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Close up of cured homemade guanciale

Homemade Guanciale

Course: Appetizer, dinner, lunch
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: guanciale, homemade guanciale
Servings: 10 servings
Calories: 454kcal
Author: Victor
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Ingredients

  • 1000 g pork cheek skin on
  • 27.5 g kosher salt 2.75%
  • 2.5 g Cure #2 0.25%
  • 15 g sugar 1.5%
  • 0.5 g whole black pepper 0.05%
  • 0.5 g cracked black pepper 0.05%
  • 0.4 g cloves 0.04%
  • 0.4 g nutmeg 0.04%

Instructions

  • Weigh your pork cheecks in grams. Divide by 1000, then multiply each ingredient by that number. For example, if your meat weighs 1650 g, you need to multiply the ingredients specified above by 1.65.
  • Mix the salt with the seasonings. Apply the rub evenly all over the pork cheeks. Transfer to a vacuum-sealable bag and seal. You can also use a Ziploc bag.
  • Refrigerate for at least 10 days at 3F7-41F (3C-5C).
  • Remove the meat from the fridge, blot with paper towels, puncture holes in the upper parts of the cheeks, thread butchers twine through the holes and tie into loops. Weigh each cheek and write down the initial weight on tags.
  • Dry at 59F - 77F (15C - 25C) and 65%-86% RH for a period of 6 days as per the drying protocol above.
  • After drying, mature at 50F - 57F (10C - 14C) and 70%-90% humidity for at least 2 months.

Nutrition

Calories: 454kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 50g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 581mg | Sugar: 1g