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Posted

I assume pancetta, or anything with a high fat content, doesn't take well to freezing. Am I wrong? I can't eat any more of this pancetta! (Well, I can but I shouldn't.)

JJ Goode

Co-author of Serious Barbecue, which is in stores now!

www.jjgoode.com

"For those of you following along, JJ is one of these hummingbird-metabolism types. He weighs something like eleven pounds but he can eat more than me and Jason put together..." -Fat Guy

Posted

i've frozen prosciutto with no problems on a regular basis, and i think i remember working somewhere where they froze pancetta as well, mostly to slice very very thin... :huh:

Posted

I keep pancetta in the freezer, and pull it out every now and then to dice finely and render for cooking with greens like chard or spinach. I don't usually eat pancetta on its own, even though it is good, but rather add it to something else--so I don't think I'd notice if freezing damaged it somehow.

I tend to assume that any meat will freeze just fine, though.

Posted

I keep it for months in the fridge-each piece individually sealed in a bag w/ a Food Saver. I've never had it spoil this way. I buy it thickly sliced so that I can cut it into cubes; that probably makes it last longer.

Posted

I bought one large chunk, cut it into smaller pieces, put each smaller piece into a small bag, all the small bags into one large bag labelled "pancetta", put the whole mess in the freezer, and pull out small bits as I need them for cooking. I've used it for cooking green beans, in sauces, on pizza, and in soups, and no one's gotten sick yet!

Diana

Posted
I bought one large chunk, cut it into smaller pieces...

I ask the deli to "open the slicer all the way up." This produces 3-4 ounce slices. I like to add a few ounces to all sorts of pasta, vegetable, and braised dishes. I know it is heresy on this board to speak poorly of bacon :laugh: , but I prefer the taste of pancetta to bacon in cooked dishes. (Don't run me off, I love the taste of bacon on its own.)

Posted

I thought the whole point of making pancetta is that it would keep for a really long time in a reasonably cool place.

Posted

Thanks, all: You've saved my pancetta!

I am actually surprised that pancetta keeps so long in the fridge. I had thought that since it's not smoked it would have a significantly shorter fridge-life than smoked bacon.

JJ Goode

Co-author of Serious Barbecue, which is in stores now!

www.jjgoode.com

"For those of you following along, JJ is one of these hummingbird-metabolism types. He weighs something like eleven pounds but he can eat more than me and Jason put together..." -Fat Guy

Posted

I buy it in big chunks - the man at the store just eyeballs what I ask for and saws it off. It keeps forever, tightly wrapped, in the fridge.

Posted

I'd also like to add a nod on the "freezability" of pancetta. I have done this many times and haven't noticed any negative effects.

Sometimes I do as FL Heat mentioned and dice or cut it up and store in the freezer for later use... though I usually don't label it... too lazy .

Bacon also... IMO... freezes well.

I have, in fact at this very moment , a hunk of pancetta resting peacefully in my freezer ( excess from last nights dinner of carbonara) right next to a bag of Shop-Rite brand Tater Tots :blink: .

Posted

i freeze bacon, pancetta, and guanciale with no loss of flavor or texture that i can tell. i know it'll keep for a long time in the fridge, but i say why bother when i can throw it in the freezer and not be digging around past it all the time when i'm in the fridge.

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