At DAP we are in love with cheek pads. We have cooked them in many ways and, although our favorites are the classic ones stewed with red wine, we continue to try new combinations and formulas. This time it was their turn Iberian pork cheeks with pineapple sauce in a pressure cookera perfect recipe for the Christmas menu.
We found inspiration in a recipe by chef Jose Andrés, from a thousand years ago, in which he uses beef cheeks and cooks them in the oven. We have simplified it a lot, with Iberian pig cheeks that are much more accessible and using the pressure cooker to reduce cooking time a little more than half an hour. We loved the result.
The point of sweetness that the pineapple brings to the whole is magnificent, as well as the touch of vanilla aroma. They are two key ingredients for this dish to go from being delicious to being superb. And, best of all, with very little effort. Because the hard work is done by pressure cookera great ally in our kitchen.
We clean the cheeks well, removing excess fat, season them with salt and pepper and coat them in flour. We heat a little oil in a pressure cooker and mark them on strong fire, round and round, so that they brown on all sides. We withdraw and reserve.
Peel the onions and roughly chop them. We also peel the garlic cloves, wash and chop the carrots. We peel the pineapple, cut it in half and cut this half into bite-size pieces. We put all these ingredients in the pot and sauté over medium-high heat for ten minutes. Then we pour in the wine and let it evaporate over very high heat.
Next, we return the cheeks to the pot, placing them on top of the sautéed vegetables and pineapple. Pour in the meat broth and add the vanilla pod in two halves and the bay leaf. We close the pot, place the valve in the position 2 and, when the steam starts to come out, we program 35 minutes.
Once the cooking time has elapsed, we remove the pot from the heat and let it depressurize on its own. When the valve has dropped and there is no steam left inside, we open the pot, remove the cheeks, the bay leaf and the vanilla and blend the rest. With this we are going to make the sauce.
For one very fine sauce, we pass the puree through a strainer. We cook the sauce over low heat for the time necessary for it to thicken and concentrate the flavor. Season with salt and pepper when we have obtained the desired thickness, not before. When we are going to serve, we finish the sauce by adding the butter and heating the cheeks in it.
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What to serve with Iberian pork cheeks with pineapple sauce
On this occasion, I have used chestnut puree – ideal for meat – to accompany the Iberian pork cheeks with pineapple sauce and it has been a success. Although there are many other garnishes that go well with it. Classic mashed potatoes are one of my favorites, as well as grilled asparagus.
In DAP | Cheeks to Pedro Ximénez
In DAP | Roast beef