Information about Pork Cheeks
Pork Cheeks are one of the most tender cuts of meat with the most flavour. These are 80g each in weight cut from the side of the head above the jowl meat. Once cooked are soft & tender enough to mash gently with a fork when cooked, a melt in your mouth nugget of happiness. There are approximately 11-13 pieces Vacuum Sealed in Freezer Friendly Clear Recyclable pouches of 1 Kilo. The ready made boneless Cheeks are great for home cooked Pork Cheek recipes.
Many people would not have heard of Pork Cheeks or Beef Cheeks, but these are one of those culinary gems that you find that make a fantastic dish that you will want to repeat. Many top restaurants across the globe have braised Beef Cheeks or Pork Cheeks on their menu because they are so soft. You can buy Beef Cheeks over in the Beef category. These are perfect for making a dish that has great flavour, very soft & tender that is easy to chew & digest.
What are Pork Cheeks?
Cheeks are the a small muscle from the side of the head.
These muscles are mainly used for chewing making them a Fibrous Muscle that is darker in colour but, with a great Flavour Profile. The Cheeks are round in shape approximately 80g each & 3 pieces will fit neatly in the palm of your hand. There is intramuscular fat throughout the muscle helping to create more flavour & moisture whilst the fibres break down becoming very tender when cooked. The meat is darker than some of the other cuts because it is a hard working muscle that would have a slightly higher PH level.
Are Pork Cheeks like Beef Cheeks when cooking?
The 2 videos explain more details about the texture & flavour of the Cheeks with a comparison to Beef Cheeks:
How do we butcher Pork Cheeks?
These are carefully cut as a single piece from both sides of the head.
Once the outer skin has been removed form the head exposing the muscles underneath, the Cheeks are scouped away from the bone leaving them intact without cutting into the muscle. The expert butchers peel the outer Silver Skin from the Pork Cheeks to leave only the muscle meat ready for cooking. Having these ready prepared, reduces food waste & gives you more meat for your money #moremeatfym .
How do we package Pork Cheeks?
The Pork Cheeks are Vacuum Sealed in food safe plastic pouches.
The Cheeks are cut & prepared in hygienic conditions & packed within a few minutes to reduce moisture loss & natural bacteria growth. The Freezer Friendly Recyclable Clear Pouches have approximately 13 Cheeks, weighing 1Kg (approx) in each pack. We vacuum seal these Pork Cheeks into clear recyclable pouches, as it sucks the moisture back into the meat & protects them from (Freezer Burn) drying out.
Once packed the Cheeks are boxed up in Recyclable Carboard Boxes & Blast Frozen to -25°c, this gives the Pork Cheeks a 24 month shelf life preserving them just like they’ve been cut fresh.The Food Safe Pouches keep your meat safe when stored in your freezer or fridge at home, it protects against any external contamination or tainting by other food stuffs.
These easy store handy packs are recyclable & to reduce the amount of plastic we use in production, we are now using thinner, stronger pouches. We are always trying to reduce our Carbon Footprint through less packaging, but we also are using less energy to produce our meat cuts. Through efficiency & higher throughput, we are able to make cost savings, producing a Greener product.
It is important that our customers at home or in wholesale businesses are recycling all packaging responsibly because this is the most important link in the “Recycle Chain”. We actively encourage all our customers to recycle & are always looking at new packaging ideas or ways to save energy.
All our production facilities are BRCGS Approved making our products the safest way possible. The strict controls in production & packing rooms ensures that the meats are kept on clean surfaces, with all butchers & production staff wearing fully protective clothing. The measures put in place makes sure the meat keeps its natural taste, giving a very long shelf life when kept frozen at -18°c.
We are very conscious of producing & packaging our meats in the best way possible because you need to have the best results & experience at home or in the restaurants we supply. All our meats are prepared in low temperature controlled, clean cutting rooms & packed immediately after cutting.
Are Pork Cheeks good value for money?
Pork Cheeks are more expensive per kilo than regular cuts.
Pork Cheeks are a small piece of meat & therefore more expensive to produce than simple heavy Pork Cuts. There only 2 pieces per Pig at 80g each, they need expert butchers to cut them with low yields as such a small piece. The Cheeks are ready prepared as a 95% trimmed piece so, you can buy closer to a cooking weight for better value.
We have large production lines for making the Cheeks as a Wholesale Cut, this means we can make these much more efficiently to produce more pieces per hour. Wholesale Cheek production reduces our running costs, increases productivity & reducing the price per kilo of the Pork Cheeks giving you more meat for your money #moremeatfym.
Provenance of our Pork:
We source all our Pork locally to our production facilities to reduce our “Carbon Footprint” with lower vehicle emissions & less journey times, reducing stress levels for the pigs. Sourcing our pork locally from Northern France & Belgium ensures we have a sustainable supply of high quality pork from good welfare farms. Having top grade Pork allows us to make “Restaurant Quality” pork cuts in larger volumes to supply homes & restaurants across the UK & Europe.
