You’re sure to find bacon in the supermarket but not always pancetta. Since they’re both cured pork products, can you just substitute bacon when a recipe calls for pancetta?
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PANCETTA AND BACON?
Bacon and pancetta are both cut from the belly of the pig, but the products are not identical.
Bacon is cured with salt and then smoked and sliced. It needs to be cooked before you eat it.
Pancetta (sometimes called Italian bacon) is cured with salt, black pepper, and spices and rolled into a cylinder. It is never smoked. Because pancetta is fully aged, you can enjoy it raw, although it is most often cooked.
CAN YOU SUBSTITUTE BACON FOR PANCETTA?
Replacing pancetta with bacon won’t ruin a dish, but because bacon is overtly smoky, many recipes recommend blanching it before swapping it for pancetta.
TESTING THE SUBSTITUTION
To test this method, we made our recipes for Hearty Tuscan Bean Stew and Pasta with Beans, Chard, and Rosemary, first blanching bacon in boiling water and then proceeding with the recipe, subbing the blanched bacon for pancetta.
As we prepared the recipes, we noticed that blanching had removed a considerable amount of the fat from the bacon. In fact, for the stew recipe, we had to supplement the bacon with a small amount of oil to properly sauté the aromatics.
And when we tasted the finished dishes, we noticed that despite the blanching, subtle hints of smokiness remained. Even so, tasters deemed the substitution perfectly acceptable.
HOW TO SWAP BACON FOR PANCETTA
If you want to eliminate most of its smoky flavor, blanch bacon in boiling water for 2 minutes before swapping it into the recipe. Because blanched bacon is not as fatty as pancetta, you may need to add extra oil to the recipe.
FAQs
Bacon and pancetta are both cut from the belly of the pig, but the products are not identical. Bacon is cured with salt and then smoked and sliced. It needs to be cooked before you eat it. Pancetta (sometimes called Italian bacon) is cured with salt, black pepper, and spices and rolled into a cylinder.
What is the difference between pancetta and bacon? ›
So pancetta is cured and unsmoked, while bacon is cured and smoked, but both need to be cooked before being eaten. They can be used interchangeably in dishes, depending on whether or not you want a smoky flavor.
What do Italians use instead of 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.
What is special about pancetta? ›
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.
Can you cook pancetta like bacon? ›
Pancetta is dry-cured and fully aged, so it can be thinly sliced and eaten raw. You can also cook thin slices the same way you cook bacon in a pan if you want to eat alongside eggs with toast. Dicing and slowly rendering the fat out of it is a common way to start many recipes.
Why is pancetta more expensive than bacon? ›
The culprit for pancetta's elevated price is the way that it's cured, which involves a long, multi-step process of brining, seasoning, and occasionally smoking. Luckily, there are a few cheaper alternatives out there that can play the same role in your dish, namely bacon, prosciutto, and salami.
Do I cook pancetta before putting it on pizza? ›
Heat a small skillet over medium heat, add the pancetta and cook until the fat renders but not crispy, about 5 minutes.
How do Italians eat pancetta? ›
In Italy, pancetta is commonly served as a sliced meat, sliced thin and eaten raw. It can also be used in carbonara pasta (although guanciale is generally regarded as more traditional).
What is better prosciutto or pancetta? ›
Prosciutto comes from pork belly, which means that it has a firm texture but deceivingly vibrant flavors. Pancetta, on the other hand, comes from a pig's hind legs. Pancetta has a far smoother texture than prosciutto, and the flavor is much more delicate than the pork belly.
Does pancetta go bad? ›
Pancetta: Left in its packaging, pancetta can be stored up to a year. After opening, it has a shelf life of 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator or several months in the freezer. Prosciutto: Similar to pancetta, prosciutto can last up to a year if vacuum sealed.
If you can't find pancetta, it's almost always OK to substitute bacon for pancetta. Alternatively, you can substitute pancetta in recipes that call for bacon lardons. The two have very similar textures and flavors since they're both made from pork belly, although bacon has a heavier, smokier flavor.
Does pancetta get crispy? ›
If you want crispy pancetta slices, more like bacon, you can cook the slices in a skillet, again starting with a lower heat and turning up after some of the fat renders out. The pancetta tends to curl which can look pretty cool but is a little more challenging to get crispy all over.
Can pancetta be substituted for bacon? ›
If you can't find pancetta, it's almost always OK to substitute bacon for pancetta. Alternatively, you can substitute pancetta in recipes that call for bacon lardons. The two have very similar textures and flavors since they're both made from pork belly, although bacon has a heavier, smokier flavor.
Is pancetta and prosciutto the same? ›
Prosciutto comes from pork belly, which means that it has a firm texture but deceivingly vibrant flavors. Pancetta, on the other hand, comes from a pig's hind legs. Pancetta has a far smoother texture than prosciutto, and the flavor is much more delicate than the pork belly.
Is prosciutto the same as bacon? ›
As mentioned above, prosciutto is made not from pork belly, as with pancetta and bacon, but the hind leg of the pig. The leg is cleaned, salted heavily, and left for weeks to air dry in a cool place. This ensures that all moisture is removed, making it impossible for bacteria to form (hence why it's edible raw).
