Braised pork jowls are wonderful comfort food during the cold months of the year. The meat becomes tender as butter after extended cooking, and the sauce gains plenty of depth of flavor from time in the casserole with jowls, vegetables, apple purée, and porter. Remember to trim the pork jowls before frying – or ask your butcher to do it.
Enjoy the braised pork jowls with good mashed potatoes and butter-fried kale.
4 servings
Ingredients
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
2 carrots
2 parsnips
2 stalks celery
1 kg trimmed pork jowls
Oil for frying
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 dark beer, e.g., porter
4 dl apple purée
4 dl chicken stock
3-4 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
Optional: cornstarch for thickening
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Peel the root vegetables, and cut them into rough chunks. Chop the celery coarsely.
Brown the pork jowls in oil in an oven-safe casserole, and set them aside. Now sauté the onion and garlic in the same casserole until the onions are translucent. Add the vegetables, and sauté for another 2-3 minutes. Return the pork jowls to the casserole together with vinegar, beer, apple purée, stock, thyme, and bay leaves. Bring the casserole to a boil, skim off foam, and cover with a lid. Place it in the oven at 140°C fan/160°C conventional oven for approximately 1.5 – 2 hours, until the meat is tender. Alternatively, you can let it simmer on the stovetop until the meat is tender.
Remove the meat from the casserole, and strain the liquid into a smaller casserole. Discard the vegetables. Reduce the liquid until it has a suitable flavor and consistency. Season with salt and pepper.
Coat the pork jowls in the sauce before serving.
Enjoy the braised pork jowls optionally with mashed potatoes and butter-fried kale.
