Name: Confit Pig Jowl with Cauliflower and Bacon Pickle
Cook time: 4 h
Total time: 4 h
Yield: Serves 6–8
Ingredients: 1 star anise; 1 tsp fennel seeds; 2 cloves garlic, whole; 2 cups dill; 100 g bacon, cubed; 1 tsp mustard seeds; 1 sprig rosemary, destemmed; 2 Tblsp sugar; 2–3 whole peppercorns; 1 cinnamon stick; 1 tsp coriander seeds; a tub of lard or 1 litre olive oil; 100 g rock salt; 1 bay leaf; 185 ml cider vinegar; 2 red chillies, finely sliced (choose the heat to suit your taste); ½ Tblsp sea salt; 4 sprigs thyme, destemmed; 1 large 800 g–1 kg pork jowl, skin removed; ½ fennel bulb, finely sliced; ½ red onion, finely chopped; 185 ml water; 1 head cauliflower, trimmed, cut into thumb-sized florets; 1 tsp cumin seeds

Preparation info

Serves
6–8

Difficulty
Medium
Ready in
4 hr

Appears in

Meat Manifesto

By Andy Fenner

Published 2017

About

The jowl describes the entire section of meat on the side of a pig’s face alongside its nose. Inside this is a smaller muscle, a little nugget of meat – the cheek – that can be taken out and braised. SO when people refer to pig cheeks, most of the time they’re talking about the jowl. “Confit” sounds extravagant, but it’s simply cooking something slowly in its own fat. It’s also very easy to do. Once cooked, the meat is removed from its oil and placed in a dish with another weighted on top o