How To Party When You're On The Paleo Diet
Step 3: Bacon is pretty Paleo; Pancetta is VERY PaleoBacon makes for great hors d’oeuvres, but because it usually contains trace amounts of sugar, it’s not always Paleo-friendly. Luckily, Paleo-ers are free to enjoy pancetta, bacon’s sugar-free and lightly spiced Italian cousin. Serve it on a salad or sliced paper-thin as part of a charcuterie plate. Just follow these simple steps from the Better Bacon Book:
Tom Mylan, expert butcher and co-founder of Brooklyn’s The Meat Hook, shows you how it’s done:
1) Weigh the raw pork belly on a digital scale and transfer to a food-safe plastic bin.
2) Assemble the cure by combining the following ingredients in a coffee grinder and process into a fine powder:
4 allspice berries
1 teaspoon of black peppercorns
1 teaspoon of red chili flakes
1 bay leaf
1/8 of a whole nutmeg, grated
3) Combine ground spices and 1 cup of kosher salt in a bowl, and mix well.
4) With your hand at eye level to ensure even distribution, sprinkle a modest amount of the salt-spice mixture over the meaty side of the pork belly. Pat the cure into the meat, shake off any excess and flip.
5) Apply a slightly heavier dose to the fatty side, making sure to season the sides of the belly as well.
6) Seal the belly in a large plastic bag, lay it flat in the refrigerator and turn it once a day for two weeks. When the belly has lost between 18 and 25% of its weight, it is fully cured.
7) Now you’ll need to air-dry the meat for about two weeks. Select a cool, dry, well-ventilated area for the meat to hang, such as a cellar or basement, the corner of a windowless but breezy room, or, as a last resort, your refrigerator. Gouge a small hole in the corner of the meat and loop some butcher’s twine through it. Hang the meat from a sturdy hook so it swings free and gets plenty of circulation... and wait.