What does guanciale taste like?
Guanciale tastes like an extra-rich, porkier bacon without the smoke: salty, savory and slightly funky, with sweet fat that melts and turns crisp in the pan.
Guanciale
silky, porky, deeply savory
Guanciale is Italian cured pork jowl (cheek), rubbed with salt, pepper and sometimes herbs, then aged. It has more fat than pancetta, and that fat is the point: it renders into a silky, porky liquid that coats pasta, while the meaty bits fry up crisp and chewy. It isn't smoked, so it tastes purer and more pork-forward than American bacon, with a faint aged funk. It's the traditional pork in carbonara, amatriciana and gricia. Some US restaurants swap in pancetta or bacon, and purists notice.
Where you’ll see it
In Roman pastas: carbonara, amatriciana and gricia, where it's the classic pork. Also crisped on pizza, wrapped around vegetables, and occasionally sliced thin on a charcuterie board.
Order it if you love bacon and want the version that's richer, porkier and less smoky.
Quick questions
- Is guanciale the same as pancetta?
- No. Guanciale is cured pork cheek, fattier and porkier. Pancetta is cured pork belly, leaner and milder. Both are usually unsmoked.
- Is guanciale bacon?
- It's a cousin. Both are cured pork, but guanciale comes from the jowl, isn't smoked, and has more fat, which melts silkier.