We've Got You Covered On The Best Way To Cook A Hog Jowl

When New Year's Day rolls around, people find fun, productive, and meaningful ways to bring themselves good fortune once the calendar flips. Some of these New Year's good luck traditions include eating foods that are believed to bring prosperity, such as cabbage in sauerkraut to lengthen how long you'll live and to make more money. A popular tradition in the American South is eating hog jowl as a symbol of letting the past go and moving forward. Hog jowl is the cheek of a pig. Since these animals cannot turn their heads to look behind them without turning all the way around, they always move forward. This is why you should consider eating hog jowl if you're eager for a fresh start in your life like many people do when a new year arrives. You can braise, fry, grill, or slow-cook it. But the best way is to fry it.

Hog jowl is comparable to bacon because both come from a hog (bacon comes from the belly of the pig), and they contain portions of meat and fat. Hog jowl also tastes like a smoother version of bacon. The biggest difference between them is that hog jowl has skin and bacon doesn't. Considering that hog jowl is similar to bacon, use the cooking method to prepare hog jowl that maximizes the taste and texture of bacon – frying! Just fry it properly to get the best-tasting meat that may help you reset your life in the new year.

Use a pan or a cast iron skillet for frying slices of hog jowl. Warm the pan first before you begin frying your meat. After you cut slices of your jowl, lay a few in your pan and set your cooking temperature to medium or medium-low. You should only cook the pieces of meat for a few minutes on each side, turning them every so often as they reach the degree that you want them cooked.

Season the slices of jowl with sea salt as they cook in the pan. If you prefer not to season the meat slices while they pan-fry, then just sprinkle the slices with sea salt as soon as you take them out of the skillet. Hog jowl will actually continue to cook a bit once it's off the stovetop, so consider this factor when determining just how long you want your meat to pan-fry. If you don't want to fry your hog jowl in a pan or cast-iron skillet, no worries. You can also fry up some hog jowl in an air fryer.

Using an air-fryer to cook up hog jowl is simple and easy. Slice the meat into smaller pieces so they will fit comfortably in the air fryer. Season the jowl strips with your spices of choice. Black pepper, cayenne pepper, and brown sugar are great options to add sweet and spicy flavor to your fried jowl. Put the meat in your air-fryer basket or tray, and air-fry it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

You should note that the difference between getting tender jowl and crispy jowl from the air-fryer is a matter of seconds – 60 seconds to be exact. If you want a softer texture to your meat, air-fry it for eight minutes. If you prefer a crunchier bite, then air-fry your meat for nine minutes. Considering the sizes of the hog jowl slices, you'll likely have to make multiple batches in the air-fryer before you are done cooking since they won't all fit in a single batch. Once your meat is done, take some delicious bites of fried hog jowl to become rejuvenated by the symbolic tradition of eating pork on New Year's.