Pressed pig’s cheek terrine

Autumn

This is one for the keen cook and anyone interested in nose-to-tail cooking. Pig’s cheeks have a wonderful flavour and texture and, pressed into a terrine with plenty of parsley, capers and mustard, they make something really special. You’ll need 4–6 whole free range or organic pig’s cheeks for this recipe, which seems like quite a few but, once they are cooked and trimmed, they don’t go far. Pig’s cheeks aren’t expensive and a good butcher will happily order you up a batch. Lots of butchers just sell the trimmed ‘cushion’ of darker meat, but you need whole cheeks here, as the fat and open-grained lighter meat is an important part of the finished terrine. A couple of days ahead of cooking, the cheeks are immersed in a simple brine to lightly cure them.

Serves 8 - 10

Ingredients

500g fine salt
2 litres water
4–6 pig’s cheeks, depending on size (about 3kg)
2 onions, peeled and halved
2 large carrots, peeled
4 celery sticks, washed
4 bay leaves
3–4 sprigs thyme
A large bunch of parsley, leaves only
1 tbsp capers
2 tsp mustard
2 tsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
Scant ½ garlic clove, crushed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Equipment
A 1-litre terrine or similar container

Method

To make the brine, combine the salt with the cold water, giving it a whisk to help it dissolve. Pour the salt solution into a big plastic tub and add the pig’s cheeks. It’s a good idea to weight them down so they are all submerged.

Leave the cheeks in the tub in the fridge or somewhere cool for 48 hours.

After the allotted time, take them out and dispense with the used brine. Rinse the cheeks under cold running water, then place them in a pan with the onions, carrots, celery, bay and thyme. Cover with fresh water and bring to a simmer.

Cook, uncovered, over a low heat for 3–4 hours until tender. You may need to top up the water.

Meanwhile, on a board, chop the parsley leaves and capers together finely. Scrape this mixture into a bowl, add the mustard, vinegar, olive oil and garlic, season with salt and pepper and mix well.

Once the cheeks are cooked, carefully remove them from the pan and set aside on a tray or large plate to cool.

When the cheeks are cool enough to handle, peel away the skin and trim back any excess fat, but leave a good 1cm covering. Then remove the gland-type tissue from the underside of the cheek. You should be able to scrape this away, as well as any sinew or membrane, leaving the open-grained light meat underneath.

Line a 1-litre terrine with cling film, leaving some overhanging all round. I find if you make the inside of the dish slightly damp, the cling film will stick to it and the whole process is easier.

Spoon a small amount of the parsley mixture on to the base of the dish. Spread this out thinly. Now take some pieces of cheek and lay them evenly over the base of the dish as well. You may need to cut them to get a good fit. Make sure the grain of the meat follows the length of the dish, so when you slice the terrine you’ll be cutting across the grain.

Spoon over a little more of the parsley mixture, followed by another layer of meat. Repeat until you have used up all the meat, or the terrine is full. Finish by spreading over any remaining parsley mixture.

Fold the cling film over the top of the mixture to enclose. Find something that will fit snugly within the edges of the terrine and that is practical to weight down. Place the terrine in the fridge with the weight on top and leave overnight to set.

When ready to serve, take the terrine from the fridge and turn it out on to a clean board. Slice and serve with good bread or rye crackers.

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