Fatback is primarily used to add moisture and flavor to a dish and can be cooked whole, though it's often slipped into pâtés, meatloaf, and hamburgers in sliced or ground form.

Fatback is, essentially, pure fat taken right from the pig and sold as-is. Salt pork, on the other hand, is fat that's been heavily salt cured and sometimes has a bit of meat streaked in.

She uses fatback in her collard greens, primarily, and whenever she makes pinto beans and doesn’t have a ham hock. “Sometimes it’s nice to grill or fry it first, but usually you can just ...

Team Fat Buddies competed in the 2011 Hogs for the Cause barbecue competition. From left, Christian Golemi, Billy Gunther, Rusty Swansen.