Smoked Pork Jowl
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.