What are some side dishes for pork cheeks?

Ultra tender braised pork cheeks in wine sauce with shallots on a bed of mashed potatoes, a tasty tapa or main dish recipe coming straight from Spain. Braised pork cheeks in wine sauce is a delicate yet powerful dish. Although the meat is tender and melts on your tongue, the flavour is outstanding. I encountered this dish on a tapas night in San Sebastian, Spain. Lost in a dark corner of a little plaza, in a place called “La Cuchara de San Telmo,” a heavenly place! It’s their star dish; they no longer have to write it down on the menu board since it’s so popular. It is served as tapas, which means a small portion. This recipe is my take on this famous dish called Carrilleras de cerdo al vino tapa! The trick here is to cook slow and long pork cheeks! They are so underrated; they should be the most expensive and exquisite piece of pork, but lucky for our wallets, it’s not… Cheeks got all the flavour, and it’s a relatively lean part. Its secret? The collagen! Which is a flavour bomb and, if cooked properly, gets so tender. For example, meat with lots of collagen, like ribs, needs a long and slow cooking process for the collagen to turn into this tender gelatine (jelly). Once that process is done, your meat will melt like butter on your tongue. A true pleasure! Your butcher can leave the bone on; it will come off easily at the end of cooking. This cut is relatively small, so one isn’t enough for a main dish; I would always make two cheeks per person. Tips for a perfect, deep brown sauce (a.k.a. gravy) made from scratch: Chocolate! Yeah! You’ve heard me: CHOCOLATE! It’s a hidden secret of Grands Chefs... You need a tiny bit at the end of cooking your sauce with a touch of butter to give extra shine and texture, and voila! You get an unctuous, deep brown sauce for your pork cheeks! The pork cheeks4 pork cheeks (with bone if possible)400 ml chicken broth375 ml red wine150 g shallots (peeled but whole)3 tbsp olive oil1 garlic clove1 tbsp dark chocolate (or cornstarch)1 tbsp butter1 bouquet garni (or 1 tbsp of thyme)The mashed potatoes3 potatoes500 ml warm milk5 tbsp olive oil1/3 tsp nutmeg (*optional)salt and pepper Cut off the white membrane on top of the pork cheeks… if any, and add salt and pepper to the cheeks (keep the bone if possible). In a pan or casserole, sear the pieces in olive oil until brown on each side (deglazed with the wine, then add to the oven pot to take all the flavours from the pan). Transfer the cheeks into an oven-proof container or casserole and add the bouquet garni, shallots, garlic, wine and broth. Cook in the oven at 180°C (350F°) for 2-2 1/2 hours, turning halfway through, occasionally checking on it and pouring some juice on the meat to keep it moist. Cook the potatoes in boiling water for 25 minutes or until tender. When the cheeks are done, reserve them and the whole shallots. Pass the leftover liquid through a fine-meshed sieve, put it into a pan, and reduce the sauce on high heat until it has evaporated by half. Mash the peeled potatoes with the milk, olive oil, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Add the dark chocolate or thickener (previously mixed with 3 tbsp of cold water) into the sauce and whisk until it thickens. Stop the fire and add the butter to the sauce to give it shiny finish. Take the bone off the pieces of meat (it should come right off). Serve the meat on the mashed potatoes, add a few shallots and cover with extra sauce. These cheeks are not so big, so don’t expect a steak; if you are a big eater, calculate two cheeks per person. If you have extra sauce, freeze it in an ice cube tray, which can be kept in the freezer for five months. It’s a great touch to enhance any dish. (pasta, rice, soups, etc.) Calories: 626kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 23g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 463mg | Potassium: 1218mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 590IU | Vitamin C: 37mg | Calcium: 279mg | Iron: 6mg Tender Braised Pork Cheek in Red Wine SauceAmount per ServingCalories% Daily Value*Fat38g58%Saturated Fat9g56%Trans Fat0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat4gMonounsaturated Fat23gCholesterol26mg9%Sodium463mg20%Potassium1218mg35%Carbohydrates47g16%Fiber7g29%Sugar13g14%Protein10g20%Vitamin A590IU12%Vitamin C37mg45%Calcium279mg28%Iron6mg33%* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Pin it! Author Marie Breton Hi, I’m Marie, the foodie behind The FoodOlic! With a passion for creative, healthy, and globally inspired recipes, I bring a world of flavours to your kitchen. After attending a professional cooking course and traveling far and wide, I love blending international tastes into wholesome, delicious meals—come join the journey! Prev Post Next Post

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