Pig cheeks braised with Wild Craft Brewery Wild Summer Pale Ale

A massive thank you to Chef Jon Fell who has been creating recipes with many of our beers. Find the first of a series of recipes he has created below:

Absolutely wonderful things are the humble pig cheeks, full of delicious flavours, cheap as chips, cooked well are utterly sublime

I was wandering aimlessly around my local supermarket I spotted these beauties, and bought them, more out of the shock of actually seeing them in a supermarket!!

I’ve also been asked by the lovely people at Wild Craft Brewery to use some of their wonderful ales in my recipes, their Wild summer Pale and Hoppy Ale works beautifully in this dish

Shopping list

1 onion

1 carrot

½ garlic bulb

1 fennel bulb

2 Braeburn apples

600g pig cheeks

a splash of rapeseed oil

10 sage leaves

2 bay leaves

500ml Bottle of Wild Craft Brewery, pale and hoppy Wild Summer ale

2 tbsp wholegrain mustard

250ml chicken stock

½ – 1 tbsp honey (to taste)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C.
2. Peel and finely chop the onion and carrot. Halve the garlic bulb
3. Halve the fennel and thinly slice it. Peel and core the apples. Cut each in to 8 slices.
4. Heat a medium sized heavy based casserole dish. Rub some oil in to the pigs cheeks.
5. place them into the hot pan. Cook for 4 mins on each side until lightly browned. Lift out on to a plate and set aside
6. Add the fennel slices to the pan. Place the garlic bulb cut side down. Cook for 3-5 mins till golden and slightly caramelised. Remove from the pan and place onto the plate with the pig’s cheeks.
7. Now Add the onion and carrot. Cook on a gentle heat for 5 mins till softened. Add the apples, sage leaves and bay leaves. Cook for a couple of mins. Add the pig’s cheeks, fennel and garlic.
8. Pour in the beer. Spoon in the mustard. Bring to a bubble then add the chicken stock. Bring everything to a gentle simmer. Pop on a lid. Slide into the oven for 2 ½ hours.
9. Carefully Remove the pigs cheeks and Cover with foil to rest.
10. Place the pan on a medium heat and reduce the cooking liquor by half. This could take about half an hour. Taste and season. Add ½-1 tbsp honey.
11. Pop the pig’s cheeks back into the pan and warm through
12. Serve the pig’s cheeks with creamy potato and celeriac mash, buttered greens Spoon over the flavourful beer, apple & mustard gravy. And of course a chilled glass of Wild Summer Ale, PERFECT

Happy cooking

Jon

Photo: Mike Deal