How to Dice and Cook Pancetta to Use in Pasta Recipes

Pancetta is one of many Italian meats.

Pancetta (pronounced: pan-chet-ah) brings a nice pork flavor to pasta dishes. It is often referred to as Italian bacon, but this version is usually not smoked, making it different from American-style bacon. Pancetta is really a piece of pork belly that has been cured in salt and spices and then dried. It can be found in a slab or packaged in thin slices. When you make a purchase, keep in mind that fresh pancetta should be pink and damp, not dry.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Cutting board
• Sharp knife
• Skillet or shallow pan

1. Choose a sharp knife with a large, heavy blade to cut a slab of pancetta. Remove the skin or wrapper from the slab of pancetta.

2. Cut the slab of pancetta into slices. Make the slices as thick or as thin as needed for your recipe. Stack the slices of pancetta and cut them all at once into thin strips. Turn the strips 90 degrees and chop or dice into smaller pieces to suit your recipe.

3. Peel off and stack 3 slices of packaged, sliced pancetta. Roll them into a tube and then cut the roll into thin slices. Separate and loosen the slices with your fingers. The resulting texture will be more shredded than what you get if you slice the pancetta off the slab yourself.

4. Cook the prepared pancetta in a skillet or shallow pan over low heat until slightly browned but not crispy, about 5 or 6 minutes for cubed or 3 minutes for thin sliced. Stir often while it cooks.

Tips & Warnings

• For a great recipe idea please see the link in the Resource section below to my article on How to Make Penne Ala Vodka with (or without) Pancetta.

• Avoid using pancetta that is discolored, wet, slimy or foul smelling. The fat should white or creamy, not yellowish or overly greasy looking.

References

• Cook Think: What Is Pancetta?