How (not) to cook a pig's cheek

I've been meaning to post this for about a month but events have overtaken me. First landing the Guardian wine column which meant a frenzied few days tasting before going away on a long overdue holiday to France. I was going to blog there but managed to get sidetracked by visiting winemakers. I suspect this will be the story of my life for the next few months.

Anyway, pig's cheeks. Or rather pig's cheek. I found one on sale (below) at Source in Bristol for around a fiver I seem to remember and having never cooked one thought I'd give it a go. I was a bit disconcerted to find that one of the recipes I looked up called for more like a dozen cheeks which would have made it about as expensive as fillet steak so decided to give my solitary one the pork and beans treatment following a recipe I'd been given by a friend for hand of pork.


The boys at Source suggested I brined it first which I did but am not convinced it made a huge amount of difference*. The end result was pretty tasty but there was so little lean meat on the cheek that it was more like a pork-flavoured dish of beans. To satisfy the average healthy male appetite I think you'd need at least a cheek per person which really negates the idea of pig cheeks as a cheap cut.

Anyway here, for what it's worth, is what I did but I suggest you make it, like my friend Sue, with hand of pork

Brined pig’s cheek and beans
1 pig's cheek

For the brine
100g granulated sugar
300g seasalt
4 juniper berries
3 cloves
1 bayleaf
1 litre water

For the beans
500g dried butter beans
2 onions
4 cloves of garlic
2 carrot peeled and cut into chunks
175ml white wine
vegetable oil
rosemary and /or thyme

Put the beans in a large bowl of water and soak overnight.

Put the ingredients for the brine in a saucepan and heat gently until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Bring to the boil and cool. Immerse the cheek in the brine for at least a couple of hours.

Pre-cook the beans in a large pan covered generously with clean cold water and boil fast for 20 minutes. Don't add salt. Drain but reserve the liquid.

Preheat oven to Gas 3/160°C (I used the lower oven of the Aga)

Very finely chop the onion, garlic and carrot or blitz in a food processor. Heat a large casserole big enough to take the pig’s cheek, add a couple of tablespoons of oil and cook the finely chopped vegetables until soft.

Add the part-cooked beans and the wine, and pour in 1 litre of the reserved stock from the beans (If you need more stock then make up some chicken stock from a cube and use that)

Add rosemary and/or thyme to taste - if you have sprigs then use these, if not, dried herbs will be fine - and plenty of black pepper.

Place the pork joint on top - with a bit of oil rubbed onto the skin and season with sea or rock salt.


Put the roasting pan in the oven and roast for about 3 to 3 1/2 hours. (Mine took more like 6-7 hours) Check every now and then that there is enough liquid in the beans - add more stock/white wine if needed.

At the end of cooking the pork should be deep golden brown with crackling worth fighting over! (Mine didn't get this consistency but the cooking temperature was lower)

Serve straight from the roasting dish in the middle of the table - the pork will be best cut into chunks rather than trying to slice it.

* Not that I'm against brining. I've brined pork chops to very good effect.

Have you ever cooked a pig's cheek/s and if so how did it go?

How (not) to cook a pig's cheek

I've been meaning to post this for about a month but events have overtaken me. First landing the Guardian wine column which meant a frenzied few days tasting before going away on a long overdue holiday to France. I was going to blog there but managed to get sidetracked by visiting winemakers. I suspect this will be the story of my life for the next few months.

Anyway, pig's cheeks. Or rather pig's cheek. I found one on sale (below) at Source in Bristol for around a fiver I seem to remember and having never cooked one thought I'd give it a go. I was a bit disconcerted to find that one of the recipes I looked up called for more like a dozen cheeks which would have made it about as expensive as fillet steak so decided to give my solitary one the pork and beans treatment following a recipe I'd been given by a friend for hand of pork.


The boys at Source suggested I brined it first which I did but am not convinced it made a huge amount of difference*. The end result was pretty tasty but there was so little lean meat on the cheek that it was more like a pork-flavoured dish of beans. To satisfy the average healthy male appetite I think you'd need at least a cheek per person which really negates the idea of pig cheeks as a cheap cut.

Anyway here, for what it's worth, is what I did but I suggest you make it, like my friend Sue, with hand of pork

Brined pig’s cheek and beans
1 pig's cheek

For the brine
100g granulated sugar
300g seasalt
4 juniper berries
3 cloves
1 bayleaf
1 litre water

For the beans
500g dried butter beans
2 onions
4 cloves of garlic
2 carrot peeled and cut into chunks
175ml white wine
vegetable oil
rosemary and /or thyme

Put the beans in a large bowl of water and soak overnight.

