Recipe: Pig's Cheeks and Chorizo casserole

When I first discovered the joy of pigs cheeks, I did a little googling to come up with some ideas as to how to cook them. Most of the recipes were casseroled in some way, allowing the meat to tenderise to perfection over time (excellent for our new stainless steel oven-proof pans, hurrah!), and most involved alcohol of some type - I presume to tenderise. Anyway, there was a bit of a recurring theme of red wine, and several mentions of chorizo, so taking inspiration from various internet sources, I came up with this...

500g pigs cheeks
2 carrotts
2 sticks celery
1 red onion
1 white onion
2 x 400g tins of tomatoes
250ml red wine
150g chorizo sausage for cooking, sliced
1 bouquet garni
1tsp sugar
50g butter

Firstly, dice the carrotts and onions into small pieces, de-string the celery, and slice.

In a large and oven-proof casserole dish, melt the butter and use to lightly fry the chorizo to melt the fat.

When the oil begins to coat the pan bottom, add the pigs cheeks, slowly stirring to prevent sticking. 

After 2-3 minutes, or when the cheeks are lightly browned, mix in the diced vegetables, coating in the oil and butter, and allow to soften slightly. 

When the onions begin to become translucent, add in the wine, stirring right to the bottom of the pan to scrape off any sticky bits. Allow to simmer slightly, before adding in the tomatoes, bouquet garni, and sugar.

Cook in the oven for an hour and a half to an hour, until the tomatoes are reduced down and the sauce is thickened.

Perfect served with crusty bread and butter, and the remainder of the red wine bottle.

Not the best picture in the world, apologies!