Cheeks are good.
Mar. 8th, 2009 01:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madbakerThis week's Resolution Recipe: Braised Pork Cheeks with Radicchio and Pasta.
This looks like a lot of work, but it's only time-consuming. It was a bad choice for a weeknight, but fabulous otherwise.
3 Tbsp olive oil (I omitted it - the pork cheeks throw off plenty of grease)
1 lb pork cheeks, guanciale, or boneless pork spareribs, cut in 1" cubes (I used pork cheeks - see below)
salt and pepper
1/4 cup diced pancetta
1/4 cup diced coppa or proscuitto
1 cup chopped onions
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/4 cup chopped carrot
2 Tbsp (hah!) chopped garlic
2 cups fruity white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc
1 cup orange juice
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup diced tomatoes
6 sage leaves
2 cups sliced radicchio (I used 2 heads, which was 3-4 cups)
pasta (recipe called for pappardelle, we used penne and later ravioli)
grated parmesan cheese
Heat oven to 325. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Place in a Dutch oven and cook until browned on all sides, around 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add pancetta and cook until it begins to color. Pour off all but 2 Tbsp of the fat, saving to cook the radicchio. Add the coppa and veg. Lower heat to medium and cook until veg have softened, about 10 minutes.
Add back the pork cheeks, wine and OJ, stock, tomatoes, and sage. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil, scraping any browned bits from the bottom. Cover and transfer to the oven. Bake until the cheeks are tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
30 minutes before serving, boil water for pasta. Skim off and discard fat on the sauce's surface. Reduce over high heat until syrupy. Meanwhile, (back in Tyre) in a large skillet, heat the reserved fat over medium-high heat. Add radicchio and cook, stirring frequently, until wilted - about 4 minutes. Cook pasta and drain; mix everything together to moisten noodles. Sprinkle with parmesan and serve.
What worked: This was utterly fabulous. When cooked, the pork cheeks turned silky-velvet-melt-in-the-mouth. The best use for radicchio I've found yet.
What didn't: A bit too much work for a week night. It made too much sauce, but we ate it with ravioli later (which was also faboo). Not so nice on the appearance; definitely rustic.
The pork cheeks were a little difficult to get (I had to special-order them from Prather) and I ended up with 4 lbs, but I'm making the remainder into guanciale.
Will I make it again? Oh yes. Although I will probably use commercial guanciale (cured pork cheeks) or spareribs instead of going through the hassle of ordering cheeks.
What I'm reading: Michael Flynn, January Dancer
This looks like a lot of work, but it's only time-consuming. It was a bad choice for a weeknight, but fabulous otherwise.
3 Tbsp olive oil (I omitted it - the pork cheeks throw off plenty of grease)
1 lb pork cheeks, guanciale, or boneless pork spareribs, cut in 1" cubes (I used pork cheeks - see below)
salt and pepper
1/4 cup diced pancetta
1/4 cup diced coppa or proscuitto
1 cup chopped onions
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/4 cup chopped carrot
2 Tbsp (hah!) chopped garlic
2 cups fruity white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc
1 cup orange juice
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup diced tomatoes
6 sage leaves
2 cups sliced radicchio (I used 2 heads, which was 3-4 cups)
pasta (recipe called for pappardelle, we used penne and later ravioli)
grated parmesan cheese
Heat oven to 325. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Place in a Dutch oven and cook until browned on all sides, around 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add pancetta and cook until it begins to color. Pour off all but 2 Tbsp of the fat, saving to cook the radicchio. Add the coppa and veg. Lower heat to medium and cook until veg have softened, about 10 minutes.
Add back the pork cheeks, wine and OJ, stock, tomatoes, and sage. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil, scraping any browned bits from the bottom. Cover and transfer to the oven. Bake until the cheeks are tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
30 minutes before serving, boil water for pasta. Skim off and discard fat on the sauce's surface. Reduce over high heat until syrupy. Meanwhile, (back in Tyre) in a large skillet, heat the reserved fat over medium-high heat. Add radicchio and cook, stirring frequently, until wilted - about 4 minutes. Cook pasta and drain; mix everything together to moisten noodles. Sprinkle with parmesan and serve.
What worked: This was utterly fabulous. When cooked, the pork cheeks turned silky-velvet-melt-in-the-mouth. The best use for radicchio I've found yet.
What didn't: A bit too much work for a week night. It made too much sauce, but we ate it with ravioli later (which was also faboo). Not so nice on the appearance; definitely rustic.
The pork cheeks were a little difficult to get (I had to special-order them from Prather) and I ended up with 4 lbs, but I'm making the remainder into guanciale.
Will I make it again? Oh yes. Although I will probably use commercial guanciale (cured pork cheeks) or spareribs instead of going through the hassle of ordering cheeks.
What I'm reading: Michael Flynn, January Dancer
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no subject
Date: 2009-03-08 09:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-09 12:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-08 11:52 pm (UTC)Where did the (hah!) garlic come in? With the tomatoes? Or with the other vegetables and the coppa?
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Date: 2009-03-09 12:06 am (UTC)I love this icon -- it was a series of scribbles in a charcuterie book, and