Tender Braised Pork Cheeks from Spain

Winter is the perfect time to try new recipes. We are more willing to try new things or to eat those foods that we avoid during the summer because they give a feeling of heaviness.

If you are looking for Spanish meat recipes or something that can be very festive as well, then you are in the right place. 

Here we will show you everything you need to know about braised pork cheeks, also known as the fantastic pork cheek recipe from Andalusia.

You will also learn about the changes you can make to the ingredients, and some extra tips so you can serve and store this dish.

You are going to learn how you can cook this Spanish pork, in two main methods.

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Pssst…??!! You can’t get enough Spanish meat recipes? Have a look at my other posts:

• Spanish Chorizo Burger Recipe
• Oxtail Spaghetti Recipe
• Spanish Meat Paella Recipe

Background of the Dish

Pork recipes are very popular in the south of Spain since it is a type of animal that abounds in the region. 

In the 1700s they began to breed to replace the high consumption of beef. People started to get more creative and developed pork cheek recipes.

Spanish pork dishes became popular again at the beginning of the 2000s when the crisis began due to the “mad cow disease,” actually known as Bovine spongiform encephalopathy. 

This caused the consumption of beef to decrease and the popularity of pork to increase. Among them, the braised pork cheeks stand out.

What are pork cheeks? Pork cheeks are the muscles located in the cheeks of a pig.

Wine-braised pork cheeks are usually braised or stewed due to the high amount of fat (and collagen that looks like a gelatinous coating on meat), which makes them ideal for those cooking methods.

Things You’ll Need for Braised Pork Cheeks

To make this Spanish pork stew you only need pork cheeks, wine, broth, and some vegetables to give the sauce the right flavor. 

With a large pot, it is enough, and with a pressure cooker, you will finish cooking it much faster.

Ingredients

• 8 Carrilleras de cerdo (pork cheeks or pig cheek)
• 1 onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 green pepper
• 2 carrots
• 2 3/4 cups (650ml) beef broth
• 2 3/4 cups (650ml) red wine
• 1 cup (125g) Flour
• Salt (to taste)
• Black pepper (to taste)
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 

How to Make Braised Pork Cheeks – Step by Step Guide

How to cook pork cheeks? Take note of the instructions for this Spanish pork cheeks recipe.

1. The first thing you need to do in this Spanish pork recipe is to remove the fat from the outside of the pork cheeks with a knife. Season with salt and pepper and pass the cheeks through the flour, shaking them to remove all the excess.

2. In a saucepan, heat the olive oil over high heat, and mark the pig cheeks on both sides (that is, let the meat slightly brown). Set aside.

3. One of the most important things about this Spanish pork roast is having the right amount of vegetables. For this, you have to wash and chop the peppers, garlic, carrot, and onion. 

4. In the same pot, add a little more oil and sauté the vegetables over medium heat, without burning them, stirring from time to time, until they are soft. It should take about 10 minutes.

5. Once the vegetables are cooked, add the red wine, raise the heat, and let the alcohol evaporate for about 2 minutes. Add the Carrillada, the beef broth, a pinch of salt, and pepper to taste and cook over low heat for at least 1 hour and a half. When the carrilladas de cerdo are tender, you can turn off the stove.

6. Remove the cheeks from the pot and blend the sauce with a blender so that it is fine.

7. Put the sauce back in the pot and bring it to a boil so that it thickens.

8. For the final step, serve the cheek pork in the sauce. The classic way to serve this Spanish pork dish is with mashed potatoes, which is completely optional.

Substitution of Ingredients

This Spanish pig cheeks recipe stand out from other easy pork recipes because you can make a lot of changes in the ingredients without any problem.

For example, the flour is used to make it easier to seal the pork cheek.

Also, make the sauce thicker later, but you can avoid it or replace it with another type of flour (oatmeal, bran, almond, gluten-free, etc.) Instead of red wine, you can use another type of wine.

Red wine gives it the right flavor, but if you don’t want or can’t include alcohol in the carrillada recipe, just use more broth to even out the amount.

You can also make beer braised pork cheeks or sherry braised pork cheeks if you want to use another type of alcohol.

If you don’t have all the broth you need, you can use the amount of water needed to reach the amount listed.

You should also add more vegetables and seasoning so you don’t end up with a watery or tasteless sauce.

You can also use another sauce for like pork cheeks in Sevillian sauce.

Also, you can choose to use another protein instead of Spanish style pork cheeks. The most natural replacement would be pork chops, pork shoulder, or pork knuckle.

However, instead of stewed pork cheeks, you can use another protein, though it will be more like a Spanish chicken stew, Spanish oxtail stew, or the Spanish pork chops recipe.

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Tips on Serving Braised Pork Cheeks

Braised pork cheeks are one of the most popular pork recipes for dinner since they have a large amount of flavor and are very filling. 

They are the perfect dish for winter since they have that heartwarming feel once you eat them, but you can prepare them at any time of the year.

You can also eat it during lunch, although you may have to take a nap afterward since it is very filling and you will have to use your energy in digestion.

If you are looking for a slightly lighter meal, the best pork recipes in that sense are pork chops or eat a smaller portion of this Spanish roast pork.

To give you some pork dinner ideas, you can serve these pork cheeks with mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, sautéed vegetables (carrots, broccoli, anything).

Another option is a good green salad like lettuce, kale, cabbage, etc.

How to Store Braised Pork Cheeks

As with other braised pork recipes, there are two main ways to store: freeze the pork cheeks, or store them in the fridge. These forms of saving have some things in common.

In both cases, you should let the Spanish pork come to room temperature. You can let this happen in the same pot where you cook.

Then, put them in a Tupperware or covered bowl and save them.

In the fridge, they can last up to 4 days. Then you can heat it in a pot adding a little more liquid (better if it is water since broth would make it very salty).

Or in the oven or the microwave, also adding a splash of water.

Some recipes with pork cannot be frozen, but these braised pork cheeks are the exception. Take them to the freezer and there they can be stored for up to 30 days.

Recipe Card: Braised Pork Cheeks

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FAQ on Braised Pork Cheeks

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