Thestate.com is making a pretty bold claim that Guanciale might actually be better than bacon. You’re probably thinking right now, “What the heck is Guanciale and how do you even pronounce that?†Well I’m told it’s pronounced “gwahn-CHAY-lay†and it comes from the pork jowl or cheek.
Now some people might be turned off by eating a little head meat but that doesn’t bother me at all. I found that some of the best cuts can come from an animal’s cheeks. The thing that’s turning me off is the better than bacon claim. I have never had a chance to try Guanciale but I find it hard to think anything can be better than bacon.
They suggest using Guanciale in place of bacon when cooking and that might work if you’re making a salad, casserole, or even a burger but I would be interested to see how Guanciale holds up in a cupcake recipe.
But who knows? I don’t really like to pass judgment on a food before tasting it so maybe Guanciale is better than bacon and we should change the name of our website to Mr. Guancialepants. I highly doubt it though.