Slow-Cooked Pork Cheeks & Mash

📝 Ingredients

• 800 g pork cheeks (8 cheeks of about 100 g each)
• 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 4 carrots (about 100 g each)
• 2 brown onions
• 2 garlic cloves
• 300 ml apple juice
• 1 chicken stock cube + 300 ml hot water
• 2 bay leaves + 1 tsp dried thyme
• 3 parsnips (about 600 g)
• 3 floury potatoes (about 400 g)
• 150 ml semi-skimmed milk
• 20 g unsalted butter
• Salt, black pepper, nutmeg

🍴 Utensils

• Ovenproof cast-iron casserole
• Large saucepan
• Potato masher
• Wooden spoon
• Chopping board
• Kitchen knife

📖 Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 150 °C (140 °C fan). Use a knife to trim off the white fat and thick membranes around the pork cheeks, then pat them dry with kitchen paper and season with salt and pepper on both sides.
2. Peel the carrots and cut into 3 cm chunks. Peel the onions and cut into quarters, and crush the garlic cloves with the flat of the knife. Dissolve the stock cube in the 300 ml hot water.
3. Heat the oil in the casserole over a high heat. Sear the cheeks in two batches, 2 to 3 minutes per side without moving them, until well browned: this browning is what gives the sauce its flavour. Set aside on a plate.
4. Reduce to a medium heat, put the carrots, onions and garlic in the casserole and fry for 5 minutes, scraping the bottom with the wooden spoon to loosen the caramelised bits. Pour in the apple juice and let it bubble for 2 minutes.
5. Return the cheeks and their juices to the casserole, add the stock, bay leaf and thyme: the liquid should come three quarters of the way up the meat. Bring to a simmer, cover and transfer to the oven for 2 h 30 min, turning the cheeks halfway through.
6. About 45 minutes before the end of cooking, peel the parsnips and potatoes and cut into 4 cm pieces. Put them in the large pan of cold salted water, bring to the boil and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tip of a knife slides in without resistance.
7. Drain the vegetables, return them to the pan and mash with the butter using a potato masher. Gradually add the milk, warmed for 1 minute in the microwave, until the mash is soft, then season with salt and pepper and grate over a little nutmeg. Don't blend it, or the mash will turn gluey.
8. Take out the casserole: the cheeks should be tender enough to cut with a spoon. Lift them out with the carrots, then reduce the sauce for 5 to 8 minutes over a high heat on the hob, until it coats the back of a spoon. Remove the bay leaf and adjust the seasoning.
9. Return the cheeks and carrots to the sauce for 1 minute to coat and reheat them. Serve 2 cheeks per person with the carrots, a generous spoonful of mash and the glossy sauce poured over.