Guanciale

The salt-cured pork jowl is considered to be one of the fundamental ingredients in Italian cuisine for which there are no proper substitutes. When pressed, guanciale (lit. pillow) has a deep, much richer sweet-savory pork flavor than both Italian pancetta or bacon, and due to its high fat-to-meat ratio, it has a meltingly tender texture.

Guanciale is used in a number of traditional Italian recipes, particularly in classic Roman pasta dishes like bucatini all’Amatriciana and spaghetti alla carbonara.