Originally Posted by Starwood Lurker
I don't know really. If it was good, old American bacon that is both salt-cured and smoked as opposed to pancetta, which is only salt-cured, I would think it would travel fine as long as it was properly refrigerated/frozen and packaged. But then, pancetta has less surface to rind area than regular bacon, so you may get along just fine, especially if you aren't going to make pancetta tartare.
Knowing that I always cook pork to the recommended temperature, especially in this case, and provided it doesn't have to last more than two weeks in the refrigerator once it gets home, I would probably give this a try if I was forced to make my porcine purchases that far from home. Would much prefer to buy locally; however, I also realize that it may be a pancetta-free zone in your neck of the woods.
Sincerely,
William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services
[email protected]
If I was going the other direction, I'm pretty sure a box of grits would hold up just fine. We're pretty much an everything-free zone.
I'm going to hope that freezing doesn't harm it, and it will be used this weekend. No pancetta tartare - I can't imagine it. I grew up hearing that I would contract trichinosis from raw pork, and true or not, I cook all pork, hamburger, chicken and spinach to recommended temperatures.