Pig Cheeks

[FasterFreddy]

I can find a lot of recipes for cooking the nugget of meat found in a pig's cheek, but am struggling to find many which use the whole cheek with fat and skin attached. I suspect the reason for this is that a lot of people won't go for such a fatty cut. There is plenty of fat there, but also quite a bit more meat and, of course, some potential crackling.

So, has anyone here cooked the whole cheek? I'm tempted to roll one and slow roast it for 4+ hours to see if I can render out some of the fat and crisp the skin up, but I have found a couple of recipes which require them to be soaked in brine for a couple of days first.

Anyone got any cheeky experiences they can share?

[Big Al.]

I tried one of the ways shown here

http://www.norecipes.com/2009/10/05/japanese-chash...

It was good but not as good as I expected, would I have them again yes but only by choice from a restaurant menu.

Happy eating.

[Pete Franklin]

I have prepared and cooked chaps (the whole cheek). I brined for 24 hrs then braised the cheeks in stock with veg for 6hrs at a low temp. I then removed the cheeks from broth and removed the skin and a small amount of the fat from the outside and then wrapped in clingfilm and allowed to cool. Then cut slices across the grainand fry off until lightly golden on both sides.

I served this as a stater with a jurucelem artichoke puree and bitter salad there was also a light sweet/sharp element as well but i cant remember what it was- possibly thin apple slice.

Its very fatty but totally giving like well cooked pork belly, but slightly richer/ more gelatinous. good for small portions. when cooked this way you can keep the wrapped cheek in the fridge for a week taking slices off as required.

you could probably omit the brining for this length of cooking without much detrement to the texture you would then need to season the slices before frying

[FasterFreddy]

Sounds similar to this:

http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2008/02/28/3...

Looks like I might try cooking one like this and one very slow roasted as a test before attempting to serve them to anyone. I can see they might not be everyone's idea of heaven on a plate...

[Pete Franklin]

Ah yes- Toby Gritten- brilliant chef. I used to love the albion when he worked there and the pump house is even better- always had brilliant meals there (except for once when chef was on holiday). Thats what I based my recipe on I think. One point - if you use star anise in the broth it can overpower the meat, very good with an onion puree though which has a vanilla like flavour.