Put the ingredients for the brine in a saucepan and heat gently until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Bring to the boil and cool. Immerse the cheek in the brine for at least a couple of hours.

Pre-cook the beans in a large pan covered generously with clean cold water and boil fast for 20 minutes. Don't add salt. Drain but reserve the liquid.

Preheat oven to Gas 3/160°C (I used the lower oven of the Aga)

Very finely chop the onion, garlic and carrot or blitz in a food processor. Heat a large casserole big enough to take the pig’s cheek, add a couple of tablespoons of oil and cook the finely chopped vegetables until soft.

Add the part-cooked beans and the wine, and pour in 1 litre of the reserved stock from the beans (If you need more stock then make up some chicken stock from a cube and use that)

Add rosemary and/or thyme to taste - if you have sprigs then use these, if not, dried herbs will be fine - and plenty of black pepper.

Place the pork joint on top - with a bit of oil rubbed onto the skin and season with sea or rock salt.


Put the roasting pan in the oven and roast for about 3 to 3 1/2 hours. (Mine took more like 6-7 hours) Check every now and then that there is enough liquid in the beans - add more stock/white wine if needed.

At the end of cooking the pork should be deep golden brown with crackling worth fighting over! (Mine didn't get this consistency but the cooking temperature was lower)

Serve straight from the roasting dish in the middle of the table - the pork will be best cut into chunks rather than trying to slice it.

* Not that I'm against brining. I've brined pork chops to very good effect.

Have you ever cooked a pig's cheek/s and if so how did it go?

What to do with an oxtail

Have you ever cooked an oxtail? I hadn't until a couple of years ago. It just looked too alien and scary, too fatty, too much as if it would never cook through. But I had eaten it and enjoyed it so gave it a try and it was fab.

Basically you treat it exactly as you would a beef stew except for three things. You need to soak it for a couple of hours in salted water (to be honest I don't know why, presumably to remove any impurities). You need to cook it for longer (stands to reason, it's dense) and you need to skim off the fat (easiest if you leave it overnight)

What you then get is a stew of incredible richness and intensity, possibly the best beef stew you've ever eaten. Here's how I made it the other day:

Braised oxtail with red wine
Serves 4-6

1 large oxtail, as lean as possible
2 tbsp plain flour
4-5 rashers streaky bacon or bacon bits (or you could use chorizo and leave out the pimenton)
2-4 tbsp olive oil or other cooking oil
2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
Stick of celery, trimmed and sliced (optional)
1 large clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp sweet pimenton/paprika
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 bottle red wine or a bottle of porter
A small glass of port (optional but good if you're using wine)
350ml beef or vegetable stock
A few sprigs of thyme, parsley stalks and a bayleaf
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cover the oxtail in water, season well with salt and leave to soak for 2-4 hours. Drain off the water, pat the meat dry, and dust each piece in seasoned flour. Cut up the bacon into small pieces, heat 2 tbsp of the oil and fry the bacon until beginning to brown then remove from the pan with a slotted spoon. Brown the meat well on all sides and remove that too then add more oil if necessary and cook the onions until beginning to soften, adding the sliced carrots and celery after 3-4 minutes. Stir in the finely chopped garlic, paprika, allspice and tomato paste then add the wine, port, if using and stock or water (or stock and beer, if using porter). Add the herbs tied together with a piece of string or cotton and the meat and bacon, ensuring the liquid covers the meat (if not, add a bit more wine or stock) and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down as low as you can and simmer on the hob or in a very low oven for about 3 1/2 to 4 hours. If serving straight away skim off as much fat as possible and add a little more red wine (don't top it up if you've used beer - it'll taste bitter) and reheat. Or leave overnight and the fat will be easier to spoon off. You can take the meat off the bone if you like. Check the seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste then serve with creamy mash (or baked potatoes) and carrots.

Any leftovers make a fabulous base for a cottage pie, topped with mash or mashed root veg such as swede and carrot or you could even make the whole thing into a pie. (If you do this you may find you have some liquid left over. Strain it and freeze it to add to a gravy or another stew.)

What to do with an oxtail

Have you ever cooked an oxtail? I hadn't until a couple of years ago. It just looked too alien and scary, too fatty, too much as if it would never cook through. But I had eaten it and enjoyed it so gave it a try and it was fab.

