So my quest for pork cheeks continues, but I am getting closer. That week I was at the St. Paul farmers market and one of the vendors had pork cheeks. They were not the whole Jowl with fat and all attached but the were pork cheeks so I bought them. I am by no means an expert about pork or meat but pork cheeks are supposed to be an undesirable piece of meat and at one time butchers used to sell them for next to nothing. Apparently they are a premium cut these days fetching $7.50 a pound. I bought two pounds with a pork cheek bourguignon in mind. I wish I had more pictures to show for this but I had some camera issues and only got some finished product photos.
The dish as a whole was incredible. The cheeks stayed together and did not shred apart but were incredibly tender. The meat had a great porky flavor and the texture was almost creamy from all the fat in the cheeks themselves. I got the recipe from Stephane Reynauds Pork and Sons cook book. It is a magnificent book all about pork cookery.
I was very pleased with last nights meal a nice bowl of pork cheek bourguignon and a bottle of Cotes De Rhone and I was in heaven. I was at my favorite Asian grocery store the other day and saw a whole pigs head in the meat case. I will have to go back and see if they will sell me a whole pigs head. That might be my best chance at getting some whole jowls. Worst case scenario I will just have to make head cheese. either way it would be fun.
