Pork Cheeks

Ingredients

• 12 pork cheeks trimmed of all fat and sinew
• 1 glass of red wine
• 1 onion diced
• 1 small bunch of thyme
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 carrot diced
• 1 leek diced
• 1 stick of celery diced
• 1 litre chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 pepper corns
• 1 star anise
• 12 coriander seeds

Method

To make the pig’s cheeks: Heat a heavy bottomed sauce pan on the stove until smoking and brown the pig’s cheeks on all sides. Put to one side.

Fry the diced carrot, the celery, onion, leek, bay leaf, garlic in a large sauce pan until they start to colour. Pour in the wine and let it reduce by half then add the chicken stock, pork cheeks and the rest of the ingredients. Bring slowly to the boil and skim any scum that rises to the surface. Cook on a very gentle heat for about three hours until the meat is very tender. Pick out the now tender cheeks and reserve. Pass the chicken stock through a sieve into a clean sauce pan and discard the vegetables. Bring the juices to the boil and reduce by about 4/5ths until the sauce has thickened and become sticky. Add the reserved pig’s cheeks and keep warm.