Basically you treat it exactly as you would a beef stew except for three things. You need to soak it for a couple of hours in salted water (to be honest I don't know why, presumably to remove any impurities). You need to cook it for longer (stands to reason, it's dense) and you need to skim off the fat (easiest if you leave it overnight)

What you then get is a stew of incredible richness and intensity, possibly the best beef stew you've ever eaten. Here's how I made it the other day:

Braised oxtail with red wine
Serves 4-6

1 large oxtail, as lean as possible
2 tbsp plain flour
4-5 rashers streaky bacon or bacon bits (or you could use chorizo and leave out the pimenton)
2-4 tbsp olive oil or other cooking oil
2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
Stick of celery, trimmed and sliced (optional)
1 large clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp sweet pimenton/paprika
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 bottle red wine or a bottle of porter
A small glass of port (optional but good if you're using wine)
350ml beef or vegetable stock
A few sprigs of thyme, parsley stalks and a bayleaf
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cover the oxtail in water, season well with salt and leave to soak for 2-4 hours. Drain off the water, pat the meat dry, and dust each piece in seasoned flour. Cut up the bacon into small pieces, heat 2 tbsp of the oil and fry the bacon until beginning to brown then remove from the pan with a slotted spoon. Brown the meat well on all sides and remove that too then add more oil if necessary and cook the onions until beginning to soften, adding the sliced carrots and celery after 3-4 minutes. Stir in the finely chopped garlic, paprika, allspice and tomato paste then add the wine, port, if using and stock or water (or stock and beer, if using porter). Add the herbs tied together with a piece of string or cotton and the meat and bacon, ensuring the liquid covers the meat (if not, add a bit more wine or stock) and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down as low as you can and simmer on the hob or in a very low oven for about 3 1/2 to 4 hours. If serving straight away skim off as much fat as possible and add a little more red wine (don't top it up if you've used beer - it'll taste bitter) and reheat. Or leave overnight and the fat will be easier to spoon off. You can take the meat off the bone if you like. Check the seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste then serve with creamy mash (or baked potatoes) and carrots.

Any leftovers make a fabulous base for a cottage pie, topped with mash or mashed root veg such as swede and carrot or you could even make the whole thing into a pie. (If you do this you may find you have some liquid left over. Strain it and freeze it to add to a gravy or another stew.)

Chaps, cheeks and trotters

News in the Guardian today that Waitrose is to start selling Bath chaps, ox cheeks and trotters from next month. Which sounds like good news except for the fact that it will almost certainly drive the price of these thrifty cuts up. Lamb shanks, once a cheap food, are no longer a bargain buy. Ox cheeks (which are delicious) will probably follow suit, particularly if the other supermarkets decide they have to stock them too.

And I wonder how many people will actually cook with them? I must confess that even when I was researching The Frugal Cook I didn't use any of them (though I did use ox liver, scrag end of lamb and ham hocks). It takes time and time is what most people are short of these days.

Do you buy these sort of cuts? Would you if you could get hold of them easily? (Obviously you needn't answer if you're a veggie . . . )

Chaps, cheeks and trotters

News in the Guardian today that Waitrose is to start selling Bath chaps, ox cheeks and trotters from next month. Which sounds like good news except for the fact that it will almost certainly drive the price of these thrifty cuts up. Lamb shanks, once a cheap food, are no longer a bargain buy. Ox cheeks (which are delicious) will probably follow suit, particularly if the other supermarkets decide they have to stock them too.

And I wonder how many people will actually cook with them? I must confess that even when I was researching The Frugal Cook I didn't use any of them (though I did use ox liver, scrag end of lamb and ham hocks). It takes time and time is what most people are short of these days.

Do you buy these sort of cuts? Would you if you could get hold of them easily? (Obviously you needn't answer if you're a veggie . . . )

One up to 'im indoors!

Back from London to find my other half beaming smugly. "Our dinner tonight cost 73p" he said.

He'd been to the organic butcher down the road and found ox liver selling at a knock-down price. Only it wasn't ox liver, according to the girl behind the counter but vastly superior calves' liver which they couldn't call calves' liver because it came from an animal four days too old to be called a calf.

He found a cos lettuce (or rather Sweet Romaine, as they insist on calling them these days) in the fridge and made a green salad from it so that didn't cost anything out of today's budget.

It took 5 minutes to make and with no carbs was impeccably healthy too.

Thought this was supposed to be my blog. Men are so competitive . .

One up to 'im indoors!

Back from London to find my other half beaming smugly. "Our dinner tonight cost 73p" he said.

