Fatback is the layer of fat along the back of a pig, used as a cut of meat. It is often used to make lard. Fatback is a traditional part of southern U.S. cuisine and soul food, where it is used for cracklings or cracklins, and to flavor stewed vegetables such as greens and black-eyed peas. Many people enjoy eating strips of heavily salted and fried fatback, often referred to as streaked meat or streak-o-lean. (Actually, "Streak-O-Lean" is a different cut of the back, it is cut further down and has more lean meat in the cut, hence the name) Fatback was extremely popular in the South during the Great Depression because it is an inexpensive piece of meat. This dish is also widely eaten in Ukraine, where it is called salo.
Salt pork and bacon are from the sides and belly of the hog. They possess importantly different qualities and are not interchangeable with fatback.
In French cooking, fatback, sliced very thin, is used to line the mold when making a terrine or pâté.
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