Pork jowls (the fatty cheeks of a hog) are one of the perks of farming. They can be difficult to find, particularly because there are only two to a pig. However, we try to make use of every part of the pig that we can, so it’s been fun to experiment with different cooking techniques. Jowls can be cured and used like bacon, cured into guanciale, made into stew, used for flavoring in beans, or braised like in this recipe.
I was very happy to find an asian-inspired jowl recipe that is quite simple ingredient-wise. I don’t have a huge selection of Thai cooking ingredients in the kitchen already, but this recipe is delicious with a few substitutions as well.
- Jowls (1 lbs)
- 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 1/4 cup rice wine
- 1 T palm sugar or honey
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 2 birds eye chilis or 2 t cayenne red pepper flakes
Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
Trim jowls – they can be a little less well-trimmed than some cuts, so make sure there are no hairs or skin still attatched.
Put into a pot or braising pan and half cover with water, add rest of ingredients.
Bring to a simmer.
Cover braising pan, and transfer to oven for 2 hours.
Remove jowls from the cooking juices and, after cooling slightly, break or cut into pieces.
Skim excess fat off of the remaining juices, and reduce until thick and syrupy.
Pour the resulting sauce over the jowls, and serve with rice.