Sherry Braised Pork

This is an adapted version of the amazing Spanish Sherry Braised Pork Cheeks.

In 2022 a friend and I walked the Camino and then took a road trip thru Northern Spain. Our last stop was Bilbao, where we did a Pincho/Tapas walking tour thru this amazing city. Mid-tour, we were served these Pork Cheeks, and after the first taste, my only words were, 'This is like walking into your grandmother's house and getting a huge hug'. This dish is comfort food plus

On returning to Australia, I tried to find pork cheeks and being the owner of a Pryde Butchery I thought this would be straightforward, however, after hunting around and not getting any I worked with my Master Butcher team and settled on using our whole pork scotch fillet.

Another missing and key ingredient is the Spanish sherry, but I found that a bottle of Boronia from BWS worked.

We cooked this for a Tapas evening and while not exactly the same it still has the wow comfort food factor.

Sherry Braised Pork

David

An adapted version for local Australian ingredients based on the original Sherry Braised Pork Cheeks from Northern Spain

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 3 hours hrs

Course Dinner

Cuisine Spanish

Servings 6 people

Equipment

• 1 large casserole dish
• 1 stick blender optional
• 1 sieve optional

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 kg pork scotch fillet
• 5 tbsp olive Oil
• 4 large shallots finely chopped
• 1 large carrot peeled and finely chopped into cubes
• 2 sticks celery finely chopped into cubes
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 springs thyme
• 5 tbsp plain flour to roll the cut pork in
• 1 ltr beef stock
• 300 ml amontillado sherry Spanish Marsala works fine
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• In a large casserole dish, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil until it starts to smoke.
• Cut pork scotch fillet into approx 2 cm steaks across the grain. You can also request our team to cut these for you at time of purchase
  1 kg pork scotch fillet
• Roll the pork steaks in the flour and shake the excess flour off. Fry the steaks in small batches, until golden brown. It takes about 3 minutes on each side. Drain on kitchen paper and set aside.
  5 tbsp plain flour
• In the same casserole dish, add an extra tablespoon of olive oil if needed and fry on a medium heat the chopped onions, carrots, celery and bay leaf. Make sure you scrape the bottom of the pan to pull off the caramelisation made from frying the steaks and then fry the chopped vegetables until the mix develops a light golden brown colour. About 8 minutes.
  5 tbsp olive Oil, 4 large shallots, 1 large carrot, 2 sticks celery, 1 bay leaf
• Return the pork to the casserole dish, add the sprigs of thyme, season with salt and pepper. Pour in the sherry and cook on a high heat for 2 minutes until the sherry has reduced slightly. Pour in the beef stock, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 3 hours.
  4 springs thyme, 1 ltr beef stock, 300 ml amontillado sherry, Salt and pepper to taste
• Before serving, gentle remove the pork steaks and set aside. Then either.

  a) Put the remaining juices thru a medium size sieve to get a smooth gravy or

  b) Use a stick blender an create a smooth gravy.
• Serve over mashed potatoes.

Notes

Slow Cooker:

This recipe can be done in a slow cooker with some adaptions.   You still need to cook off the pork and vegetables in a casserole dish or frying pan.  Then add the sherry and cook off the alcohol, as this will not cook off in the slow cooker.  See our article on using Wine in a Slow Cooker

Reduce the amount of beef stock by about a third and add more if required (unlikely).

Pork Cheeks:

If you can get your hands on pork cheeks this would be to the original recipe and even more succulent.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!