You know those foodies who look like you've slapped them when you suggest they just use bacon in their carbonara? Oh, you are that foodie? Well then, you'll know that when bacon won't do, and nor will pancetta, it's because the dish calls for guanciale.
A bacon, made from cheek and jowl of pork, guanciale has a concentrated savouriness and a fat content that is unlike all others of the bacon breed.
Ours is made to our Great Taste 2 Star pancetta recipe, aged for at least two months to further concentrate the flavour, and because a little goes a long way, it is sliced into the merest slivers, which make exceptional pizza, canape and salad toppings, as well as providing authenticity to the aforementioned carbonara.
Cooking tip: These slices cook quick. To get them rendered and crisped to their fullest potential, start them in a cold pan and watch them like a hawk. It is the work of moments.