Braised pork cheeks with baby leeks, sultana ragu, mash and caraway jus

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This extraordinary pork cheeks recipe from Graham Campbell features a memorable caraway jus and a sultana ragu, as well as good old fashioned mash. This recipe does require a sous vide machine though, so make sure you have one or are comfortable following the alternative method before attempting to make it. Visit our sous vide collection for more inspiration.

First published in 2015

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Pork cheeks

Baby leeks

  • 12 baby leeks
  • 50ml of white wine
  • 100ml of white wine vinegar
  • 50g of sugar

Mash

Sultana ragu

  • 1 onion
  • 1 knob of butter
  • 225g of sultanas
  • 100ml of sherry vinegar
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 500ml of water
  • 200ml of Worcestershire sauce

Caraway jus

Equipment

  • Water bath
  • Sous vide bags

Method

1
For the pork cheeks, sweat off the onion, celery, carrots and garlic in a large saucepan over a low-medium heat. Cook until soft but not coloured
2
Add the sherry vinegar, white wine and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a gentle boil and then simmer for 30 minutes
  • 50ml of sherry vinegar
  • 400ml of white wine
  • 200ml of Worcestershire sauce
3
Add the bay leaf, 10g caraway seeds and a pinch of salt and simmer for a further 10 minutes
4
Pass the liquor through a fine strainer and set aside to cool
5
Trim any sinew and fat away from the pork cheeks and place into a large vac pack bag. Add the cooled liquor, seal and marinate for 24 hours
6
Once marinated, seal in a vac pack and cook in a water bath at 80˚C for 6 hours
7
For the baby leeks, pour the 50ml white wine, 100ml white wine vinegar and 50g sugar in a pot, bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and allow to cool
  • 50ml of white wine
  • 100ml of white wine vinegar
  • 50g of sugar
8
Trim the roots and dark green tips off the leeks. Bring the white wine mixture back to the boil for a second time and pour over the baby leeks, leave to cool in the liquor
9
For the sultana ragu, place the finely diced onion, garlic and butter in a pot over a low-medium heat. Sweat until soft but not coloured
10
Add the sultanas, sherry vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and water. Bring to the boil and leave to simmer for 1/2 hour
  • 225g of sultanas
  • 100ml of sherry vinegar
  • 500ml of water
  • 200ml of Worcestershire sauce
11
For the creamy mash potato, add the potatoes to a saucepan, cover with water and add a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cool for 12-16 minutes or until cooked through. Drain and allow to steam for 2 minutes
12
Mash the potatoes thoroughly or pass through a ricer or mouli until smooth. Fold through the butter and milk and season to taste. Add to a saucepan, cover and keep warm
13
For the caraway seed jus, add oil to a hot pan. Once the hoil is hot, add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic and leave to sweat
14
Add red wine vinegar and reduce until almost dry. Repeat this process with the red wine before adding the beef stock and caraway seeds. Reduce down to 200ml and then pass through a fine strainer. Season to taste with salt and set aside
15
Warm the pork cheeks in the reserved cooking liquor until very hot
16
Place 2 quenelles of mash onto each plate. Add a portion of the sultana ragu 3 pork cheeks - 2 on the mash and 1 on the sultana ragu. Finish with the baby leek and a drizzle of the caraway jus. Serve immediately
First published in 2015

Despite his relatively young age, Graham Campbell possesses the gastronomic confidence and assured touch of a seasoned pro.

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