guanciale

on one hand its a good thing that mom is feeling ill today. she was asleep while i sawed the cedar stick to fit in this old fire place. she didnt notice me wrapping my pork jowl in cheese cloth, fitting a string through one end and hanging it in the fireplace. The glass porch is the coldest place in the house right now and i hope it stays that way for a couple of weeks that i need to air dry this stuff. i cured it in sugar, salt, peppercorns and lots of thyme from the garden and now it just need to get dry and stiff. guanciale is a lot like pancetta or bacon when its finished, it is a fatty part of the hog full of flavor and meat. i've only had store bought guanciale once, but i'm really looking forward to trying my own when its done. i've been waiting since last summer for the weather to cool down and allow me to hang this sack of pork around the house.