What Is Guanciale? And Why Is Everyone Talking About It? At Archers Butchers, we’re always keen to celebrate cuts that don’t just taste incredible but carry real heritage. One of those is guanciale. Guanciale is an Italian cured meat made from pork jowl – that’s the cheek of the pig. The name comes from the Italian word guancia, meaning cheek. Unlike pancetta or streaky bacon, guanciale is richer, silkier and more intensely flavoured thanks to the higher fat content in the jowl. Traditionally, t