This cured guanciale is aged in small batches with garlic, black pepper and other spices. Thinly sliced, it is delicious and aromatic, perfect for traditional pasta dishes, sautéed with vegetables or savored on its own with fresh bread. It is made with 100% Texas Iberico® pork from pigs pasture-raised on a ranch in the Texas Hill Country.

Texas Iberico® pigs live their days roaming the Trails End Ranch run by Ashly Martin, a third-generation rancher in Comfort, Texas. The beautiful countryside is studded with Texas live oak and mesquite trees and prickly pear cactus. The pigs spend their days together eating acorns, grasses, sweet mesquite beans and prickly pear fruit. This uniquely Texan diet adds complex flavor to the pork, especially good for creating delicious cured meats.

Guanciale is a classic Italian-style cured pork jowl with garlic and herbs. It has a similar flavor to pancetta, but less salty and fattier. It is traditionally served in spaghetti alla carbonara, but is equally delicious sautéed with vegetables, added to fava beans or cooked with fish. It can also be served thinly sliced on a piece of quality bread for a rich, flavorful treat.

Texas Iberico® pigs are truly pasture-raised 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.

A few years back, a herd of purebred Ibérico pigs arrived from Spain by air. A group of them now live 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.