Pork Cheek Recipe - Braised Pork Cheek and Peas | Hank Shaw (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between pork cheeks and jowls? ›

Jowl comes from the face of the pig and is sometimes referred to as “pork cheeks.” Some culinary professionals distinguish between the cheek and the jowl — asserting that the cheek proper lies higher up on the head near the eye socket and is more lean than the jowl, which hangs lower around the chin and jaw regions and ...

Pork cheeks are exactly what their name implies: the slip of meat in the hollow of the cheek, underneath the animal's eyes. (Guanciale, the famed Italian bacon, is made sometimes from the cheeks but also from the jowls of the pig.) What makes cheeks so good? Relatively lean, yet very moist meat.

As with all parts of the Iberico pig, the pork cheeks are a succulent delicacy that melts in your mouth and has a delicate nutty flavor due to the high amounts of soft fat. They do best with slow cooking, such as by being braised, or in a stew.

Guanciale (Italian: [ɡwanˈtʃaːle]) is an Italian salt-cured meat product prepared from pork jowl or cheeks. Its name is derived from guancia, 'cheek'.

The cut is known for its rich marbling and tender texture when cooked. Hogs don't use their jowl muscle much. Consequently, less stress is placed on this cut of meat, lending a silkier texture and sweeter flavor than traditional back bacon.

Pork Cheeks are more expensive per kilo than regular cuts. Pork Cheeks are a small piece of meat & therefore more expensive to produce than simple heavy Pork Cuts.

Spread a good layer of salt in a glass dish or on a metal tray. Put the pig's cheeks on it and cover with the rest of the salt. Put away somewhere cool for 7 days, tipping the dish/tray at a slight angle. After 7 days wash off the salt, and then leave the cheeks in a bowl of cold water over night.

Meat guide: Pork cheeks. Forgotten for a long time, the aromatic cheek meat of the pig is experiencing a culinary revival. When prepared correctly, it becomes a real treat for gourmets, more tender than fillets.

What is the most expensive cut of pork? It's usually the pork tenderloin (also called pork tender or fillet). A lot of the other loin cuts tend to err on the more expensive side since it has some high-quality meat to offer.

Guanciale has a particular affinity with fish, various legumes, and dark green vegetables. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned the importation of guanciale and other cured meats from Italy from the 1970s until 2013, concerned that they might carry swine vesicular disease.

What is the Chinese name for pork cheek? ›

If pork cheeks aren't available, pork shoulder (cut into 2-inch pieces) can be substituted.

From what I understand the difference between the two cuts are that the cheek comes from higher up on the head, near the eye socket. It's leaner than the jowl and good for braising. Jowl comes from the lower jaw/chin area (?), is fattier, and makes great bacon.

Pork jowl is a cut of pork from a pig's cheek. Different food traditions have used it as a fresh cut or as a cured pork product (with smoke and/or curing salt). As a cured and smoked meat in America it is called jowl bacon or, especially in the Southern United States, hog jowl, joe bacon or joe meat.

The jowls are the biggest cut of meat on the head. They are fatty and delicious and can be used to make an italian smoked meat called "guanciale" which is similar to bacon but fattier. The cheeks are a small cut located above the jowl that is generally put into trim to make ground/sausages. The jowl can also be ground.

Jowl bacon is the fattiest of the bacons and has a rich, almost smoky/sweet flavor different than traditional (from the pork belly). While they can be enjoyed cooked up as is like the other bacons, I personally love using jowl bacon as I would bacon ends, and cook with it.