He'd been to the organic butcher down the road and found ox liver selling at a knock-down price. Only it wasn't ox liver, according to the girl behind the counter but vastly superior calves' liver which they couldn't call calves' liver because it came from an animal four days too old to be called a calf.

He found a cos lettuce (or rather Sweet Romaine, as they insist on calling them these days) in the fridge and made a green salad from it so that didn't cost anything out of today's budget.

It took 5 minutes to make and with no carbs was impeccably healthy too.

Thought this was supposed to be my blog. Men are so competitive . .

All about offal

"You will include lots of offal, won't you?" said my publisher. "You've got to use every part of the animal"

"Hmmmm". I said, thinking of tongues, trotters and tripe, none of them great favourites. "I don't think people are that much into offal these days"

"But this book is called The Frugal Cook"

"Tell you what" I said rashly. I'll go down the road and look in my local butcher. "If they sell them, I'll include them."

Good news and bad news. They don't appear to sell tripe but they do sell trotters, hearts and tongues. And kidneys and liver, of course.

I decided to postpone the tongue challenge and make a batch of stewed steak and kidney with portobello mushrooms. Ox kidney is unbelievably cheap - just over £2 a pound (450g) so I bought more than usual, cutting down the braising steak. It made the steak and kidney pie filling pretty gamey but with a fantastically good, rich gravy, I have to say, much helped by the addition of half a bottle of winter ale I happened to have had left over from Christmas.

I decided not to put it in a pie as there wasn't time to cool it first (if you put pastry over a hot filling it goes soggy). And it makes the dish more flexible - you can either serve it with floating lids (see below) or with baked potatoes or a root vegetable purée.

In the end we stayed too long chatting with the neighbours downstairs (my husbands ex-wife and her partner. True) and I ran out of time. So we ate it with boiled parsnips and stir fried kale. (Another great frugal buy - 32p for a large head, big enough for four). There are enough parsnips left over for a soup tomorrow lunchtime which is good. And leftover stew for tomorrow night.

* To make floating pastry lids, take a pack of ready-rolled pastry out of the fridge, let it warm up a bit then unroll it. (If you try to unroll it straight from the fridge it cracks) Cut it in half lengthways then divide each piece into three equal sized rectangles. Transfer to a baking tray(s), brush lightly with milk or beaten egg then prick all over with a fork to stop the pastry ballooning up. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 220°C/425°F/Gas 7 for about 5-6 minutes then turn the heat down to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5 for another 6-8 minutes until well risen and nicely browned.

All about offal

"You will include lots of offal, won't you?" said my publisher. "You've got to use every part of the animal"

"Hmmmm". I said, thinking of tongues, trotters and tripe, none of them great favourites. "I don't think people are that much into offal these days"

"But this book is called The Frugal Cook"

"Tell you what" I said rashly. I'll go down the road and look in my local butcher. "If they sell them, I'll include them."

Good news and bad news. They don't appear to sell tripe but they do sell trotters, hearts and tongues. And kidneys and liver, of course.

I decided to postpone the tongue challenge and make a batch of stewed steak and kidney with portobello mushrooms. Ox kidney is unbelievably cheap - just over £2 a pound (450g) so I bought more than usual, cutting down the braising steak. It made the steak and kidney pie filling pretty gamey but with a fantastically good, rich gravy, I have to say, much helped by the addition of half a bottle of winter ale I happened to have had left over from Christmas.

I decided not to put it in a pie as there wasn't time to cool it first (if you put pastry over a hot filling it goes soggy). And it makes the dish more flexible - you can either serve it with floating lids (see below) or with baked potatoes or a root vegetable purée.

In the end we stayed too long chatting with the neighbours downstairs (my husbands ex-wife and her partner. True) and I ran out of time. So we ate it with boiled parsnips and stir fried kale. (Another great frugal buy - 32p for a large head, big enough for four). There are enough parsnips left over for a soup tomorrow lunchtime which is good. And leftover stew for tomorrow night.

* To make floating pastry lids, take a pack of ready-rolled pastry out of the fridge, let it warm up a bit then unroll it. (If you try to unroll it straight from the fridge it cracks) Cut it in half lengthways then divide each piece into three equal sized rectangles. Transfer to a baking tray(s), brush lightly with milk or beaten egg then prick all over with a fork to stop the pastry ballooning up. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 220°C/425°F/Gas 7 for about 5-6 minutes then turn the heat down to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5 for another 6-8 minutes until well risen and nicely browned.