The process of making guanciale in pictures along with the recipe below, from carving out the jowls to salting, to hanging to the final cooked product.
Home Cured Guanciale 
Taken from the Babbo Restaurant website
Makes 2 pounds
½ cup sugar
½ cup kosher salt
10 to 15 whole black peppercorns
4 sprigs of fresh thyme leaves
2 pounds hog jowls
1. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, salt, peppercorns and thyme. Coat the hog jowls with the mixture, rubbing gently. Place the jowls in a nonreactive casserole, cover, and refrigerate for 5 to 7 days.
2. Remove the jowls from the casserole and tie a piece of butcher’s twine around the middle of each. Hang the jowls in a dry cool place (it should not be warmer than 60ºF.) for a t least 3 weeks. They should be firm and dry, with a slight give. Slice and use like bacon or pancetta.
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March 31, 2011 at 1:33 pm
Spring Break = Kitchen Triumpfs and Disasters « Pazza Ragazza
[...] and more recipes on my website. Alas, I spend the morning uploading pictures of my home cured guanciale adventure and my foray into homemade pasta with freshly ground flour. Alas, I should be off to computer by [...]
April 23, 2011 at 2:38 pm
Luckily/Unluckily « Pazza Ragazza
[...] it should be MY job to cut out my own cheeks. For more on my first attempt at guanciale check out this Single Chef post. You can also read a freelance article that I wrote about the experience [...]
June 25, 2011 at 11:14 am
inspiration and motivation « Pazza Ragazza
[...] and sausage, the caramelized onion tart from four months ago in Bon Appetit, the second round of pig jowls that is sitting in the freezer waiting for me to cure them, the tortelli verde that I learned to [...]