Cheek
Pork Jowl: Complete Guide to Pork Pork Jowl Cuts
The jowl is the cheek muscle of the pig, a small but intensely flavorful cut prized in Southern and Italian cooking. Cured and smoked, it becomes jowl bacon; cured with black pepper in the Italian style, it becomes guanciale, a cornerstone of Roman pasta dishes like carbonara and amatriciana.
Extremely fatty with a fine, tight grain and deep pork flavor concentrated by its constant use as a working facial muscle. Delivers a richer, more intense taste than belly bacon once cured. Sold fresh, smoked, or cured as guanciale.
What Cuts Come from the Pork Jowl?
The pork jowl is broken down into 3 retail cuts, each with distinct texture, fat content, and ideal cooking method.
Guanciale
premiumJowl cured with salt, pepper, and often juniper or herbs, then air-dried for weeks rather than smoked. A cornerstone of Roman pasta dishes for its rich, fatty punch.
Also known as: Italian Cured Jowl
Typical weight: 1-2 lbs
Jowl Bacon
midCured and smoked jowl, sliced like belly bacon but with a richer, more concentrated pork flavor and a slightly firmer chew.
Also known as: Southern Jowl Bacon
Typical weight: 1-2 lbs slab
Fresh Pork Jowl
budgetUncured jowl meat sold fresh, ideal for home curing projects or slow braising to render out its abundant fat while keeping the meat tender.
Also known as: Fresh Cheek Meat
Typical weight: 1-2 lbs
What Are the Best Pork Jowl Recipes?
These 5 recipes show the best ways to cook pork pork jowl, from weeknight fast to weekend-long projects.
Homemade Guanciale (Cured Pork Jowl)
Learn to cure your own guanciale from pork jowl with salt, pepper, and time. A rewarding project that pays off in every carbonara you make.
Crispy Pan-Seared Jowl Bacon
Thick-cut pork jowl bacon, slow-rendered in a skillet until deeply crisp on the outside and tender within. A rich breakfast upgrade.
Braised Pork Jowl Tacos with Salsa Verde
Slow-braised pork jowl shredded into tender, fatty taco filling and topped with bright salsa verde, onion, and cilantro.
Smoked Pork Jowl with Maple-Chili Glaze
Whole pork jowl smoked low and slow like a mini pork belly, finished with a sweet-spicy maple-chili glaze for a rich, smoky appetizer.
Classic Spaghetti alla Carbonara with Pork Jowl
Authentic Roman carbonara made with cured pork jowl, eggs, and Pecorino Romano for a silky, no-cream sauce that clings to every strand.
What Are the Best Ways to Cook Pork Jowl?
Pork Jowl responds best to these methods. Each one draws out a different quality of the cut.
Popular dishes made from Pork Jowl
- • Spaghetti alla Carbonara
- • Southern Fried Jowl Bacon
- • Bucatini all'Amatriciana
- • Braised Jowl
Pork Jowl Questions, Answered
What is pork jowl?
Pork jowl is the cheek muscle of the pig, a small, fatty, intensely flavorful cut. It's often cured into guanciale in Italian cooking or smoked into jowl bacon in Southern American cooking, prized for its rich flavor and fine, tight texture.
What is guanciale?
Guanciale is Italian cured pork jowl, seasoned with salt, pepper, and often herbs, then air-dried for several weeks rather than smoked. It's a key ingredient in traditional Roman dishes like carbonara and amatriciana, prized for its rich, rendered fat.
Can you substitute bacon for guanciale?
Pancetta or bacon can substitute for guanciale in a pinch, but the flavor will be milder and smokier rather than the deep, concentrated richness guanciale provides. For the most authentic carbonara or amatriciana, guanciale is the preferred choice.
How long does it take to cure guanciale?
Home-cured guanciale typically cures in a salt and spice mix in the refrigerator for about 1-2 weeks, then air-dries for an additional 3-4 weeks in a cool, humidity-controlled space until firm and aromatic.
Is pork jowl safe to eat if undercooked?
Fresh, uncured pork jowl should be cooked to the USDA's recommended 145°F internal temperature with a 3-minute rest, just like other whole-muscle pork cuts, while cured guanciale is safe as-is due to its salt curing and drying process.
Guides for Cooking Pork
Temperatures, buying, brining and butchery fundamentals that apply to this cut.
Pork Temperature Guide: Safe and Perfect Doneness
The correct internal temperatures for pork chops, roasts, ribs, and ground pork, plus resting times and how to use a thermometer.
How to Choose Pork Chops: A Buyer's Guide
Learn to pick the right pork chop cut, thickness, and marbling for your recipe, from bone-in rib chops to lean boneless loin chops.
Pork Ribs Guide: Baby Back vs. Spare Ribs and How to Cook Them
A complete guide to baby back, spare, and St. Louis-style pork ribs, including how to choose, trim, and cook them to fall-off-the-bone tenderness.
Brining and Curing Pork: Wet Brines, Dry Brines, and Cures Explained
Learn how wet brining, dry brining, and curing improve pork's moisture and flavor, with ratios, times, and safety tips for chops, roasts, and bacon.
Buying and Grading Pork: What Labels Actually Mean
Understand pork quality labels like heritage breed, organic, and enhanced, plus how to spot fresh pork and pick the right cut at the store.
Pork Cooking Methods Guide: Matching Technique to Cut
A guide to roasting, grilling, braising, pan-searing, and smoking pork, with the best cuts and temperatures for each method.
How Does Pork Jowl Compare to Other Pork Cuts?
Explore the rest of the pig to find the right cut for your next meal.
Pork Shoulder (Boston Butt)
Upper Front Shoulder, above the front leg
Picnic Shoulder
Lower Front Shoulder, above the foreleg
Pork Loin
Back, between the shoulder and the hip
Pork Belly
Underside of the pig, below the loin and ribs
Spare Ribs
Belly side of the rib cage, below the loin
Ham (Fresh Ham / Leg)
Hind Leg
Pork Hock (Ham Hock)
Ankle joint of the front or hind leg
