[Sca-cooks] I mentioned an Italian cured hog jowl...

[Phlip]

Ene bichizh ogsen baina shuu...

> ...it is called guanciale, and is highly flavored and, because of its
> gelatin content, remains moist and tender through virtually any
> cooking process.
>
> Over time, pancetta (cured belly, like American streaky bacon) has
> become a common substitute, and for that, prosciutto or bacon are
> often substituted (especially in the US, with some of the interesting
> import laws we've had).
>
> Adamantius

Hog jowls are quite commonly eaten here in the US, too, Adamantius. Po'
folks have long known about "jowl bacon" which tends to be cheaper than the
usual American style bacon. You need to remove the skin, because thats
generally harder than most people want to deal with, then you slice up the
rest of the jowl and use it just like bacon. Hog jowls will often come
either smoked, like hams or bacon, or processed like the unsmoked bacon.

I'm hoping the Yuppie "gourmets" don't discover it like they've discovered
ham hocks and chicken wings- it really is a nice cut of meat, and the fact
that it's cheaper than regular bacon hurts my feelings not a bit ;-)

Saint Phlip,
CoDoLDS

"When in doubt, heat it up and hit it with a hammer."
 Blacksmith's credo.

 If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is probably not a
cat.

Never a horse that cain't be rode,
And never a rider who cain't be throwed....