CarneAtlas

Pork cheek

Pork · Jowl
BraiseCure
Also called
🇺🇸Pork jowl🇲🇽Cachete de cerdo🇦🇷🇪🇸Carrillada de cerdo🇫🇷Joue de porc🇵🇹Bochecha de porco🇧🇷Bochecha suína🇮🇹Guancia di maiale🇩🇪Schweinebäckchen🇮🇹Guanciale
Raw Pork cheek — Pork Jowl cut

Juan Emilio Prades Bel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons — Carrillada_de_cerdo_al_horno.jpg

Pork jowl is the cheek of the pig, a fatty, well-marbled cut with a silky texture when cured or braised. When cured it becomes guanciale, the Italian cured meat essential to authentic carbonara and amatriciana. In the American South it is simmered with beans and greens. Braised fresh, it becomes extraordinarily tender with a rich, porky flavor.

Names by country

CountryNameNotes
🇺🇸United StatesPork jowlIn the US South often sold smoked as 'hog jowl' and cooked with black-eyed peas
🇬🇧United KingdomPork cheekprimary
🇲🇽MexicoCachete de cerdo
🇦🇷ArgentinaCarrillada de cerdo
🇫🇷FranceJoue de porcA prized bistro cut in France, typically braised in wine
🇪🇸SpainCarrillada de cerdoCarrilladas de cerdo ibérico is a celebrated Spanish dish
🇵🇹PortugalBochecha de porco
🇧🇷BrazilBochecha suína
🇮🇹ItalyGuancia di maialeCured into 'guanciale' for carbonara and amatriciana.
🇩🇪GermanySchweinebäckchen
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Classic recipe

Braised Pork Cheeks with Cider and Sage3 hr

Pork cheeks are among the most gelatinous and flavourful muscles on the pig — often overlooked but adored by chefs. A lo…

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Beef braise in an unbranded Dutch oven

$$ · braised beef, lamb neck, pot roasts, and stews

Turn a tough cut tender in one pot

Browning meat on the stovetop, then braising it slowly in the oven.

Lodge 6-Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven

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