adventures in food: fatback

So we recently returned from a trip to rural Virginia (visiting with relatives, working on the farm). At a country buffet dinner one night, I was surprised by something I couldn't quite recognize. Asking my mother-in-law, she said "It's fatback."

I had heard the term before, but wasn't very clear on what it was -- some sort of pork product. Picture bacon. Now take away the meat. And make it a foot long. That's right, fatback is a 12x2 curled up, crispy friend piece of fat. And it's good.

I'll try to get a picture next time.