How have we the Hungarian Archduke Jozsef to thank for bringing our friends closer together? By way of Lenny Russo (a James Beard finalist in the Midwest), the Hungarian Archduke Jozsef (1776-1847) has reached past the grave and spread joy over the entire world thanks to a bit of clever animal husbandry coupled with some culinary wizardry. In 1833, the Archduke created the Mangalitsa hog breed [♪♫ Mahn-ga-LEET-sa] which yield what many contend to be the finest pork a gourmet could ever wish to savor; richly marbled and ever so much more fragrant and flavorsome than their cousins, Mangalitsa has taken hog breeding to a high art. What to do with such a gifted delicacy? Italy's culinary tradition just so happens to specialize in salume (aka charcuterie, or cured meats). One of the finest moments in a gourmand's life is that when they first set their lips to guanciale [♪♫ Gwahn-CHYAH-lay] A dream when made from traditional pork, guanciale is a matchless luxury when made from the inimitable Mangalitsa...
Breaking bread and drinking wine has long inspired culture and fellowship. Many times it is supposed that if all the countries’ leaders made an effort to sip and sup together, the world would be a better place. Drinking together might well have preserved civilization. The Greeks had their symposium and the Romans had their convivium. At these gatherings the stage was set to discuss the day, debate great ideas, revel in the pleasures of wine and food, and perhaps most importantly simply bask in the jolly company of their fellows. These gatherings took different forms over the years and though we no longer recline on sofas or water down our wine (what were they thinking?), this occasion has neither lost its crucial importance nor failed to evolve to a higher art.
Imagine my surprise when, having gathered my things at the end of day, I head toward the door to make my move and head home only to hear our chief Larry Colbeck suggest I stick around a while to chew the fat. Our colleagues are especially good at this thanks to Larry’s love of people, love of food, his ready corkscrew, and Artisan Vineyards’ temperature controlled warehouse bearing over 30,000 cases of wines from all over the world. Soon after working a full day, we’re laughing around a table sharing stories and pondering the world around us. Even so… this day was to be different. Chewing the fat was to be just that; Larry had secured guanciale at Lenny Russo’s Farm Direct Market beside Russo’s highly acclaimed Heartland restaurant.
Guanciale, from the Italian guancia or cheek, is the rare and wonderful delicacy of unsmoked bacon made from the jowl of the creature that is instead cured in salt and ground pepper according to tradition. With flavors stronger than pancetta and fat far more tender, guanciale may be the finest fat a gourmand could wish to eat. What’s more: this guanciale came from one of the world’s finest hog breeds: the Mangalitsa. Created in the early 19th century by Hungarian Archduke Jozsef, the 
Mangalitsa are less the sort of meat-type hogs so familiar in most butcher cases but rather the lard-type of hogs known for their flavorsome, well-marbled meat and celebrated for their lighter fat. Mangalitsa fat is far less saturated than conventional pig fat, much healthier, and because of its lower melting temperature, Mangalitsa is the most hedonistic cured meat to be had –sometimes even whipped into a cream to spread over breads or use in more ambitious culinary endeavors.
.JPG "Mangalitsa sliced thin and brought to temp")
As our symposiarch, Larry had more elemental pleasures in mind. Cut thin while cool, he shaved fine slices of the Mangalitsa Guanciale and spread them over a sheet of slate to come to temp for ten minutes. Even a single minute of resisting these heady pleasures tests one’s patience –ten was nearly impossible but there we were, busy pulling corks of wines handpicked for the task. What wines are best for Mangalitsa guanciale? What sorts of wines go with fat? What have the cut and punch to face such enthralling lipids and bring light to its rich depths? We had our hunches and thought to try a clutch of candidates to see for ourselves. Heidi Schrock’s Furmint, Baumard’s Clos du Papillon, Weininger’s Rosé de Pinot, Château de Rivière’s Chinon, Domaine Vacheron’s Sancerre Rouge, and Le Piane’s Boca were summoned to the table and with the guanciale now glistening like a freshly waxed floor, we began.
As fragrant on the palate as in the air all around the room, the Mangalitsa guanciale immediately eclipsed all fond fat memories ever pined for. Kobe, schmaltz, prosciutto, lardons, pork rinds, pied de cochon and even duck-fat-fried-potatoes all seemed dull against the lustrous lipids of Mangalitsa guanciale. With next to no meat to this guanciale, this was more like the finest Lardo di Colonnata or the Salo of the Ukraine but with a mercurial texture that begins snappy should you crunch down on it with your teeth but otherwise melts onto your tongue if cradled in the warmth of your mouth –not unlike the finest jamón ibérico de bellota. For the moment, a silent paradigm shift sent each of us to ponder our own thoughts and pleasures. Mangalitsa guanciale is bliss.
Wine was perhaps the only possible way to enhance our joy as well as snap us out of this hypnotic trance in which we found ourselves. And with that first sip we were back. “Try this…oh man!” “Never…never have I felt this way about… fat?!” “Look at it: it’s just beautiful!” “Oh! Now try this!” Mineral and minty Schrock’s Furmint was an invigorating mouthful of ripe acids, a waxy texture, and evergreen herbal top notes right at home with the balmy fats coating our lips. Steely Savennières –even nine years on, was just the counter weight to glistening textures with a tangy acidity, the aromas of lime blossoms and a talcy, waxy texture hinting at lanolin all at once stood up to the guanciale while rinsing through its rich texture. Weininger’s Rosé de Pinot, weighing in at a featherweight 11.5% and redolent of strawberries and lifted mint was just fine with the delicate nuances of the Mangalitsa uniting in a round and polished impression overall.
Venturing into reds we were impressed by the Chinon with its velvety texture, the ripe tangy raspberries and the bracing herby charms of Cabernet Franc that is always a sure bet with rich charcuterie or Italian salume in this case. Sancerre Rouge, with its layers of textures, flavors and ripe acids, brought a nervy tension to the table and a dynamic match to the rich flavors of the Mangalitsa guanciale. Unsure what how the tannic texture of Nebbiolo would behave with the pork fat, Le Piane’s Boca was ripe and quite smooth considering its natural structure. Bringing out the earthen elements of the guanciale, the Nebbiolo showed ample fruit along with pleasant aromas of forest floor but distinctive cherry pit tannins that though delicious in their own right were a completely different partner as compared to the lighter, brighter reds –more about strength against strength instead of nimble contrast.
Elated and also sated by locally grown Mangalitsa, artfully cured into guanciale, we were all left cheerful and our conversations had ventured to every corner of possibility. The entire round table had outgrown itself as more colleagues tried to pass by only to find themselves lured by Mangalitsa guanciale and after three hours passed in a blink we were marveling at chewing the fat over the finest fat on earth with wines true to the task.
Our advice others like us who savor fat as a food group (as more and more nutritionists purport is best!) and resent those who slander fats as someting to eschew -our advice is to chew the fat with friends on a regular basis and to try them with every sort of easy-drinking, lively red and a nice selection of crisp, refreshing whites. Then it becomes clear that few things in life are more important than sitting back and enjoying fine fat and wondrous wines in good company.
