Long post incoming...
I've done a decent amount of dry curing before, but this was the first time I tried pancetta so I took lots of pictures. Here's a rough step by step.
First few steps are pretty simple
1. Kill a big pig - the bigger the better on this project.
2. Don't field dress it. Get it hung and skinned
3. Carefully cut out full pork belly. If you go too deep you'll end up cutting something in the digestive track and that's not fun.
4. Wash it off, remove all hairs, trim some the membranes off if they're bad. Trim it to make it into a rectangle shape. Flaps don't roll up well.
From here, we need to get into some curing science. You need the following ratios for any dry curing:
0.25% per weight pink salt (#2 curing salt - something like this:
https://www.alliedkenco.com/cure-2-16oz-1-1.aspx)
3% by weight kosher salt.
So weigh your belly and you can calculate how much salt and curing salt you need.
My seasoning mix:
4 T Minced garlic
2 t Pink Salt
cup Kosher Salt
2 T Brown Sugar
2 T Black Pepper
4 Bay Leaves, crushed
1 t Nutmeg
1 t Thyme
5. Mix up your spice mix, rub all over the belly, then put into a big ziploc bag. Store in fridge for about a week. Flip it/massage it once a day. After the week check and see if it feels firm everywhere, if not let it sit for another day or two.
6. After it cures in the fridge for a week or so, take it out and wash it off. Pat dry. Sprinkle some more black pepper on it then roll it up. This can't be rolled too tight, you don't want any air pockets inside.
7. Tie it up, get it ready to hang
8. Hang for about 2 weeks. It will probably grow a little mold, but you can just wipe it off with a clean rag and vinegar. White mold is fine/good. Anything green, black or fuzzy you should toss the whole project. You can wipe it off every couple days if it's growing any. I hung it in my house in Houston with this little hanging rack frame I made to put in my cooler.
9. After hanging for 2 weeks
10. Wash off any mold. I use diluted vinegar to clean my countertops, and it works good to get mold off cured meats too.
11. Remove string, slice, eat
