"We are fortunate enough to have a fireplace, so I thought: Why not dry it the way they do in Italy?"

"I did, even if it drove the dogs mad, hanging temptingly just behind the screen in the unlit fireplace. Three weeks later I was rewarded with something I felt I didn’t do enough to deserve: It looked Old World on the outside, all tough and dry, the inside a strip of meat encased in almost buttery, flavorful fat."

From "Just Add Salt: How to Make Bacon and Pancetta at Home," by Ian Fisher in the NYT.