I had been buying expensive, 2 inch square chucks of Pancetta to cut into lardons for flavouring. Since it is basically a chunk of bacon, I decided to try my favourite butcher; he took a slab of pork belly, destined to become bacon, and cut it into 2" squares for me, which I keep in the freezer. It had a leathery outside on one side, I presume the skin. Since the butcher hadn't removed it, I left it. I took a chunk of this and cut it into lardons for some baked beans. After browning the lardons, the skin part got very hard; and ineatable; so I tried to cut it off the sauted lardons before incorporating. I cut the skin off about half the lardons. But after several hours of braising with the beans, the skins changed to very soft and gelationous, almost disappearing; leaving the delicous chewy parts of bacon meat. Looking at the "store-bought" Pancetta, it's skin was removed. Perhaps next time I should have the butcher cut it off? What do you think, hide or no? What is crackling? Are there other uses for pork belly besides bacon flavouring? BBQ? Sincerely /b
