Braised pig cheeks
Discussion
Yes John.
Get your cheeks (Morrison's larger stores often have them for a very good price) and look for the membrane on one side. You must remove this before braising as otherwise it will tighten and they won't be as good.
Treat it as you would a fish when removing its skin and slide the knife underneath, getting as close to the membrane without wasting meat.
Prepare a stick of celery by roughly chopping it. The same with a carrot and half an onion.
Season your cheeks and brown them for a few minutes in a sauté pan, then add your veg and cook for a minute or two, then deglaze the pan with some vermouth (quarter glass) or white wine (half a glass)
Make up a tasty chicken stock from good cubes (assuming you haven't a home made, triple-passed savoury beauty in your freezer) and add to the pan. You'll want a pint or so.
Make sure this covers the cheeks entirely. If it doesn't and it's too shallow, transfer to a saucepan. Add half a bay, some thyme and garlic and simmer slowly on the stove top or in a low oven (120c) for about 60 minutes. Look after them by checking every ten.
Remove cheeks when tender, keep warm. Decide if you want to eat the veg. The carrots definitely, but celery and onion may have leached their flavour in to the stock and be a little unpleasant. Your call.
If so, remove the veg too and then taste, reduce, taste, reduce until you are happy with consistency versus salt. Ideally it'll be a little sticky by the time you're happy.
Serve with mustard mash and greens with the reduction poured on top.
They're great things but I find quite rich hence my four having been in the freezer for months.
I might just get them out.
Get your cheeks (Morrison's larger stores often have them for a very good price) and look for the membrane on one side. You must remove this before braising as otherwise it will tighten and they won't be as good.
Treat it as you would a fish when removing its skin and slide the knife underneath, getting as close to the membrane without wasting meat.
Prepare a stick of celery by roughly chopping it. The same with a carrot and half an onion.
Season your cheeks and brown them for a few minutes in a sauté pan, then add your veg and cook for a minute or two, then deglaze the pan with some vermouth (quarter glass) or white wine (half a glass)
Make up a tasty chicken stock from good cubes (assuming you haven't a home made, triple-passed savoury beauty in your freezer) and add to the pan. You'll want a pint or so.
Make sure this covers the cheeks entirely. If it doesn't and it's too shallow, transfer to a saucepan. Add half a bay, some thyme and garlic and simmer slowly on the stove top or in a low oven (120c) for about 60 minutes. Look after them by checking every ten.
Remove cheeks when tender, keep warm. Decide if you want to eat the veg. The carrots definitely, but celery and onion may have leached their flavour in to the stock and be a little unpleasant. Your call.
If so, remove the veg too and then taste, reduce, taste, reduce until you are happy with consistency versus salt. Ideally it'll be a little sticky by the time you're happy.
Serve with mustard mash and greens with the reduction poured on top.
They're great things but I find quite rich hence my four having been in the freezer for months.
I might just get them out.
Similar to above but I use a bottle of red wine (reduced by half) and add bay, black peppercorns, juniper berries, sage and rosemary stalks to the braising stock.
When they are cooked you can either serve them straight away of leave them to cool a bit and then shred them. Add salt pepper and an egg yolk. Form into coquettes, dip in flour, egg and then roll in bread crumbs. Put them into the fridge for 30 minutes and then deep fry.
When they are cooked you can either serve them straight away of leave them to cool a bit and then shred them. Add salt pepper and an egg yolk. Form into coquettes, dip in flour, egg and then roll in bread crumbs. Put them into the fridge for 30 minutes and then deep fry.
One of these days I'm going to try Toby Gritten's Bath Chaps, as featured on Jamie Oliver's Great Britain.
However I'll be buying the cheeks ready-butchered rather than have to deal with the whole head.
However I'll be buying the cheeks ready-butchered rather than have to deal with the whole head.
krallicious said:
Similar to above but I use a bottle of red wine (reduced by half) and add bay, black peppercorns, juniper berries, sage and rosemary stalks to the braising stock.
When they are cooked you can either serve them straight away of leave them to cool a bit and then shred them. Add salt pepper and an egg yolk. Form into coquettes, dip in flour, egg and then roll in bread crumbs. Put them into the fridge for 30 minutes and then deep fry.
They croquettes sound great, I think i'll give them a bash the next time I get a chance. Does that stock need much work afterwards for a sauce?When they are cooked you can either serve them straight away of leave them to cool a bit and then shred them. Add salt pepper and an egg yolk. Form into coquettes, dip in flour, egg and then roll in bread crumbs. Put them into the fridge for 30 minutes and then deep fry.
Mobile Chicane said:
However I'll be buying the cheeks ready-butchered rather than have to deal with the whole head.
I'd have thought that would be a piece of cake for you now that you are the female version of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.I'm awaiting the post from you that you've 'accidentally' run over a pig in the Elise
Laplace said:
They croquettes sound great, I think i'll give them a bash the next time I get a chance. Does that stock need much work afterwards for a sauce?
Not really. You just have to pass it through a seive and then reduce until you have a good flavoured sauce. If it needs thickening then use some tapioca flour. Add some of the sauce to a teaspoon of the flour, mix and then return to the sauce and boil. To finish the sauce, remove from the heat and whisk in some cold butter.apologies for not posting pics earlier but its been a tad hectic.
Kind of went for a an amalgamation of all the recipies:
Fried onions with fresh thyme then set aside
Floured the pig cheeks then friend in olive oil and butter
deglazed with red wine
added bay leaves and a half n half chicken and beef stock.
put in oven at about 140/150 for 4 hrs while went to the pub
came back and they were awesome! Thanks for pointing me in the right direction guys
Kind of went for a an amalgamation of all the recipies:
Fried onions with fresh thyme then set aside
Floured the pig cheeks then friend in olive oil and butter
deglazed with red wine
added bay leaves and a half n half chicken and beef stock.
put in oven at about 140/150 for 4 hrs while went to the pub
came back and they were awesome! Thanks for pointing me in the right direction guys
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