Braised pork cheek

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 kg pork cheek(s)
• 6 tbsp oil
• 100 g carrot(s), diced
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 300 g onion(s), cut into fine strips
• 2 tbsp aniseed
• 2 cloves
• 150 ml dry white wine
• 300 ml chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 ½ tsp cornstarch
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 3 hours; Total time approx. 3 hours 20 minutes

Preheat the oven to 160°C (top/bottom heat). Brown the pork cheek on all sides in 3 tablespoons of hot oil. Remove, season with salt and pepper, and set aside. Add the remaining oil to the pot. Sauté the garlic and onions over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Then add the diced carrots, anise, and cloves and sauté for another 5 minutes. Deglaze with wine and reduce until reduced. Then add 300 ml of water, the chicken stock, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, and the bay leaf. Place the meat on top, fat-side down. Cover the pot and cook the contents in the preheated oven on the second rack from the bottom for 2 hours 15 minutes. 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time, turn the meat so that the rind is on top. At the end of the cooking time, wrap the meat in aluminum foil and keep warm in the oven at 80°C. Meanwhile, pour the sauce from the pot through a sieve. Reduce 500 ml of the sauce to 200 ml, then add salt. Mix the cornstarch with a little water and thicken the boiling sauce. Serve the meat with the sauce.