Dewlap?

Lovely Dining Companion and I were at Spiaggia Monday evening for our anniversary and I decided to splurge with the chef's tasting. I'll save the details for another post, but one item has me curious.

Dewlap. Now I know what dewlap is. And the entire menu description relating to that item was "crisp dewlap." The dewlap in question came in the form of a rectangular slab about two inches long by one inch wide (maybe a quarter-inch thick). It was indeed crispy, appearing to have been fried.

My question is simply this: what creature is it likely to have begun life as a portion of? (As I recall, the item it accompanied was seafood--lobster, perhaps--and thus could not be found there.)

It was good. A touch...fatty, perhaps. Rather mild flavor, unsauced and undressed (although a nice tie would have been in order).

Any takers?

Interesting.

Wikipedia helps us out in this sense:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dewlap

...but it leaves a question open regarding the exact animal in question.

EDIT: I'm going to safely assume Spiaggia was not serving "Elderly Person" dewlap.

Best,
Michael

My guess would be pork. The dewlap is awfully close to the jowls, after all, so maybe they cure their own guanciale and use this as a leftover.

Edit:

This article over at the UK Independent finds candied pork dewlap on the menu at a high-end restaurant in Spain:

Try the 10-course Gastronomic Menu including mushroom sauté with candied pork dewlap and squid with artichokes, red wine, rocket and parmesan. Sadly the contentious Madrid-Barcelona dish, consisting of lamb tripe and salt cod innards, has been taken off the menu.

Dewlap is wattle?!

I've got a call into Spiaggia -- they're going to call me back and I will post when I get the lowdown.

Hammond

I'll bet that it was pork dewlap.

[I saw it on the menu, too, but did not ask for clarification.]

Pork dewlap is often cured.

E.M.

I've got a call into Spiaggia -- they're going to call me back and I will post when I get the lowdown.

Only a very wise person would call the restaurant. (Actually, if I were a very wise person, I would simply have asked at the time. But that's another story....)

Gypsy Boy wrote:

I've got a call into Spiaggia -- they're going to call me back and I will post when I get the lowdown.

Only a very wise person would call the restaurant. (Actually, if I were a very wise person, I would simply have asked at the time. But that's another story....)

Based on your description and ErikM's research, it probably is pig wattle. The nice young woman who answered at Spiaggia was somewhat befuddled by my query, and it might be interesting to see what she comes back with...

Hammond

David Hammond wrote:Based on your description and ErikM's research, it probably is pig wattle. The nice young woman who answered at Spiaggia was somewhat befuddled by my query, and it might be interesting to see what she comes back with...

If it is indeed pork you should then call Peoria Packing and see what fancy name they have for it.


E.M.

The nice lady from Spiaggia called me back with the inside report from an unnamed sous chef: "Dewlap is pounded pork shank."

Sounds better than pounded pig wattle, I guess.

Hammond

I was going to venture maw - beef maw. I think that's from the cheek area* (I like the LSC prep). I know cheek isn't dewlap, but heck of a lot closer than shank!

*though I see that hog maw is pork stomach

I find myself distressed and dismayed. Here I thought I was eating dewlap. Un-provenanced dewlap, but dewlap nonetheless. And now, courtesy of Mr. Hammond's indefatigable assistance in the pursuit of truth, justice, and pig anatomy, I find that I was eating (horrors!) pounded pig shank. Someone needs to inform the good chef Mantuano and/or his minions that shank ain't dewlap. Not even close.

This is unacceptable

Gypsy Boy wrote:I find myself distressed and dismayed. Here I thought I was eating dewlap. Un-provenanced dewlap, but dewlap nonetheless. And now, courtesy of Mr. Hammond's indefatigable assistance in the pursuit of truth, justice, and pig anatomy, I find that I was eating (horrors!) pounded pig shank. Someone needs to inform the good chef Mantuano and/or his minions that shank ain't dewlap. Not even close.

This is unacceptable

Before you sink completely in the doldrums of dinner-related despair, consider that it may be possible that 1) the nice lady I spoke to was told something like "cheek" and heard "shank," 2) was being bullshat by the souschef who really didn't know himself, or 3) made the whole thing up.

Hammond

Or the sous chef doesn't want to freak people out by saying "oh, that's pig double chin."

FWIW, I decided to pursue this. I sent an e-mail to the Levy Organization's "Ask-a-Chef" contact. There is no e-mail contact for individual restaurants or even for individual chefs, sadly. But I was pretty specific in my question and I am optimistic that this will have to be passed along to someone at Spiaggia for a complete answer. I'll share my "findings."

Hyperdictionary says its ox related

Definition: \Dew"lap`\, n. [Dew + lap to lick.]
1. The pendulous skin under the neck of an ox, which laps or
licks the dew in grazing.