Smoked Pork Jowl

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Ok, so not the prettiest thing you've ever seen, but might tasty none the less!

This smoked pigs cheek set me back the princely sum of £3.

3 hours of poaching in unsalted water later... and with the main skin (& hairy bits) removed... I now have a slab of incredibly tasty meat.  It has a very tender texture & can be eaten hot or cold.  It will keep for at least a few days in the fridge, and can be used instead of pancetta to flavour other dishes, or in small chunks with pasta etc.  It has a deep bacony flavour, with a pork belly texture.  It would be a shame to waste it.

Unsmoked, the Italians call this cut Guanciale (meaning 'cheek').  There's a curing recipe on this site, CLICK HERE.

Today I fried up a few slices in some olive oil with some left over cooked chard and a small sprinkling of cumin seeds.  Thankfully no one else was around, I could have got territorial.

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