Discover why this pork ingredient is the key to better Italian cooking.
| Channel | Publish Date | Thumbnail & View Count | Actions |
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 danieldelaney | 2011-07-21 22:24:47 |  43,267 Views |
What is Guanciale? This is how you make Spaghetti alla Carbonara recipe
A key ingredient in many classic Italian pasta dishes guanciale could be the key to unlocking a new level of flavor when it comes to your Italian cooking. The fatty cured meat can be tricky to find but it’s worth the effort. Keep reading to learn more about this Italian favorite.
Guanciale is a pork product made from pork cheeks. The name guanciale comes from the Italian word for cheek guancia. Guanciale is super fatty and is usually cured with salt sugar and spices. It can be bought raw but in most cases it is sold cured. Guanciale is usually cut into matchsticks or thin strips and the fat is rendered much like bacon. Often the guanciale fat is just as important as the guanciale itself – in pasta sauces and salad dressings it gives the whole dish the richness and saltiness of the pork.
Guanciale is most commonly used in the cuisine of Lazio the region of Italy where Rome is located. Typical Roman pastas such as carbonara amatriciana gricia all rely on the intensity and fattiness of guanciale. It is also commonly used on pizzas in salads and in a variety of other dishes.
