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A crispy cube of pancetta makes the world go round. It’s one of the most delicious bites on earth you can have in soups and pasta, which is why you should never waste it.
You might consider freezing as a preservation method, but the question is, can you freeze pancetta?
Yes, you can.With pancetta in the freezer, a BLT or quick weeknight pasta is at your fingertips.
Leftover pancetta can only lasts 2-3 weeks in the fridge. In the freezer, it has a shelf-life of up to 3 months; meanwhile, the sealed package/unopened pancetta about a year.
Well, in this article, we’ll also be sharing with you a rick-free method on how you can adequately store this meat in the freezer.
What is Pancetta?
Pancetta is salumi cut from the pork belly – the underside of the pig.
Pancetta looks light pink with a dense, silky texture and a nutty flavor. The meat is rolled tightly into a cylinder, slipped into a casing, and tied with butcher’s twine in one-inch intervals.
It’s seasoned with salt, pepper, and other seasonings like juniper coriander, berries, and fennel seeds to help give it a notoriously flavorful taste that elevates any dish it’s added to.
Pancetta is sold in large chunks, thinly sliced mostly in Italy and cubed (chopped into small bits) in the United States.
These small bits are an incredible inclusion in pasta dishes, soups and served as cold cut on a sandwich.
Read Also: Can You Freeze Salami?
How to Freeze Pancetta
Step 1: Slice and divide in batches
The last thing you want to do is freeze the pancetta straight in its original package unless you have plans to defrost and use all of it at once.
If not, it’s ideal to slice and divide your remaining pancetta so it allows you to portion the usage. You don’t have to thaw out the whole batches whenever you intend to use just a small portion.
Step 2: Cut little bundles and fit them neatly in any sealed container.
Use sealable containers. It can be airtight food packs or boxes like Zip Top Containers. We recommend Zip Top containers because are made with 100% Platinum Silicone, and are Microwave, dishwasher, and freezer safe!
They are even reusable and do not require lids. But if you have a preferable plastic bag why not. By all means, use it.
Moreover, the reason will recommend any of these sealed containers is because they prevent moisture from coming in contact with your stick. SO it can preserve much longer.
Step 3: Label the Package for Memory’s Sake.
It is better to keep track of your pancetta from time to time.
To do this effectively, ensure to label the plastic container with two dates: the date when you opened the packaging and the best before date.
Step 4: Time to stash away.
The last step is to put your sealed pancetta in the freezer.
Conclusion | Can You Freeze Pancetta?
If you’re wondering if cooked pancetta can also be frozen, well, you guessed that right. It sure can.
But you MUST put the pancetta into the freezer immediately after cooking it.
The reason is that bacteria can grow rapidly at room temperature. Therefore, if your cooked pancetta has sat out for longer than two hours, it must have been infected. It’s best to toss it.
Additionally, you want to use heavy-duty, zip-top freezer bags to store your pancetta as discussed above.
It’ll keep for many months (up to six months), but bear in mind that there might be a change in taste as well as texture. It’s probably at its best if used within three months.
Read Also: Can You Freeze Greek Yogurt?
