Duke of Berkshire Pork - Pancetta | 300g

Duke of Berkshire Pancetta - Lardons, Slices or Carbonara

300g block. Chilled, not frozen. No defrosting needed.

1. Straight from the fridge
Keep refrigerated at 0-4°C and use by the date on the pack. Once opened, use within 3 to 5 days.

2. Cut it cold
A block cuts far more cleanly straight from the fridge. For lardons, slice 1cm thick then cut across into batons. For draping or wrapping, slice as thin as your knife allows. Twenty minutes in the freezer firms it up if it is soft.

3. Do not season it
Pancetta is already cured and salted. Add no salt, and taste before seasoning whatever you cook it into.

4. Start in a cold pan
Put the lardons in a dry pan and then turn the heat on, low to medium. A hot pan seizes the outside before the fat has rendered. Starting cold gives you both crisp pieces and a pan full of fat to cook with.

5. Render slowly
6 to 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until golden and crisp at the edges. Add no oil at any point.

6. Build on the fat
Lift the lardons out and cook your onions, garlic or vegetables in what is left. That rendered fat carries the flavour of the breed and is the reason to use pancetta rather than bacon.

For carbonara. Render the lardons slowly, take the pan off the heat, then toss the drained pasta through the fat before adding the egg and cheese. Off the heat is what stops it scrambling.

A little goes a long way. This is richer and more deeply flavoured than standard cured pork. Use around half what a recipe calls for in bacon and taste as you go.

Keep refrigerated at 0-4°C. Once opened, consume within 3-5 days for best flavour. Bring to room temperature before serving to enhance aroma and texture.