In the last year, I’ve been introduced to hog jowl bacon, also called pork jowl. At first, they said it was a southern New Year’s tradition, but it’s in the store all year.
I can’t talk or dig up pictures because I’m about 18 hours into a 40 hour fast and it’s a weak time. I find the thing I crave the most during fasts is that bacon.
British Butchers traditionally made, and some still make, using poorer cuts, things like Faggots.
Ever heard of those? …in a totally food context?
Faggots are meatballs made from minced off-cuts and offal (especially pork, and traditionally pig’s heart, liver, and fatty belly meat or bacon) mixed with herbs and sometimes bread crumbs
raw version
And I don’t show my pork jowl because it’s in its package, covered with paprika so I would need to get it out and cut it… And while I am wonderful with thoughts, pictures and even cooking when fasting (cooking usually happens in the end ;)) , a freshly cut up pork jowl is not something I trust myself with.
But I may bring photos later. Or find an old one. I am lazy now.
It sounds good! Except the breadcrumbs. Potentially the herbs too, once I had some wonderful (well, it would have been, see later) home-raised pork sausage with an insane amount of rosemary… I barely tasted the meat underneath but it was good. The meat. The whole thing wasn’t.
I don’t need any herbs in my meatballs anyway but a little of the right kind, I can handle that.
But the (beautiful) pic you put here… Those meatballs are covered with a special part of the pig (forgot which), very hard to get without access to a home-raised, home-butchered pig (we have one county where it is available at butchers, I’ve read). This is a traditional dish, it (or something very similar) is in Hungary’s oldest cookbook according to a video I watched once. That probably contains lots of fat tissue, we tend to do that when we mix meaty things. Our sausages are fatty too. I considered it obvious but I learned that it’s not so everywhere.
@CFLBob Those must be a southern thing, because I can’t find them here.
Looks like it goes by another name too:
@Pjam Those are very interesting. What happens when you cook them? Does a lot of the fat render out?
They are baked and the juices are used in the gravy. The membrane is the stomach lining.
It’s kinda the English/Welsh version of Haggis
Interesting. I’ve been trying to think of something to do with stomach lining. I would make those, although I think I’d be the only one in the house who would eat them. 
(I’d have to find something to tell me how to make them, though.)
Oh they are really nice to make. I do them sometime, without membrane alas. No bread of course. They vary by region. Some more liver etc.
Really nice through. Loads of UK style gravy
Easy to make.
Danny Bhoy has a hilarious “Visitor’s Guide to Scotland”. The haggis description is at 3:00. Give it a watch!
Quoting Google search,
" What is real haggis made of?
Traditionally, haggis takes the chopped or minced ‘pluck’ of a sheep (heart, liver and lungs) and mixes it with coarse oatmeal, suet, spices (nutmeg, cinnamon and coriander are common), salt, pepper and stock ."
You gotta be ‘aff an yin’ even to ‘ken like that likesay.’
