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Most hog jowl has been smoked, so I basically trim some of the rough edges, and score the fat. If you have fresh jowl, you can still hot smoke them but a brine will improve the flavor and texture. I have used a brine with 2 tablespoons of Cure #1 per gallon of water, and this takes 4 days. When using Pop's brine (1 tablespoon of Cure #1 per gallon of water), I go a week.