What is it?

Guanciale is a cured pork product similar to pancetta (that is, unsmoked bacon), but made from the pig’s jowls or cheeks rather than the pork belly. It’s an essential ingredient in classic pasta carbonara.

Don’t have it?

Pancetta is a good substitute.

Recipes

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  Recipe

  Bucatini with Fava Beans and Guanciale

  Make this pasta during the early summer months, when fava beans are starchier than the tender springtime variety. Guanciale is made by curing the meat from a pig’s jowls and…

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  Recipe

  Classic Pasta Carbonara

  A great carbonara is about balancing the cheese, eggs, pork, and pasta. Because there are so few ingredients, it’s important that they be high quality to make this dish a…

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  Recipe

  Spaghetti alla Carbonara

  If you’d like to make this pasta for four people, double the recipe, but transfer the pasta back into the pot used for cooking it and then toss it with…