What jowl meat means
Jowl meat comes from the lower cheek and jaw area of an animal, most often a pig, though beef jowl is also used. Pork jowl has a high proportion of fat, layered with streaks of meat, so it looks and behaves rather like belly or bacon, but with a richer, sweeter flavour and a softer texture. It is a traditional cut in many cuisines that value using the whole animal.
Its most famous use is in Italy, where it is cured with salt, pepper and spices to make guanciale, the cured meat used in classic Roman pasta dishes such as carbonara, amatriciana and gricia. In the southern US, smoked hog jowl is cooked with black-eyed peas and greens, and in Thai cooking, grilled pork jowl is served with a sharp dipping sauce. Fresh jowl can be roasted, braised slowly until tender, or sliced and fried until crisp, and diced jowl can be rendered for fat and flavour at the start of soups, stews and bean dishes.
Because it contains a lot of connective tissue and fat, it rewards long, gentle cooking or curing rather than fast cooking. Jowl should not be confused with pig cheeks, the small, lean facial muscles. You will see jowl meat in Italian, Southern American and Asian recipes.