Pork Cheeks?
 

i just called my local butcher and asked if they sold pork cheeks.

she asked me what restaurant i was associated with..i told her, "err. i'm a home cook, is that gonna be a problem?"

she put me on hold and came back.."yes! we have lots, but they are frozen"

cool! i gonna go try some. some chinese lady told me that is the best version of char sui..and there is a soysauce/wine braise my peeps do..

she did tell me NOBODY buys them as a home chef..i hope they are not expensive.

anyone?

No experience with those...but our local grocery store has lots of chicken paws for $1.19/lb.
Usually 3lb. packs.

I have bought Beef Lips before, and of course Tongue and Tripe.

I've never done pork cheeks but I have done beef cheeks. I soak them overnight in Red wine and braise low and slow for hours until it falls apart. I would suspect pork cheeks would need the same low and slow cooking. Good luck. I love Char Sui. I would love to see how it turns out for you.

i just got a bag!! a frozen pack that weighed 5 lbs.

$2.99 per pound!! dang, he said when they have too much they smoke them for dog treats.

this is gonna be interesting. this is a hipster butcher. the hogs are fed (they use the term, "finished") on the farm with walnuts before slaughter. it adds flavor to the fat, so they say. i do know the chops are fantastic.

I HAD to look it/them up.

I had no idea:

https://www.seriouseats.com/2012/01/the-nasty-bits-pork-cheeks.html

https://www.yummly.com/recipes/pork-cheek-meat

My wife has some homework:cool:

Green ink!

oh, you got this Paul.

i bet your neighborhood has some beautiful pork!!

Vash - the Pork Cheek Ragu on Spagattini down the street at Diavola is so good it makes me weak in the knees.

DAMN..i love that place!! that place does well with the odd bits. my wife got a dish where they make "spaghetti" out of tripe..it had an egg on top.

blew her away!! i'm gonna try that spot for the pork cheek. you work over there?

Pig cheeks?

Must be west coast for hog jowls SmileWavy

i thought hog jowls were smoked porked cheeks. no?

Gotta say I dunno...several parts of piggy that I know of, but don't frequent :)

Ain't never heard the term "smoked pork cheeks" in my life before today....

I should've asked 'em at Honey Monks today Ricky....came over the hill and the smokestack's were blowing strong ;)!

One of my favorite taqueria makes a Pork cheek al Pastor taco. Yum!

agreed!! i bought raw pork cheeks. if i wanted, i could smoke some and turn them into hog jowls. :)

Pork Cheeks

= Guanciale

Like the little tasty bits on a fish that no one knows about two little nugs of flavor righ in front of the gills

They are like Hanger steaks, the cow only has one, so its a limited supply...with cheeks there are two..still limited market

I have some aging right now

Kind of like osso buco?

Happy to meet you guys there anytime. We have to chat about Peru too.

Mmmmm, bluefin cheeks are awesome!

Sorry, I most familiar with female butt cheeks. But please do brief us often.
We like your exploration into the realm of meats often cast aside!

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Got some black cod cheeks in the freezer for later. One of my customers owns a fishing boat.

Not always smoked. My grandmother made green beans with potatoes and what she called hog jowls, and the meat was not smoked. From the description here I’m sure they were pork cheeks. Some times it was kale or collards instead of green beans.

Grew up with smoked hog jowls or smoked ham hocks cooked in dried beans and/or black eyed peas. Recently got some hocks on sale that were not smoked and cooked similarly. Just not the same.

When I was a kid, both jowls and hocks were very inexpensive (staples for southern poor/soul food). Not so much these days. Pricey as pro chops here now.

The hipsters are exposing the world to these body parts and sadly, they will go up in price.

Per pound, one the costliest parts of the hog is probably its ears.
Pet stores sell them like crazy.

Must be like chicken wings....decades ago hey were unloved....now they're quite proud of them any you pay. The BBQ joint I was at today only does shoulders (Lexington style)...but sells 15-1800 lbs every single day....I reckon that's more than a few jowls that get shipped somewhere....southerners might be dumb, but we ain't stupid ;)

Exactly! Found a great recipe in a Fortnum and Mason cookbook. The soak overnight does a lot to change the flavor. Without the soak, the cheeks can have a little aftertaste that my husband does not like.