Pancetta Pasta (Quick 4 Ingredient Recipe) (2024)

FAQs

What does pancetta go with? ›

Pancetta is an Italian type of bacon produced from pork belly which is seasoned and dry cured. Use it in recipes such as our spaghetti carbonara, or in a traditional Bolognese ragu. A little crisp-fried pancetta can add richness to a macaroni cheese or saltiness to a warm salad.

How to cook pancetta. Fry (cubed, 5 mins; sliced, 2-3 mins each side). Add to pasta sauces, soups, stews, quiches, stuffing; serve with crusty bread and a selection of cold meats; use to top pizza.

If you want crispy pancetta slices, more like bacon, you can cook the slices in a skillet, again starting with a lower heat and turning up after some of the fat renders out. The pancetta tends to curl which can look pretty cool but is a little more challenging to get crispy all over.

in a medium pan (nonstick, if you have one), heat a drizzle of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the pancetta. Cook, stirring occasionally, 4 to 5 minutes, or until lightly browned and cooked through.

In Italy, pancetta is commonly served as a sliced meat, sliced thin and eaten raw. It can also be used in carbonara pasta (although guanciale is generally regarded as more traditional).

So pancetta is cured and unsmoked, while bacon is cured and smoked, but both need to be cooked before being eaten. They can be used interchangeably in dishes, depending on whether or not you want a smoky flavor.

Spices and seasonings that are typically used include pepper, fennel, chile flakes, allspice, and nutmeg. These mixtures preserve the meat and imbue it with some of its flavors.

Pancetta — when made the traditional way in Italy with salts and spices and no nitrates or artificial preservatives — can be a healthier alternative to bacon because it is less processed and usually lower in fat and calories.

Pancetta is dry-cured and fully aged, so it can be thinly sliced and eaten raw. You can also cook thin slices the same way you cook bacon in a pan if you want to eat alongside eggs with toast. Dicing and slowly rendering the fat out of it is a common way to start many recipes.

Cook for 1 minute each side or until the fat sizzles and looks ready to eat. The meat will become more firm as it cooks, gently press with your thumb, the more spring back you get the hotter the protein cells have expand which means the more well done your meat is.

What's the difference between pancetta and prosciutto? ›

While pancetta and prosciutto are both cured pork meat of Italian origin, their similarities end there. Pancetta comes from the belly of a pig, while prosciutto comes from its hind leg, making pancetta a high-fat cut of meat and prosciutto comparatively lean.

The culprit for pancetta's elevated price is the way that it's cured, which involves a long, multi-step process of brining, seasoning, and occasionally smoking. Luckily, there are a few cheaper alternatives out there that can play the same role in your dish, namely bacon, prosciutto, and salami.

Pancetta: Left in its packaging, pancetta can be stored up to a year. After opening, it has a shelf life of 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator or several months in the freezer. Prosciutto: Similar to pancetta, prosciutto can last up to a year if vacuum sealed.

Black (or any other dark) dots are most likely mold, and it's not the good white mold some cured meats tend to develop, either! If you notice any dark spots on your pancetta, immediately dispose of the product.

Bacon and rasher suggestions

Or not – because it turns out the Italians don't use good old streaky for carbonara, they prefer pancetta, which is dry cured, generally unsmoked, and usually comes in slabs rather than mimsy little slices.

Bacon, pancetta, prosciutto: These three pork products look alike, taste somewhat similar, and even get regularly substituted for each other.

Prosciutto comes from pork belly, which means that it has a firm texture but deceivingly vibrant flavors. Pancetta, on the other hand, comes from a pig's hind legs. Pancetta has a far smoother texture than prosciutto, and the flavor is much more delicate than the pork belly.

What is pancetta? We'll start with pancetta because it's similar to bacon in all but one crucial way. In fact, it's sometimes referred to as Italian bacon. Pancetta usually comes either thinly sliced or in cubes.

Pancetta isn't cooked at all, but that's where dry-curing comes in: the salt is supposed to remove all moisture from the meat and stave off bacterial growth, keeping the meat safe for consumption. Eating it straight out of the packaging should be entirely safe if pancetta has been properly cured and aged.