Thinly sliced, this guanciale is flavorful and aromatic, ideal in traditional pasta dishes, sautéed with vegetables or sliced thin and served on toast. Similar to pancetta, this guanciale is made with 100% Texas Iberico® pork from pigs pasture-raised on a ranch in the Texas Hill Country.

The pigs roam free on the Trails End Ranch run by Ashly Martin, a third-generation rancher in Comfort, Texas. The wide-open countryside is studded with Texas live oak, mesquite trees and prickly pear cactus. The pigs wander together eating acorns, grasses, sweet mesquite beans and prickly pear fruit. This amazing Texan diet adds complex flavor to the pork, the perfect raw material for creating delicious cured meats.

Guanciale is a traditional Italian method of curing pork jowls with garlic and herbs. It has a similar flavor to pancetta, but less salty. It is traditionally a key ingredient in spaghetti alla carbonara, but is also delicious sautéed with vegetables, added to fava beans or cooked with fish. We like to serve it thinly sliced on a piece of fresh bread for a rich, flavorful canapé.

The pigs are pasture-raised their whole lives and are never given antibiotics. They are certified Animal Welfare Approved by the AGW organization, acknowledged by Consumer Reports as the only “highly meaningful” food label for farm animal welfare.

Several years ago purebred Ibérico pigs were flown in from Spain. A herd of them now lives on the 1500 acre Trail's End Ranch in Texas, an environment surprisingly similar to the 'dehesa' forest of western Spain where Ibérico pigs originate. Texas live oaks produce a nutritious acorn much like those found in Spain. The Iberico pigs eat huge amounts of acorns, as well as sweet mesquite beans and prickly pear fruit. Each of these fruits are full of nutrition and antioxidants that add a uniquely Texan flavor to the pork.