Pancetta

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CHefJohnboyardee

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So I started 40 pounds of pancetta today. The recipe in Charcuterie was about the same as my Garde Mange textbook from school.

Planning on doing the cure a week in a fridge thing then roll it and hang it in the 'attic' at work inside a big tote.

We figured the worst that can happen is that we are out $60 in hopes of saving a couple hundred! :) I know humidity/dryness will be our main enemy- temperature is fine.

We have some proscutto getting ready to be weighted down if things go well we will build a humidity controlled area for bacteria cured sausages and more pancetta! I love my bosses because I can't believe I get paid to play like this.
 
Holy crap that sounds amazing. I'd like to learn more about this sort of stuff. Is there a book you'd recommend?
 
I had the Garde Mange book from the CIA when I went to culinary school. I didn't go to the CIA but it has one of the best books on the subject.

I have Charcuterie and it is also a great source and you wouldn't have to scale back the recipes.

The recipe for Pancetta is the nearly the same in both- one just makes 50 pounds the other five. I get it in 60 pound cases so I went for 30 pounds. We are salting and slicing som, braising some and hoping that the Pancetta turns out so we can get more made and frozen before Spring hits and our attic temp rises.

It is amazing how much liquid is being pulled from the bellies. They get rolled and tied on Thursday!
 
I have Charcuterie and have made their pancetta and this recipe too. I really liked the chow hound recipe (both are similar). I have probably made a total of 6 sides worth over the years but recently have stopped because I can't get bacon sides for a reasonable price. I still have a few sealed packs of the pancetta in my freezer - darn good stuff.

The Charcuterie book is a great reference and learning tool. I make quite a bit of sausage (from fresh to cured and semi hard). I made bacon quite a few times based on the dredging recipe in there too; turned out really good. I smoked the bacon of course and really love cherry smoked bacon, possibly more than apple wood!
 
I cut a goofy looking end off of one of the hanging sides and fried it up. OH MAN!

I'm ordering another case (~60#) tomorrow so I can get 5 more rolls up while the attic can still maintain temp!
 
I cut a goofy looking end off of one of the hanging sides and fried it up. OH MAN!

I'm ordering another case (~60#) tomorrow so I can get 5 more rolls up while the attic can still maintain temp!

Awesome! if you use a vacuum seal bag they last forever in the freezer.
 
It's funny, yesterday I made an order from Butcher & Packer for misc stuff but mainly for curing salt #2 and some junniper berries to make some pancetta :)

One of my goal for 2012 is to make cured meat once a month or so

I have had the Charcuterie book in my amazon wishlist for like a year, I think it's time I pull the trigger!
 
It's funny, yesterday I made an order from Butcher & Packer for misc stuff but mainly for curing salt #2 and some junniper berries to make some pancetta :)

One of my goal for 2012 is to make cured meat once a month or so

I have had the Charcuterie book in my amazon wishlist for like a year, I think it's time I pull the trigger!

its a great book and you won't regret it. Helps demystify the use of curing salts, bacterias, etc. I put it off for a long while too but bought mine maybe 5-6 years ago.
 
Awesome! if you use a vacuum seal bag they last forever in the freezer.
It will get used up quicker ;)

Pancetta can be very expensive a pound and I think I got the pork belly for 1.98/#...

30# would be $59.40, roughly six bucks in other ingredients. It took us probably 6 man hours altogether so about $80 so $140 for 30 pounds.

Nearly half of what we are currently getting pancetta at!
 
It will get used up quicker ;)

Pancetta can be very expensive a pound and I think I got the pork belly for 1.98/#...

30# would be $59.40, roughly six bucks in other ingredients. It took us probably 6 man hours altogether so about $80 so $140 for 30 pounds.

Nearly half of what we are currently getting pancetta at!

good deal! How much weight do you lose in the process?
 
I haven't weighed the pancetta. It still has another week and a half to dry.

I am buying whole cases of pork belly from the distributor or what your butcher gets it for at wholesale. I know my local butcher will cut me a deal if I buy a whole primal and an even better deal if I buy a whole case but my current employers would give me anything at cost as long as I have cash on hand the day it shows up and it goes home that night.

Make some friends at a restaurant? Volunteer some time with them if they want to make stuff like this? If you get a certified food manager cert or something like that they shouldn't have any reason not to let you, they could even put you on payroll in case something happens to you while 'working'. Of course, it all depends on the chefs and management.
 
I haven't weighed the pancetta. It still has another week and a half to dry.

I am buying whole cases of pork belly from the distributor or what your butcher gets it for at wholesale. I know my local butcher will cut me a deal if I buy a whole primal and an even better deal if I buy a whole case but my current employers would give me anything at cost as long as I have cash on hand the day it shows up and it goes home that night.

Make some friends at a restaurant? Volunteer some time with them if they want to make stuff like this? If you get a certified food manager cert or something like that they shouldn't have any reason not to let you, they could even put you on payroll in case something happens to you while 'working'. Of course, it all depends on the chefs and management.

