In article <2016031516070467246-xxx@yyyzzz>, gtr > wrote:

> On 2016-03-11 05:33:36 +0000, isw said:
>
> > I make several Italian recipes that call for guanciale. There's not a
> > local source for the stuff, and I don't want to pay ridiculous shipping
> > charges just to try it.
> >
> > I know that pancetta is suggested as a substitute, but it is generally a
> > lot less fatty then the photos of guanciale I've seen. Even worse, since
> > I've never been able to find guanciale, I've never cooked with it, and
> > so I don't have a very good notion of what it tastes like.
> >
> > I was wondering if a good cured but not-smoked bacon might be a better
> > sub?
>
> I was looking at guanciale at Whole Foods today and it looked like
> nothing but blocks of fat with micro strata, just here and there, of
> actual meat. I quizzed the charcuterie know it all, and she said,
> yeah, that's pretty much what it is; a block of fat. I was surprised
> since I've had it in a few pasta meals in restaurants and didn't
> realise it was pretty much a block of fat.

Well of course it's basically a "block of fat", but what's unique about
it (assuming it's been well made) is what it tastes like, because of how
it's been treated.

Isaac