Pancetta Tesa – Flat Cured Belly

Name: Pancetta Tesa – Flacher Bauchspeck
Total time: 25 d
Ingredients: 28 g Nitritpökelsalz (0,4–0,5 % NaNO2); 4 g Schwarzer Pfeffer, grob gemahlen; 5 g Zucker, braun; 2 g Wacholderbeeren, leicht angedrückt; 1 g Muskatblüte (Macis); 1 g Thymian, getrocknet; 2 g Knoblauch, getrocknet und gemahlen

Curing MixPorkCold SmokingMedium25-35 days

Pancetta Tesa is the classic flat, cured, and air-dried pork belly from Italian cuisine. The piece is dry-cured, seasoned, and then air-dried. Unlike Pancetta Arrotolata, this cut is not rolled.

Ingredients(for 1 kg)

Curing salt (0.4–0.5% NaNO2)28 g

Black pepper, coarsely ground4 g

Brown sugar5 g

Juniper berries, lightly crushed2 g

Mace1 g

Thyme, dried1 g

Garlic, dried and ground2 g

Instructions

Rubbing and Curing

7-10 days

Rinse pork belly cold and pat dry. Mix all spices with the curing salt and sugar. Rub the piece vigorously on all sides, vacuum seal and store at 4-6 °C. Turn daily.

Soaking

1-2 hours

Remove the belly from the brine and soak in cold water for 1-2 hours to remove excess salt. Then dry thoroughly.

Optional Cold Smoke

2-3 hours

Optionally cold smoke the dry belly at max. 20 °C for 2-3 hours with beech wood. The surface should fully dry again after smoking.

Air Drying and Aging

15-25 days

Hang the belly on a hook and age at 12-15 °C and 70-80% humidity. The piece will lose approximately 30% of its initial weight. Once the surface is firm and evenly colored, the pancetta is ready.

Pro Tip

For a particularly aromatic result, cold smoke the pork belly with beech wood for 2-3 hours after curing – this gives the pancetta a slightly smoky note without dominating the traditional profile.

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