I have talked to a couple people but their prices aren't really better than what I can get at BJ's or RD when buying by the case. They are all pretty low volume though. I have been trying to find someone that is already ordering a ton and probably getting much better prices.
 
I also live in one of the porkiest states and right next to another porky state... Pretty soon I think we're going to start buying whole hogs so we're getting kind of serious. :D
 
I also live in one of the porkiest states and right next to another porky state... Pretty soon I think we're going to start buying whole hogs so we're getting kind of serious. :D

Thats how we are with chickens. The entire southern part of the state is nothing but chicken farms. I can't believe what some people pay for chicken around the country.
 
Thats how we are with chickens. The entire southern part of the state is nothing but chicken farms. I can't believe what some people pay for chicken around the country.
I get 8# free-range chickens from a local farmer for $6/chicken. Catch is I have to buy 20 at a time.

Glad I have a deep freeze at home!

i forget what I'm paying for random sized chicken breasts. Something rediculously cheap... Thigh quarters aren't bad... Duck on the other hand. :mad:
 
Pancetta turned out great! After weighing it, I am saving a dollar a pound by making it myself and it has so much more flavor. The owners gave me the go ahead to do another 60 pounds and to do nearly whatever I want as far as charcuterie is concerned.

Been making some pates and randomly spiced sausages for fun and profit! ($0.80 a pound for pork liver!)
 
Congrats!

I do all my pancetta, prosciutto, bacon, lardo, and hams in the kegerator, believe it or not. At least for the beginning phases when a lower than room temperature and fairly high humidity are required. It makes a great curing chamber!
 
Congrats!

I do all my pancetta, prosciutto, bacon, lardo, and hams in the kegerator, believe it or not. At least for the beginning phases when a lower than room temperature and fairly high humidity are required. It makes a great curing chamber!

If I ever made a lagering chamber it would double as a curing room no doubt!

Rolling and hanging another 20# of pancetta this weekend. I have some duck proscuitto and a couple of country hams going too. So much fun!
 
Food for thought:
IMAG06271.jpg

Don't they look happy together? :mug:
 
It might save you time when you tie them up to start with three places where its tied together then half hitch your way up. I use 5 foot lengths of string and get the things rolled in tied in pretty short order but I don't know how many stuffed pork loins I've done in my day...
 
I also live in one of the porkiest states and right next to another porky state... Pretty soon I think we're going to start buying whole hogs so we're getting kind of serious. :D

Just head over to the colony and get some. I live in SF and used to buy whole hog from the colony in Freeman and the colony near you. Hutterites grow some serious hog.

If you are decent at bartering you can usually get a good deal.

Where do you work? Food sounds yummy... I'm always looking for good food in the area. Used to work up at Lake Herman SP, about a decade ago....
 
Just head over to the colony and get some. I live in SF and used to buy whole hog from the colony in Freeman and the colony near you. Hutterites grow some serious hog.

If you are decent at bartering you can usually get a good deal.

Where do you work? Food sounds yummy... I'm always looking for good food in the area. Used to work up at Lake Herman SP, about a decade ago....

I work in Brookings, can give you more details if you like.
 
Go Jacks!

I would, we have family up there and spend a LOT of time in brookings... Maybe I have already been there! Shoot me a message, if you'd like!
 
You probably have better butchering skills than I. The last few years I've done the pancetta, I did the half-hitch thing as I would on a butterflied & stuffed roast, but I eventually found it's easier (for me at least) to just use individual butcher's knots the whole length of the bellies. The bellies are never perfectly uniform (this year's pigs were exceptionally asymmetrical for whatever reason--we had a lot of trouble getting all the pork chops to look presentable, too) and working from one end incrementally up to the other helps me ensure I'm getting all the air out along the way.

It also makes them easier to package into individual portions. I just slice them between the strings, leaving the strings intact, and package them up that way with the FoodSaver. Little things like that help me make my hog last the entire year.
 
Right on. Do you square up your bellies before curing them?

When I roll I'll start with three strings, one on the left, one in the middle and one a few inches from the right. I'll tie those three as tight as I can. I then half hitch those three up ad far as they go and tie them off. I'll finish it up with additional strings. The first three initial knots are now loose so I but another hitch around those.
 
Yep, I cut each side into thirds. That gets me two nice squares and one that's tapered a bit--that one won't have the same uniform streaks of fat & lean, but still tastes great.

Usually the thirds will just barely squeeze into a gallon freezer bag, which keeps things neat and tidy during the initial cure. Sometimes one or two require a little extra trimming to fit in the bags. I'm only doing this for personal consumption so the extra belly trimmings are no big deal--I find a use for them in the kitchen pretty quickly. I'd imagine at the quantities you are doing it would make more sense to just buy bigger bags so you don't have as much trim left over.
 
We hang them whole and then cut them into six inch sections before we cryovac them after they have dried and aged.
 
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