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Pork Cheeks and polenta

Ummm...delicious pork cheeks....mmmm sacrilicious!

I love pork…and so it is with great delight that I write about pork cheeks and the superb dinner I prepared last night. It was pork at a new level, with bigger flavor, a delectable mouth feel, so so tender, so rich…it was unbelievable. I’ve never prepared pork cheeks (aka hog jowls) before but you can bet they have a place on our menu from now on.

This all started with my day-dreams of eating pork cheek. These porcine flights of fancy have been taunting me for weeks and though I had no recipe, and knew nothing more than chef’s cook them for family meal, I knew I had to eat pork cheek. Then I saw Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, you know, the one where he went to Namibia and ate some wild boar pork cheek and made a face like I’ve never, ever, seen him make. The man has chowed down on all of the most, shall we say, “intimate” pieces of offal known to humankind, and never has he flinched like that.

This vision of a gagging Bourdain did little to put me off my quest. Oh no, it only intensified it. So when I found out that Tony and Sue Renger of Willow Creek Farm were adding the holy grail to their product list… well, you can imagine my glee…okay, maybe you can’t, but remember I easily tilt towards obsessive.

So off we went to the Dane County Winter Farmers’ Market . Here’s a picture of Tony and Sue (my heroes) and some exquisite grow-your-own lettuce from Indian Trails Greenhouse.

Dane County Farmers' Market

At home we eagerly unwrapped the cheeks. Although we purchased both cured and fresh cheeks, I planned on serving 2 fresh cheeks for Sunday dinner. I have to say that I had a somewhat bizarre and naive notion of what pork cheek would look like. Think Paul Galdone’s Three Little Pigs and those rosy red cheeks. I was expecting a cut of meat shaped like a circle and about the size of my palm. Reality brought me a oddly shaped polygon of what appeared to be mostly pig fat. This too did not deter me.

I knew they had to be cooked low and slow so I opted for a classic braise. Because of its richness I chose to serve the cheek with a simple, rustic polenta. Here’s the recipes:

Vanessa’s braised pork cheeks

2 pork cheeks, boneless
2 small yellow onions, chopped in chunks
5 cloves of garlic, each halved with germ removed
3 Roma tomatoes, chunked
Salt / pepper
Penzeys Bavarian Seasoning
1 cup (approximate) of red wine
Chicken stock

Sear pork cheeks in a dutch oven over high heat until golden. Add the the other ingredients, bring to a boil, cover, remove from burner and put the pot in a oven preheated to 325. Bake for 3 hours. This will be 3 hours of aromatic happiness in your house.

When they’re done, transfer the cheeks to the preheated skillet, turn off the heat, and cover (this will keep them warm while you make the sauce). Transfer the pan juices and solids to a sieve suspended over a saucepan. Press all the juices out of the solids. Deglaze the dutch oven with water. Skim the fat off the pan juices, add the deglazing liquid and allow this to reduce over medium-high heat until you have the consistency and amount you want. Taste and season accordingly.

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Rustic Polenta

2 – 3 cups water, brought to a boil
1 cup stone ground cornmeal
Salt and pepper
1 cup 1/2 & 1/2

Bring the water to boil in a pot or kettle. Put the 1/2 & 1/2 in a heavy pot on medium heat. Stir in the cornmeal as you add it in a thin stream. Add the hot water slowly and reserve about 1 cup or so and only use it if the consistency of the polenta is too thick. However, don’t make that judgment until you have cooked it on medium for at least 15 minutes, briskly stirring it as often as possible. You should be preparing the cheek sauce at the same time so expect to be busy…don’t worry, it’ll be fine. I usually cook my polenta anywhere between 20 – 30 minutes. I judge when it is done by its taste. It should no longer taste like cornmeal but it should transcend into a flavor like a mellow, light, corn memory. Almost like the aftertaste of corn in August after a huge gluttonous corn feast.

Preheat your serving bowls in the oven. Tackle separating the pork cheek meat from the fat. Don’t hurry, take your time gently teasing the tasty meat from fat. Spoon the sauce into the warm serving bowl, add the pork and the polenta and you’re set.

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We found that 2 cheeks were ample for 2 adults and one adventurous teen. The meat is rich beyond rich and although GH wanted more I could easily see how more could be too much of a good thing.

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Chow!

January 29, 2007 | Filed Under beef, fish, poultry, pork, ethical eating, food, pork jowl, rice and other grains | 16 Comments