Jowl at 80 degrees: Grilled jowl · 494

Often ungraded at retail — buy on firm white fat and a fresh, sweet smell, not a stamp. The cheek and throat, worked constantly by chewing, so lean muscle and fat end up laced through each other rather than stacked in layers. Cured it becomes guanciale, the fat that makes a carbonara; grilled fresh it is the cut Korean barbecue calls hangjeongsal, and a whole pig yields only a few hundred grams of it.

The fat here renders faster than you expect. Take it off while the centre still looks faintly moist and let carry-over finish the job. Colour, sinew, where the fat sits, and thickness are what you check before you pay. Ask for the thickness that matches “Grilled jowl.” Use 80 degrees and 80 when you cook. Salt after you know the job. Do not play with undercooked meat.

At the counter, read the use on Jowl before the photograph. 80 degrees is the internal heat, “Grilled jowl” is the dish, and 80 is the stage of the fire. Marbling alone does not split stew from grill. Look for a marbled cross-section rather than one solid fat seam — the laced pieces are the ones worth the price.