guanciale

noun

guan·​cia·​le gwän-ˈchä-lē  -(ˌ)lā 

: a cured Italian meat product typically made with pork jowls and spices (such as bay leaf, juniper, and black pepper)

Guanciale is commonly used in pasta dishes, diced or sliced and sautéed to render its fat and flavor the pasta sauce.

—Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn

There is very little historical material on the origins of cured guanciale, but in most parts of the world where some form of bacon has been produced, the jowl was one of the cuts used.

—Dino Joannides

Examples of guanciale in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Girod was a protege of Chris Bianco, one of the country’s most celebrated pizza makers, and here, his Neapolitan-style creations are flavored with very Italian ingredients like guanciale and pistachio. —Chadner Navarro, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Apr. 2024

Heat guanciale and oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until fat is rendered and guanciale is starting to brown, 4 to 6 minutes. 2. —Erica Turner, Chicago Tribune, 26 July 2023

The sauced pasta is plated, topped with the crisped guanciale and served with more pecorino at the table. —G. Daniela Galarza, Washington Post, 28 Sep. 2023

Rigatoni’s tubular shape was ideal for cradling the glossy sauce and chunks of guanciale and sausage. —Erica Turner, Chicago Tribune, 26 July 2023

Funke, with his trademark salt-and-pepper beard and blue denim shirt, would be adding a handful of blanched fava beans as the guanciale sizzles, perhaps noting that this springtime addition is the only acceptable variation to Roman canonists always up for an argument. —Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2022

Slice guanciale into 1/4-inch-thick strips, then cut each strip crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces. —Erica Turner, Chicago Tribune, 26 July 2023

The heirloom vegetables are topped with what looks like strips of blond bacon but is in fact wrinkly, melt-on-the tongue guanciale, while the cheese acquires its freckles and subtle smokiness from Urfa chile flakes. —Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 17 May 2023

Add tomatoes to the pan with the remaining oil and fat from the guanciale. —Maria Pasquale, CNN, 2 Feb. 2022

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from regional Italian (Lazio, Umbria) (in general Italian, "pillow, cushion"), from Italian guancia "cheek" + -ale, denominal noun suffix, going back to Latin -ālis -al entry 1; guancia going back (perhaps by back-formation from plural *guanke) to Germanic *wanga- or *wangōn- (whence also Old English wang [strong masculine], wange [weak neuter] "cheek, side of the face," Old Saxon & Old High German wanga "cheek," Old Icelandic vangi), of uncertain origin

Note: M. Cortelazzo and P. Zolli (Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana) suggest that, given the distribution of guancia in Italy, it was acquired from the Lombard speech of the early medieval Duchy of Spoleto. The Germanic noun is further attested in Old English wangere "pillow, cushion," with cognates in Old High German wangari, Gothic waggareis. The "cheek" etymon has been compared with Germanic *wanga- "field, meadow," whence Old English wang, wong "plain, field," Gothic waggs "paradise," etc.

First Known Use

1987, in the meaning defined above