{"id":192795,"title":"Red Wine Braised Pork Cheeks","modified":"2026-10-23T10:00:52+02:00","plain":"Pork cheeks marinated in red wine, browned, dusted with flour, then slowly simmered with lardons and aromatic vegetables.\n\n\n\nOutside, it\u2019s gray and cold, and a Dutch oven has been simmering since early afternoon. The scent of red wine, thyme and bay leaf fills the whole house. \n\n\n\nUnder the lid, the pork cheeks fall apart at the touch of a spoon in a glossy sauce, spiced up with a few peppercorns. With steamed potatoes to soak up all the sauce, this is the dish you look forward to all day, and it\u2019s even better the next day.\n\n\n\nPrefer beef? Try this red wine beef stew\n\n\n\nWhat Are Braised Pork Cheeks?\n\n\n\nThe pork cheek is a small, hard-working muscle in the pig\u2019s head, rich in collagen. When braised, meaning cooked slowly in liquid, covered, over low heat, it turns meltingly tender while keeping its shape. This recipe is a variation on daube: the cheeks marinate in red wine, are browned and dusted with flour, then simmer with the marinade, lardons and aromatic vegetables. The method also works with beef cheeks, and other cuisines have their own long braises, such as Filipino beef pares.\n\n\n\nDusting with flour is the least familiar step in the recipe. It means sprinkling flour over meat that has already been browned, just before the liquid goes in. The flour then dissolves into the sauce and gives it body.\n\n\n\nThe Taiwanese take on braised pork is lu rou fan\n\n\n\nFrom Farmhouse Cut to Bistro Dish\n\n\n\nFor a long time, pork cheek remained a farmhouse cut with no prestige. It went into p\u00e2t\u00e9s and terrines, where its natural gelatin helps bind the forcemeat. Slow braising gives it a new life: after a few hours in a covered Dutch oven, the collagen melts and the meat becomes tender.\n\n\n\nAnother long braise, from Japan: gyusuji nikomi\n\n\n\nToday, braised pork cheeks are served in bistros and at family meals alike. Depending on the region, red wine sometimes gives way to dark beer in Flanders or to cider in Normandy. This version stays true to the red wine daube, a dish that benefits from being made the day before.\n\n\n\nThe Main Ingredients for Braised Pork Cheeks\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFour whole pork cheeks marinate in a bottle of full-bodied red wine. The wine brings acidity, tannins and color. The onion, carrot, garlic, bouquet garni and two whole cloves in the marinade flavor the meat and mellow the wine.\n\n\n\nThe aromatic base is built around cured pork belly, or lean slab bacon, cut into lardons, along with an onion, a carrot, celery and garlic. Everything softens gently without browning, then goes into the sauce. A spoonful of flour is used to dust the cheeks, and a liter of chicken or meat stock rounds out the liquid.\n\n\n\nWhole peppercorns lift the sauce without overpowering it. Adjust the salt according to the stock and the lardons. As a side, steamed potatoes work best, and the leftovers make a good parmentier.\n\n\n\nKey Techniques for Meltingly Tender Cheeks\n\n\n\nThe lardons and vegetables soften without taking on any color, and the flour should turn light golden at most, or it will make the sauce acrid. The braise should stay at a bare simmer for 2\u00bd to 3 hours. \n\n\n\nIdeally, stop after 2\u00bd hours, let it cool, then cook it for another 30 minutes the next day. In the oven, the covered Dutch oven needs 3 to 4 hours at 120 \u00b0C, 150 \u00b0C at most.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nStart the braise the day before if you can: on the day itself, all that\u2019s left is to gently reheat it and cook the potatoes. As a first course, a red kuri squash soup nicely rounds out this fall meal.\n\n\n\n\n\n\tBraised Pork Cheeks\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\tMarinade4 pork cheeks1 onion, (finely chopped)1 carrot, (peeled and thinly sliced)2 cloves garlic, (peeled)1 bouquet garni ((thyme, bay leaf, flat-leaf parsley))2 whole cloves1 bottle red wine (full-bodied)Aromatics150 g cured pork belly, (or lean slab bacon)1 onion1 carrot1 stalk celery4 cloves garlic1 drizzle of oilBrowning and Flouring1 tablespoon flourSimmering1 L chicken stock (or meat stock, homemade or made with 1 bouillon cube)environ 1 tablespoon peppercorns, (to taste)salt (fine)\t\n\t\n\t\tMarinadePlace the pork cheeks in a deep container, such as a large bowl or a terrine dish.Add the finely chopped onion, sliced carrot, garlic cloves, bouquet garni and whole cloves.Pour all the red wine over the cheeks.Let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, and up to 12 hours.Turn the cheeks over after 1 hour, then from time to time if they marinate longer.AromaticsCut the cured pork belly into lardons.Peel and slice the onion.Peel and thinly slice the carrot.Thinly slice the celery stalk.Peel the garlic cloves.Cook the lardons in a saut\u00e9 pan with the drizzle of oil, just long enough to render their fat, without letting them brown.Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic, and cook them the same way, just until softened, without browning.Remove the aromatics from the pan and set them aside: the pan is then used to brown the cheeks.Browning and FlouringDrain the pork cheeks, reserving the marinade and its aromatics.Carefully pat the cheeks dry with paper towels.Sear the cheeks in the same pan until browned on both sides.Pour off the excess fat from the pan, leaving the cheeks in it.Flour the cheeks: dust them with a light coating of flour directly in the pan, sifting it if possible.Stir with a spatula for a few minutes to coat the cheeks well on all sides, without letting the flour brown (at most, let it turn golden), or it will make the sauce acrid.SimmeringPlace the cheeks in a Dutch oven.Pour the marinade over them, along with all its aromatics.Add the reserved saut\u00e9ed lardons and aromatics.Stir.Add the stock, or pour in water until the meat is just covered.Add the peppercorns.Season with salt, depending on the stock used.Stir again.Gently bring to a simmer over low heat.Cover and simmer for 2\u00bd to 3 hours over the lowest possible heat.Check from time to time that it stays at a bare simmer.Ideally, stop cooking after 2\u00bd hours and let cool, as with all slow-simmered dishes.The next day, put the Dutch oven back over low heat and cook for another 30 minutes.\t\n\t\n\t\tThis recipe is a variation on daube. It can also be made with beef cheeks.\nFlouring means sprinkling flour over pieces of meat that have been browned in fat, before adding liquid. The flour gradually dissolves into the sauce, which gains body and slowly turns velvety without thickening.\nThe marinade can be given more punch with a little wine vinegar, used sparingly, especially if the marinating time is short.\nOven method: place the covered Dutch oven in the oven at 120\u00b0C, 150\u00b0C at most, and cook very gently for 3 to 4 hours.\nServe with steamed potatoes, the side that goes best with this dish. Leftovers can be used to make a parmentier.\n\t\n\t\n\t\tPlat principalFran\u00e7aise","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192795"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192795\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/192689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}