Most People Skip This Pork Cut But It's Secretly Packing Major Flavor

Classic cuts of pork, like chops and tenderloin, undoubtedly have their place in your lineup of reliable dinner recipes. Yet, if you're looking for some novelty, there's one seriously underrated cut of pork that's worth your time: the snout. Yes, the nose of the pig. 

While you'll find it in some Southern and Cajun dishes (perhaps due to its popularity in Caribbean food, which influences Cajun cuisine), a good chunk of people would probably balk at the idea of eating it. Yet it's worth reconsidering, as it has a rich, meaty taste and can be cooked in a wide variety of ways. Unsurprisingly, it tastes like pork, but to get more specific, some have described it as being like a fatty piece of ham, or if cooked until crispy, it can be like pork rinds. Its relatively high level of skin and fat compared to other cuts of pork allows it to absorb seasonings pretty well, too.

As for how to cook it, methods with liquid stand out: slow cooking, stewing, smoking and braising are all recommended. This is likely due to the fact that the snout contains collagen, which needs moderate heat and extra time (think low and slow cooking) to break down, rewarding you with a rich, meaty final product after the collagen renders. Yet, it can also be fried; you might just want to choose the part that's further back (that is, away from the nostrils), as the front part has the skin and collagen which will be a bit tougher when fried.

You probably won't want to sub pork snout into the kind of recipe that calls for your classic pieces of pork, like chops or tenderloin, as the fat and collagen content alongside the skin make it relatively different. Instead, go for dishes like soups and stews where it'll have time to break down. You could work it into a classic pea and ham soup in place of some or all of the ham, where the fat will give a superb richness.

There is one regional American dish in which snout figures prominently: the pig snoot from around St. Louis. A little similar to chicharrónes, these are basically snouts which are smoked or slowly grilled until they're super crispy. You could add a barbecue spice rub if you want extra flavor, then the final product is dipped in barbecue sauce. You could also fry them, but you'd have to simmer the snouts for a while to soften them up first.

Snout also appears in traditional Filipino food, including in dishes like sisig, a favorite that also received a stamp of approval from Anthony Bourdain and Gordon Ramsay. This crispy pork dish features onion, garlic, chiles, and calamansi (a sour citrus fruit), although it typically appears alongside other cuts of pork (like pork belly) in the dish.