Pancetta di Irish

[BriCan]

After trying my hand at pancetta it was time to push out the boat and try up scaling the basic recipe but what to do. Hindsight leads me to a lot of reading and one of the best places to find that ‘cutting’ edge (or in plain layman’s terms ~~ ‘why the he*l not’ ) is reading Wheels blog.

His Pancetta di Thurlaston was my inspiration http://www.localfoodheroes.co.uk/?e=617 but the only problem was ow the heck could I call sumert ‘Pancetta di Vancouver’ ~~~ it just don’t av the same ring/class

I did the basic recipe with the one exception ~~~ I added Bushmills Black Bush http://www.bushmills.com/#BMBushmillsBlackBushDetail and placed five bellies into vacuum pack to ade with the process ~~~ but due to work load promptly forgot about them (well sought ov)

I pulled them out middle of last week and the aroma was out of this world, delicate as well as being aromatic



Rinsed and hanging to dry for rolling



All rolled up and now into the drying cabinet which now means I have to wait




post script; ~~ due to the fact I trimmed off the raggedy ends and did not want to toss them I diced them up small and fried up fo supper Saturday night ~~~ a tad on the salty side but bearable/passable, the aroma and taste as far as I am concerned was out of this world ~~~ a keeper and will do again

[ComradeQ]

Mmm, that looks amazing, great job!



I usually trim them before curing and save the raggedy ends for sausage making. Did you do it with cure #1 or #2? Is it safe to cook something that used #2 without the drying period? Never done myself with #2 but just curious.

[wheels]

Mmm... Black Bush!

I'm chuffed that you like it.

Does the flavour of the whisky come through?

Phil

[BriCan]

Mmm, that looks amazing, great job!

Thanks

I usually trim them before curing and save the raggedy ends for sausage making. Did you do it with cure #1 or #2? Is it safe to cook something that used #2 without the drying period? Never done myself with #2 but just curious.

I did trim but with hanging it got out of shape hence the trim to save having any air pockets I trimmed after tying ~~ I used my 'all purpose curing salt' most would say its cure 1 ~~ my take on it if it was cure 2 I still would have cooked it

[BriCan]

Mmm... Black Bush!

Well I had some left and I did not want it to go off ~~ thats my story and I'm sticking too it

I'm chuffed that you like it.

I looked at it and saw it was a great stepping stone ~~~ if I could do better ~~ I enhance it

Does the flavour of the whisky come through?

The misses cooked bacon in the same frying pan this a.m. and the house/kitchen has a wonderful smell/aroma ~~ yes it comes through ~~ not strong but subtle

[wheels]

Superb, I'll try it.

Phil

[crustyo44]

Robert,
What would you do to reduce the salt. My wife is always on my back about salt in food. The Pancetta looks that good that I will have to make some shortly but as instructed I would like to reduce the salt by a little bit to pacify my other half.
Phil, another feather in your cap and Robert, thank you for sharing your procedure and photo's.
Cheers,
Jan.

[wheels]

Jan

I can see no reason why you couldn't reduce the salt to (say) 2%. Or, to maintain its keeping qualities, increase the sugar to 1% to 'offset' the salt.

It'll be interesting to see whether the saltiness is still there after drying.

HTH

Phil

[crustyo44]

Hi Phil,
I have decided to buy half a pig so I can get a decent size piece of belly pork. Half a pig cost around $ 3.00 a kilo. Fore quarters and rear legs are around $ 3.99 kilo
Belly pork is priced at up to $ 14.00 kilo.(go figure) so half a pig it will be, free ranging female as well I am told. I'll buy the whole carcass but the freezer is chokkablock at the moment.
Cheers,
Jan.

[yotmon]

Half a pig cost around $ 3.00 a kilo. Fore quarters and rear legs are around $ 3.99 kilo
Belly pork is priced at up to $ 14.00 kilo.(go figure)
Cheers,
Jan.

Blame celebrity chefs. Look at how the price of chicken thighs went up after promoting them. Same thing with lamb shanks - well over 60% bone, yet the public will pay more per kilo than a full meaty leg Breast of lamb is going the same way. I think the latest they are pushing is Pork shanks so just watch the price of them rocket

Yotmon.

[crustyo44]

Lamb shanks were free in butcher shops, everybody got them here for dog food not that many years ago. Chicken breasts fillets sell here for half the price of thigh meat Go figure.
Cheers,
Jan.

[crustyo44]

Robert,
Just give your Pancetta a French twist, like Panchette du Vancouvere, really lay it one the "vere"
So very French and at least selling at double the price.
Cheers Mate,
Jan.

[BriCan]

Robert,
Just give your Pancetta a French twist, like Panchette du Vancouvere, really lay it one the "vere"
So very French and at least selling at double the price.
Cheers Mate,
Jan.

Hum,
now to do that I will have to change it up a notch ~~~ will have to change the Bushmills Black Bush for Ice wine from Kelowna

[Ruralidle]

Hum,
now to do that I will have to change it up a notch ~~~ will have to change the Bushmills Black Bush for Ice wine from Kelowna

That could be a tasty pancetta