What's a substitute for pancetta? (2024)

FAQs

What's a substitute for pancetta? ›

What can I use instead of pancetta? Bacon is the best substitute for adding flavour to soups, stews, pasta and salads. For charcuterie or wrapping meats or poultry, prosciutto is your next best option.

Pancetta is the same cut as American bacon, so that's the first substitute that comes to mind. Canadian bacon, salt pork, prosciutto, smoked ham, and smoked sausage are all good choices as well.

Pancetta is often referred to as the Italian bacon, but the way it is made is closer to dry-cured ham than to bacon. In its most common form, known as pancetta arrotolata, it is rolled into a thick cylinder, from which the known thin slices with a beautiful concentric structure are cut.

bacon. Pancetta is bacon's leaner relative, and they can be used almost interchangeably. While there is really never any substitute for a crispy piece of Sunday morning bacon next to your eggs and toast, there are lots of places where pancetta vs.

Since salt pork is pork belly that hasn't been smoked like bacon and pancetta is pork belly that has been cured but not smoked, we think pancetta is the best substitute flavor wise. Pancetta doesn't have as much fat as salt pork, so you can add lard to the mix.

Equal parts prosciutto and salt pork or unsmoked lean bacon can be substituted for pancetta. Serrano or Smithfield ham can be substituted for prosciutto.

Pancetta is salt cured with an array of other flavors, including fennel, chili, and nutmeg, which create its sought-after flavor. Although it is similar to bacon in many ways, there is one distinct difference — pancetta is not smoked.

Speck is meat similar to bacon, prosciutto, or pancetta, but it has a distinct flavor and different preparation from these other traditional meats. Speck, in the Italian and Tyrolean sense, is often served as an appetizer on a charcuterie board, and it also is used in cooked dishes.

Pancetta is Italian cured pork belly – the equivalent of streaky bacon. It has a deep, strong, slightly salty flavour, is fairly fatty, and comes either smoked or unsmoked. You can buy pancetta either as straight rashers (which tend to be smoked), as round slices cut from a roll (which tend to be unsmoked), or diced.

What is pancetta in the grocery store? ›

Pancetta (pronounced pan-CHET-tah) is a cut of pork belly meat that is salt-cured but not smoked. An Italian specialty, pancetta can be eaten both uncooked and cooked, and is sold both sliced and cubed. Sliced pancetta is best for sandwiches or antipasto boards, while cubed pancetta is best for cooking.

Pancetta is a salumi cut from the pork belly, a notoriously flavorful and fatty portion of meat that is extremely popular around the world. It's high-fat content, combined with it's curing preparations and attentive care, create a world-renowned product that imparts a distinctively robust flavor wherever it's used.

Guanciale has a particular affinity with fish, various legumes, and dark green vegetables. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned the importation of guanciale and other cured meats from Italy from the 1970s until 2013, concerned that they might carry swine vesicular disease.

To make this carbonara recipe, switching the traditional pancetta/guanciale with chorizo is a great substitution. The fat that renders from the deeply seasoned chorizo balances really well with the rich flavours of the carbonara, also adding a hint of spice which is beaautiful.

The flavor of pancetta is somewhat similar to bacon, but with a much deeper flavor of pork. The essence of pork flavor is stronger in pancetta than bacon because it isn't smoked.

Often referred to as “French pancetta”, ventrèche (pronounced vohn-tresh) is unsmoked, salt-cured bacon from the Gascony region of Southwest France, where it is a staple. Ventrèche is made from pork belly (ventre means belly in French) that has been rubbed with salt, spices, and garlic before hanging to dry.

You can use it in place of bacon, pancetta, or prosciutto in most recipes. We also happen to know that a few slices of speck with a hunk of cheese makes an excellent midnight snack.

Pancetta. Very similar to bacon, pancetta is a salt-cured meat made from pork belly.