote.com/shard/s53/sh/c28c40b9-4773-49af-a563-fcc92c903e03/017d412b6e2a15b6f108e1f6d2c6793e/deep/0/Cured-Meats.png

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  13. JasonmolinariApril 28, 2014 at 9:08 AM

    The yellowing in this case is due to the herbs, specifically the oregano i believe. On exposed fat yellowing is indicative of oxidative rancidity. It won't hurt you, but it won't taste very good...it'll make the fat taste....stale, for lack of a better word.

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