Pork cheek chilli

Time for another pork cheek recipe I feel! This time I have used it in a chilli which has a delicate balance between smoky and spicy flavours and the tender pork. Yet again, it’s all about low and slow cooking so don’t rush this!

 

Ingredients- serves 4
4 pork cheeks- trimmed and cut into inch pieces
1 large onion- chopped
2 garlic cloves- crushed
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 dried ancho chillies
2-3 dried arbol chillies
1 tin of kidney beans
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
600ml chicken or vegetable stock
1 tbsp treacle

1. Start by preheating the oven to 160c/ 140 fan. Take a glug of oil in a large heavy casserole pan and brown off the pork cheeks for a few minutes before setting aside. Next up, fry the onion and garlic together until softened and about to turn golden.

2. Combine the coriander, cumin, oregano, cayenne and paprika and add to the onions. Cook together for a couple of minutes before returning the pork to the pan and coating it in the spice mix. At the stage I prick the dried chillies and pop them in the pan too. The ancho chillies bring smokiness to the chilli alongside the paprika and the arbol give it a kick! Add the kidney beans, making sure they too are well coated, before the tomaotes and stock goes in. I tend to put half of the stock in at this stage and reserve the rest for during cooking if it needs a bit of extra moisture. In goes the treacle to add a great depth of flavour alongside the savoury chillies.

3. Bring the chilli to the boil on the hob before placing in the oven for 2 1/2- 3 hours until the cheeks are tender and the sauce is thick and unctuous. Check the pork every now and again as it cooks and add extra stock if needed. Finish with some roughly chopped coriander leaves, serve with rice and dig right in!

A cheeky chilli fit for every table!