4 replies to this topic

[mm84321]

Please excuse my ignorance; I do not cook much with pork.

I have a recipe in French that calls for "ventreche de cochon". I know this translates literally to "belly of pork". However, I am wondering if this is specific to raw, or some sort of cured product. The recipe calls for the ventreche de cochon to be sliced paper thin on a deli slicer, and it is briefly sauteed (3 minutes) into a fricassee of escargot. Does raw pork belly seem right to use in this scenario?

[FrogPrincesse]

Ventreche is rolled, cured but not smoked. It's similar to pancetta.

[mm84321]

Aha. Thank you very much.

[carlux]

If you google ventreche de porc, you will see a number of images showing you what it is like. Here in the south-west (of France) it is often barbecued.

[Ptipois]

Ventrèche just means "belly" in Southern French, with a nuance of fattiness. Hence pork belly and tuna belly both bear that name in the South.
Ventrèche de porc (or de cochon) can be raw or cured, but the term is not used for smoked pork belly since pork is generally not smoked in the South and Southwest.
A ventrèche de porc to be cut thin on a deli slicer should be very dry. Indeed a very dry cured pancetta would do the job.