I found the cheeks while poking around Mario Batali’s 50,000 square foot Eataly at Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street in Manhattan. (If you haven’t been, GO…three restaurants, a grocery store, wine store, espresso stand, gelati bar, butcher, cheese shop, and more. Do you graze? Do you shop? Do both and spend the afternoon.)
I arrived hungry, and went straight to the bread shop for onion focaccia. Next it was the fresh pasta area. Finally I stumbled into the butcher shop, where I was reminded that good quality Pat LaFreida meat is not inexpensive. The pork cheeks were one of the least pricey items at $5.95 per pound, so I splurged.
Next, I sent out an A.P.B. Tweet requesting pig cheek recipes, and received a dozen suggestions from across the country. I went with a braise. When in doubt with a tough piece of meat, braising is my method of choice.
Pork cheeks look like little pork cutlets; but don’t cook them quick like a cutlet or you’ll be chewing for a long time. They’ve got a decent amount of intramuscular fat, so after a couple hours braising, you can cut them with a spoon.
My favorite fall chili is Chili Verde and pork is a natural fit, so I picked up some poblanos, tomatillos, onions and cilantro and went to work.
If you haven’t played with tomatillos before, they’re a wonderful ingredient. Wrapped in papery husks, these green tomato-like fruits add a sour flavor and light green color. They’re quite firm when you toss them into the pot, but they cook down into a liquid within 20 minutes. If you like salsa verde; you’ll like tomatillos, as that’s what salsa verde is. And they’re inexpensive; cost about half of what tomatoes cost per pound.
Tomatillos are overlooked and under-appreciated, much like pork cheeks. Get ’em before everyone knows about them and let me know how it goes!
Pork Cheek Chili Verde
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound pork cheeks
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 poblano peppers, chopped with seeds (yes, this gets quite spicy)
3 medium onions, chopped
3 pounds tomatillos
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
Rice, tortillas, yogurt or sour cream to serve
1. Heat oil in a medium Dutch oven or stew pot over medium high heat. Season pork cheeks with salt and pepper, add to pot. Cook, turning once until pork cheeks are browned on both sides, about 6 minutes. Remove pork cheeks from pot and reserve.
2. Add peppers and onions to the skillet, and cook, stirring up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to medium and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Note: poblanos are spicy, you might need to open a window or turn on the fan to keep the fumes at bay.
3. Remove the papery husks from the tomatillos; discard the husks and cut the tomatillos in half.
4. Return pork cheeks to pot with the tomatillos. Bring to a boil, reduce to a gentle simmer and cook until cheeks are tender; about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Stir in cilantro and remove from heat You can serve the cheeks whole or break them up with a wooden spoon. Serve over rice and/or with tortillas, top with a dollop of sour cream (if your poblanos are potent, as I hope they are, you’ll be needing this dollop of dairy to cool the fire in your mouth, for sure).
Allison Fishman is the host of Yahoo’s Blue Ribbon Hunter and author of You Can Trust A Skinny Cook . For delicious humor & recipes, visit allisonfishman.com or follow @allisonfishman on Twitter.