Braised Pork Cheeks With Gnocchi Recipes

CIDER-BRAISED PORK CHEEKS

Steps:

• Season both sides of pork cheeks with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with flour and press it into the meat to coat thoroughly.
• Heat clarified butter in a pan over medium-high heat. Sear meat on both sides until richly browned, adjusting heat lower if necessary. When cheeks are browned, reduce heat to medium. Transfer cheeks to a plate to rest.
• Remove all but 2 tablespoons fat from the skillet. Add onions, carrots, and celery to skillet. Cook and stir until softened and sweet, seasoning with a pinch of salt. Add vinegar and stir to deglaze the pan. Pour in the cider and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer. Add sage and rosemary. Reduce heat to low and transfer cheeks back to pan. Cover. Cook until fork tender but not falling apart, 2 to 3 hours depending on the size of the pork cheeks. Transfer to a plate.
• Bring liquid to a boil over high heat, skimming off fat as it rises to the surface. Reduce volume of liquid by about 60 to 70%. Sauce will start to thicken up. Taste for salt and season as needed. Transfer cheeks back to liquid. Continue to cook over medium-low heat until cheeks are heated through and tender and sauce is thick enough to coat cheeks.

MILK BRAISED PORK SHOULDER WITH SEMOLINA GNOCCHI

Steps:

• Place pork in large bowl. Mix 1 tablespoon coarse salt and cinnamon in small bowl. Sprinkle salt mixture over pork, tossing to coat evenly. Cover and chill overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook 2 minutes, whisking often (do not allow roux to brown). Remove from heat; cover and let stand until ready to use.
• Using on/off turns, blend onion, carrot, and celery in processor until finely chopped. Cook pancetta in large ovenproof pot over medium-high heat until beginning to brown and fat is rendered, about 6 minutes. Add vegetables to pot and sauté until beginning to brown, about 6 minutes. Add pork and sauté until brown, about 7 minutes. Add wine and bring to boil, stirring up browned bits. Add milk and bring to simmer. Add tomato puree, then whisk in roux. Simmer 5 minutes, whisking occasionally.
• Cover pot. Place in oven and braise pork until very tender, about 2 hours. Uncover; let pork cool briefly. Chill pork, uncovered, until cold, then cover and chill overnight.
• Rewarm pork over low heat, stirring often. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Place 1 gnocchi square in center of each plate. Top with pork and sauce.
• An Italian bacon cured in salt; available in the refrigerated deli case of many supermarkets and at Italian markets.

BRAISED PIGS' CHEEKS WITH GARLIC-CUMIN POTATOES

Steps:

• For the pigs' cheeks, preheat the oven to 150C/130C Fan/Gas 2.
• Heat the oil in an ovenproof casserole over a medium heat. Add the pigs' cheeks and fry for 1-2 minutes on all sides, or until browned all over. Remove from the casserole and set aside.
• Add the onion, carrots and garlic to the casserole and fry for 4-5 minutes, or until light golden-brown.
• Add the cumin, smoked paprika and raisins, stir well and continue to cook for a further 1-2 minutes.
• Pour in the sherry and bring to the boil, scraping up any burned bits from the bottom of the pan using a wooden spoon. Continue to boil until the volume of sherry has reduced by two-thirds.
• Return the pigs' cheeks to the casserole, the pour over the stock and return the mixture to the boil. Transfer the casserole to the oven and cook for 2-2½ hours, or until the pigs' cheeks are tender and the cooking liquid has reduced and thickened to a sauce.
• Meanwhile, for the garlic-cumin potatoes, boil the potato cubes in a pan of salted water for 8-10 minutes, or until tender. Drain well, mash using a potato ricer or masher, then set aside to cool.
• Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and cumin and fry until the garlic is pale golden-brown.
• Mix together the mashed potatoes, garlic, cumin and the cooking oil in a bowl until well combined. Stir in the butter, then season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Keep warm.
• For the picada, blend all of the picada ingredients to a thick paste in a food processor. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• When the pigs' cheeks are cooked, remove the casserole from the oven and place it on the hob over a medium heat. Stir in the chocolate and the three-quarters of the picada and simmer for 2-3 minutes, or until the chocolate has melted and the sauce has thickened a little more. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• To serve, divide the pigs' cheeks equally among 4 serving bowls. Spoon the potatoes alongside. Garnish each dish with some of the remaining picada.

BRAISED PORK CHEEKS WITH GNOCCHI

Steps:

• Preheat an All-Clad 12" fry pan to medium high. When the pan is hot, add 2 tablespoons of olivie oil, then the pork cheeks. Brown the meat well, turning to cook all sides. Remove to the All-Clad Slow Cooker insert. In the same fry pan add vegetables and sauté for about 5 minutes or until browned. Add thyme, peppercorns, and the red wine. Bring to a boil scraping up any browned its on the bottom of the pan. Transfer contents to the insert and combine with pork cheeks. Set the slow cooker to high setting and cook for five hours, or until meat shreds easily and is completely tender. After five hours, remove pork cheeks to a plate. Pour liquid remaining through a fine-mesh strainer positioned over a large bowl. Pour remaining liquid into a 6 or 8 quart All-Clad stock pot. Shred pork cheeks with a fork and add to stock pot. Bring mixture to a bubbling simmer and add gnocchi. Cook over medium until liquid is reduced and syrupy and gnocchi are tender. Just before serving, pick leaves off oregano and add to gnocchi. Toss.