Our choice of preferred Pig breed is “Pietrain Pig”, this is found mainly in the Wallonia region of Western Belgium.
These are a Pig with a good meat yield, low in cholesterol, good muscle structure & a mild temperament. The Pork has a good flavour & texture, combined with modern day slaughtering techniques are designed to be as humane as possible, ensuring light coloured, soft meat.
The colour of our Pork is a light pink & has no discolouring from bruising or a high PH level as the pigs have been looked after from farm all the way through to processing in the best humane way as possible. This makes sure that you get a tastier more tender piece of pork that guarantees great flavour.
What is Ultimate PH and how does it influence Meat Quality?
How do you cook Pork Cheeks?
These are best cooked Low & Slow Braised in the oven or Smoked Low & Slow on the Barbecue.
The fibrous nature of the Cheeks meat is perfectly suited to cooking slowly at lower temperatures because the meat fibres breakdown unlocking at that delicious flavour. Smoking Pork Cheeks gives the best results for flavour & tenderness, the results are awesome you can squeeze them between your fingers to break them apart. These are easy to prepare & cook, we have selected some easy to follow video cooking recipes with preparation instructions.
How to prepare a Pork Cheeks for cooking:
- Place the Pork Cheeks into the fridge & thaw out until they can be separated, place unwanted ones back into the freezer.
- Remove the thawed ones from the fridge & bring up to near room temperature (leave in the bag).
- Take out of the bag, rinse under cold water & pat dry with paper towel.
- Remove any remaining bits of Silver Skin & fat from the outside.
- Season the Pork Cheeks, working it into the cuts, getting every part well rubbed.
- Leave this for an hour before you start cooking because it gets the flavour into the Cheek Meat.
How to cook recipes for Pork Cheeks:
- Smoked & Braised Pork Cheeks
- Slow cooked Cheeks in Dutch Oven… Absolutely Delicious
- Italian Casserole Braised Pork Cheeks recipe
We recommend cooking these by a quick sear to brown the outside before cooking, this seals all that delicious flavour inside the Cheeks.
Pro Tip for Pork Cheeks:
Let your Cheeks rest before serving, especially when taking them off the Barbecue, this lets the meat relax becoming more tender, also lets the natural meat juices be reabsorbed into the meat.
Are Pork Cheeks nutritious?
Pork Cheeks are a good source of vitamins, minerals & protein which essential as part of your everyday balanced diet.
The intramuscular fat in the Cheek Meat is not excessive & renders out during the cooking process, this can be drained off to leave a leaner cooked meat. The fibrous Pork Meat has a high concentration of Protein which is an important part of your diet, promoting muscle growth & sustainability. Eating Pork Cheeks will provide essential proteins, vitamins & minerals but, eating too much Red meat with intramuscular fat is not good for you.
Why do we make Pork Cheeks?
The answer is simple; they are too good to be overlooked as a great tasting cut of meat that is very tender like pulled pork when cooked. These are easy to cook & will always bring a smile to everyone’s face at the dinner table!
Sharing your Pork Cheek Recipes on Social Media.
As we have mentioned already; these are absolutely stunning cooked on the Barbecue with extra Smokey flavour, get these covered in a dry rub the night before & leave in the fridge first. Once cooked on the Barbecue, wrap them & let them rest before serving with a sweet sticky glaze… simply delicious.
Pork cheeks seared in a hot pan then oven braised in a red wine, sherry or cider will make the flavour of the meat really “PoP”. These are an affordable cut of pork that will be enjoyed by all the family as a simple easy to cook meat. Your friends & family will enjoy your 5 star dining experiences & will be back for more.
Enjoy trying new ideas & recipes with these Pork Cheeks at home, friends & family probably won’t have tried these before. The taste & texture of the Pork Cheeks will impress them & this is something they will want to try smoking on their own Barbecues. Sharing great food at home is excellent & sharing your cooks online through Social Media is even better for those who are always looking to improve or try new ideas.
We are on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook with regular posts to keep people up to date with new products & sharing posts from our online customers. The different recipes, videos, stories, tips, tricks, reels, cooking methods & ideas made with Pork cheeks is inspirational for our followers. By tagging us in your Social Media Posts, you make it easier for us to find them to like, comment & share. These are a real benefit to thousands of others who want to know how to cook Pork cheeks.
Many people are unsure on how to Smoke or Slow Cook Pork Cheeks. Your Social Media posts help them learn how to cook & perfect these. In addition to our Facebook Page, we have an interactive Facebook Group for sharing your cooks & ideas. The group is called Sherwood Home Cooking & Barbecue, see delicious recipes, hints & tips from some of our online customers.
Enjoy cooking with these & by using our Hashtags will make it easier for our followers to find your posts also, we look forward to seeing your cooks.
