The result of my experiment was pretty good. It certainly provided proof of concept.
First, the pancetta didn't have as smooth a texture as the 'nudja that I purchased earlier. However, after cooking down, the textures of the two were quite similar, both visually and in terms of mouth feel.
When I do this again, and there will be another attempt, I'll look for a little more fat from the pancetta.
The aroma when cooking the sauce was intoxicating. The smoked pancetta's aroma in the sauce was subtle but very much in evidence. It added a nice and somewhat special dimension to what was essentially a simple sauce.
I mixed the peppers in a 2:1 ratio of Calabrian peppers with the arbol. The arbol added a nice depth to the sauce, and when the sauce was about done a final tasting revealed something more would be helpful. I added some ground Kashmiri pepper and that turned out to be a pretty good guess.
Overall, the experiment was successful, and now some fine tuning with proportions are in order. Nonetheless, the concoction made a very nice sauce although I wasn't thrilled with my choice of Rao's fusilli. It was OK, but I think both Rustichella D'Abruzzo and DeCecco (of the brands in my pantry) would have been more satisfying.
Overall, I'm pleased with the result.
