Braised Pork Cheeks with Mashed Potatoes, Red Cabbage and Pear

Serving: 15

Pigs cheeks! They probably don’t sound appetizing but for me they are one amazing cut of pork I just love them.

Ingredients

6Ib                         Pigs cheeks

3oz                        All purpose flour, for dusting the pork

6                            Carrot, peeled and roughly chopped

6 stick                    Celery, peeled and roughly chopped

2 sprigs                  Thyme

3                            Onions

4 oz                       Tomato puree

4 cloves                 Garlic

5 cups                    Brown stock

2                            Red Cabbage

6                            Banana shallots

6oz                        Sultanas

2floz                       Red wine vinegar

4 oz                       Brown sugar

½ tsp                      Allspice

¼ tsp                      Ground ginger

4                            Pears

1 recipe                 Mashed potatoes

Vegetable oil for cooking

Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. The first task is to get the pig cheeks cooking, you might have to spend a little time trimming them, try and get the butcher to trim them for you.
2. Pre heat your oven to 260°F.
3. Pop a large frying onto the stove, add a little oil, roll your pigs cheeks in a little flour and pop into the hot pan.
4. Place the cheeks in one at a time until the bottom of the pan is covered, you might have to do this in a couple of batches. It is vital at this stage that you create a lot of color on the pork, this color with transfer itself into big flavor.
5. Once all the pork is browned do the same chopped onion, celery, onion, thyme and garlic.
6. Give it a good mix, once the vegetables have started to soften add the tomato puree and the brown stock bring to the boil, you might have to add a little water depending of the size of your pressure cooker.
7. Place the mix into a deep tray cover with foil and braise in the oven for about 2.5 hours or until the cheeks are tender.
8. Next place the shredded red cabbage, spices chopped shallots vinegar and sugar into a large pot. Slowly cook with the lid on until the cabbage is tender.
9. Next add the sultanas and the chopped pear and cook for another 10 minutes.
10. Once the pork is ready pass the cooking liquid into a pot and bring to the boil on the stove and reduce until you have a tasty sauce.
11. Once your sauce is ready pop the cheeks back in.
12. When the cheeks are hot serve with the mashed potato and the red cabbage.

Notes

This is a great recipe and if you can get pigs cheeks it is worth doing. It can be made in advance and frozen in Ziploc bags.

The flour can be replaced with Gluten free flour if needed.