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Guanciale: How To Make the Secret to Flavorful Cured Meat

Pork jowl seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, and rosemary on a rustic farmhouse table
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Farmhouse-style guanciale made from pork jowl, cured with salt, pepper, and herbs—an old-world technique passed down on the Miller farm.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 whole pig jowl (skin on, glands removed)
  • 3% of jowl’s weight in coarse salt (sea salt or kosher, never iodized)
  • 1.5% cracked black pepper
  • Extra ground pepper for coating after curing
  • Optional flavors:
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 sprig rosemary
  • 1 tsp chili flakes
  • 1 large zip bag or vacuum-seal bag

Instructions

  1. Inspect jowl, remove glands, and clean the skin with a quick scorch or shave.
  2. Rinse and pat dry thoroughly.
  3. Massage salt, pepper, garlic, rosemary, and chili flakes into the meat and skin.
  4. Place the jowl into a ziplock or vacuum bag, press out air, and seal tightly.
  5. Refrigerate skin side up for 5–7 days, flipping and massaging daily.
  6. Don’t discard the liquid drawn out during curing—it reabsorbs flavor.
  7. After curing, rinse lightly, pat dry, and coat with ground black pepper.
  8. Loop twine through thinner end and hang in a cool (50–65°F), dark place for 5+ weeks.
  9. Slice as needed for cooking, keeping the rest refrigerated or re-hung.

Notes

Ask your butcher for a fatty jowl—fat is key for flavor. After curing, the guanciale can be stored wrapped in parchment in the fridge for weeks.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://www.adorarecipes.com/guanciale-homemade-recipe/