Guanciale--The Magical Roman Bacon

Many Italians do not know about guanciale, and you can only find it in certain areas of the country. I've been told you cannot easily find it outside of Italy. I was lucky enough to get some from Salume Beddu, a St. Louis company that hand makes guanciale and other fine cured Italian meats and sausage and sells them at the Tower Grove Farmers' Market, open roughly April - October. Check them out at www.salumebeddu.com.

This unique bacon is nothing like the more widely known pancetta. It gave an enormous amount of porky flavor to the Spaghetti all'amatriciana I made for a dinner party Saturday night. The recipe came from Salume Beddu's owner, Mark Sanfilippo.

Salume Beddu makes guanciale is made from pork jowls.You don't really eat raw guanciale - it is a highly savory piece of white pig fat better used for cooking. You melt it down in a saucepan and use the fat to fry further ingredients who will become infused with this amazing taste. It's worth tracking down and trying, even if you're dieting.