The Pork Trifecta

Pancetta (pictured above) and even prosciutto are often referred to as Italian bacon. Fox News gives us a lesson in the “Holy Trinity” of Italian cured pork... Basically, it's not bacon.

Pancetta

Cut from the belly but not smoked like traditional bacon. It is salt-cured and seasoned with spices (such as nutmeg, pepper, fennel and garlic) and then air dried for 3 months. 

Guanciale

Cut from the jowls and rubbed in salt, peppercorns and thyme. It is then hung to air dry at about 60°and ready to eat in 3 weeks.  

Prosciutto

A salt cured whole leg of pork aged for up to two years.