
Glazed pork cheeks from the Dutch oven
recipe facts
Difficulty level:
medium ◉◉◉◎◎
Quantity for:
4 people
Preparation time:
⧗ individually
Grilling time:
⧗ individually
Grill(s) & Equipment:
• Charcoal grill or open fire, Dutch oven, pot, kitchen towel, cling film
Ingredients
• 8 pork cheeks
• 3 tablespoons clarified butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1–2 bunches of soup vegetables, cut into cubes (depending on the amount of meat and the size of the bunch)
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika powder
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 sprigs of thyme
• white pepper
• Salt ( maybe smoked salt for a little smoky flavor)
• 100 ml whiskey
• 700 ml veal stock
For the glaze:
• 80 ml whiskey
• 40 g brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch of chili ( adjust to personal preference)
• 4 tablespoons butter
• pulp of ½ vanilla pod
For the napkin dumpling
(can be prepared the day before):
• 5 stale rolls
• 2 eggs
• ¼ l milk
• 50 g onions, finely chopped
• 50 g butter
• ¼ bunch of parsley, finely chopped (alternatively, the parsley can be replaced with basil)
• ¼ bunch basil, finely chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 pinch of nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon white pepper
• breadcrumbs if the mixture is too moist
• 2 tablespoons clarified butter for frying
preparation
➊ Cut the bread rolls into cubes, put them in a bowl with the parsley and mix. Melt the butter in a pan and sauté the onions until translucent, pour in the milk and heat. Then pour over the bread cubes and season the mixture with salt and pepper. Allow to cool slightly, then add the eggs and mix everything well with a wooden spoon.
➋ Place a damp kitchen towel on the worktop and cover with a piece of heat-resistant cling film. Place the dumpling dough on the cling film and roll it up into a tight roll. Twist the ends tightly and tie with kitchen string. Leave to soak in water for 40 minutes at 90 °C. After the cooking time, take it out, remove the film and cut the napkin dumpling into 1 ½ cm thick slices.
➌ Trim the pork cheeks, season with salt and pepper and dust with flour. Heat the clarified butter in the Dutch oven and fry the cheeks all over. Then remove and put the vegetables in the pan. Fry for 2 minutes, season with salt and pepper, then add the tomato paste and brown sugar and let caramelize. Then deglaze everything with the whisky, then reduce a little. Add the cheeks, the remaining spices and enough of the veal stock to just cover the meat. Close the lid and spread the charcoal embers in the ember tray - reduce the amount if necessary so that the cheeks braise gently for 1 ½ - 2 hours. Check the liquid level from time to time and add veal stock or water if necessary and turn the cheeks every now and then so that the meat doesn't have a chance of drying out on the surface. The cheeks are cooked as soon as they can be easily cut into pieces.
➍ For the glaze, melt the butter in a saucepan and add the whiskey, sugar and salt. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Simmer until the glaze has thickened.
Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla pulp and chilli and keep the mixture warm. Towards the end of the cooking process, remove the pork cheeks from the DO, spread the glaze on them and place on the grill at a low temperature (80-90 C°) for 10 minutes so that the glaze can dry.
Fry the dumpling slices on both sides with a little clarified butter on the plancha.
➎ To serve, season the braised vegetables and liquid with salt and pepper. Divide between plates together with the pork cheeks and serve with fried dumpling slices.
Recipe by Elmar Fetscher
Elmar Fetscher is a pioneer of the German BBQ lifestyle. In 2002 he founded Europe's largest BBQ magazine FIRE&FOOD and has been editor-in-chief, opinion maker and popular expert on German BBQ ever since.
Recipe from FIRE&FOOD Magazine 04/2024