
Gaucho Smoked Pig Cheek Ragu
Gaucho Smoked Pig Cheek Ragu
Cheeky piggy goodness in one pot with these Gaucho smoked pig cheeks. Serve with hasselbacks and focaccia – that’s what we tucked into it with when Sue visited Oink Towers recently for lunch. It’s a really tasty warming pot which will feed a lot of people. Try it with Ox cheek and your favourite seasoning for different flavours and canned beans would work well in the ragu. It’s one pot wonder which will be perfect for afternoons and evenings around the fire and if you’re lucky, maybe leftovers for another time. This fed the A&O crew – there was none left!
Serves 6-8
Cooking time: 5-6 hours
(allow 5 hours for smoking the cheeks)
Ingredients
8 pig cheeks
2 large onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 red chillis, seeds removed & finely diced
1 x tin chopped tomatoes
1 x tin green puy lentils
2 tablespoons Tomato puree
Italian Stallion seasoning
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
What to do:
Trim your cheeks if needed and sprinkle generously with Gaucho seasoning.
Leave the cheeks marinate while you light your grill and prepare the rest of the ingredients.
We used the Kamado Joe BigJoe and had it set up for indirect cooking with just one deflector plate in. Dome temp 120C.
Place the seasoned pig cheeks into a tin (line it with foil as this makes it easier for cleaning) and sit the tin on the top grill over the deflector plate. These will take about 5 hours. You want the internal temp to reach 95C and they should pull easily when done.
Meanwhile, make the ragu. Into a pot or heavy based saucepan pour in a glug of olive oil and add in the chopped onions. Sweat for a little while, add salt and pepper. Add in the garlic and chilli and cook for a bit longer. Pour in the tin of chopped tomatoes, lentils and tomato puree – rinse the tins out with water and pour this into the pot as well. Add a sprinkle of Italian Stallion for extra herby citrus flavours. Give it a good stir and this can just sit and simmer until the cheeks are ready. Just keep stirring now and then and add a little more water if needed.
When the pig cheeks are done, pull them with two forks and tip them into the ragu along with any juices from the tin. Add in the juice of one lemon. Check for seasoning. Warm it all through for another half an hour to let those flavours mingle and then you’re ready to dive in!
Tags
- african dish
- air fryer
- aloo chaat
- Ambassador
- Angus and Oink
- apple
- Apple Crumble
- aromatic
- baby pangang
- Bacon
- bagel
- baharat
- baking
- bavette
- BBQ
- BBQ Baking
- bbq fried chicken
- bbq ribs
- BBQ Sauce
- bean
- beef
- beef cheek
- beef ribs
- beef shin
- bengali
- better than takeaway
- big phat greek
- birria
- Bon Bons
- braai
- Bread
- Bread sticks
- breadsticks
- breakfast
- Brisket
- Broccoli
- broth
- brown sugar
- brunch
- buffalo
- bunny chow
- burrito
- butter
- cajun
- Cajun Red
- Cake
- Cashew nuts
- Char Sui
- Cheese
- Cheesesteak
- Chicken
- Chicken thighs
- chicken tikka
- chicken tikka masala
- chicken wings
- chicken wings bbq
- chickentikkamasala
- chickpea
- chickpeas
- Chilli
- chinese
- chinese takeaway
- chipotle
- Chocolate
- chops
- chorizo
- Chow Mein
- christmas recipe
- churro
- chutney
- Cinnamon
- coconut
- corn
- Corn Bread
- coronation chicken
- Crispy
- Crispy Chicken
- cuban
- Curry
- curry powder
- curryguy
- deep fried
- Dessert
- Desserts
- diced lamb
- dinner
- dinner party
- dip
- drizzle
- dumplings
- easy
- egg
- eggs
- enchiladas
- exodust
- fakeaway
- family
- feta cheese
- fish
- flatbreads
- focaccia
- folded wrap
- fools gold
- fried
- fried chicken
- fries
- fries with that
- frugal feasts
- frying steak
- Gamebird
- gammon
- garlic
- garlic and herb
- Garlic butter
- gaucho
- gosht
- gravy
- greek
- Greek food
- Gyros
- Habanero chilli
- halloumi
- halloween
- Harissa
- healthy recipes
- hella nashty
- herb
- home cooking
- homemade bread
- homemade curry
- homemade nuts
- homemade pasta
- honey
- Honey chilli
- hot honey
- Hot Sauce
- Hummus
- Ice Cream
- Ice Lolly
- impressive rooster
- indian food
- instant noodles
- instapot
- iron bbq
- italian stallion
- Jack and Coke
- jalepeno
- Jamaican
- jambalaya
- japanese
- Juan
- Juan more
- juan more rub
- Katsu
- Kebab
- Keith Cooks
- kfc
- king prawn
- korean
- korean chicken recipe
- lamb
- lamb curry
- lamb kofta
- Lamb shoulder
- Lemon
- lemon pepper
- low and slow
- lunch
- Mac and cheese
- mango
- mayonnaise
- Meat
- meat free
- Meat tinsel
- meatballs
- Mediterranean
- mexican
- minestrone soup
- moinks
- mole
- moo mami
- Moroccan
- neil
- new crew
- noodles
- nuts
- octane
- one pan
- one pot
- orange
- Orange cake
- Oregano
- orzo
- ox cheek
- pakora
- Paletas
- paneer tikka masala
- Panko
- pasta
- pastrami
- peanuts
- Phat Taco
- Philly
- pickle
- Pie
- pig cheek
- pitboss
- Pitboss BBQ
- pizza
- poached eggs
- pork
- pork belly
- Pork butt
- Pork cheeks
- Pork Ribs
- potato
- potato buns
- pozole
- prawn
- prawns
- Pretzel
- pulled
- pulled pork
- Pumpkin
- Pumpkin seed
- Pumpkin spice
- quick dinner
- ragu
- raita
- ramen
- ranch
- ranch dressing
- rarebit
- ras el hanout
- rebeccas cookery
- Recipe
- Recipes
- Red Dawg Apache
- Red Pepper
- Red Pepper Sauce
- ribeye steak
- ribs
- ribs pork ribs
- rice
- roast
- Roasted vegetable
- Rosemary
- rube you long time
- Rubs
- rum
- runny eggs
- salmon
- salsa
- salt & Chilli
- Salt & Pepper
- sandwich
- sauce
- Sauces
- Sausage
- Scotch beef
- scotch bonnet
- seafood
- seafood boil
- seasoning
- Seasonings in the spotlight
- Serrano
- shakshuka
- Shawarma
- short ribs
- shrimp
- sides
- slow cooked
- slow cooker
- smoked fish
- smoked sausage
- snack
- Soft boiled egg
- soup
- Souvlaki
- Spiced
- Spiced cake
- Spicy
- spicy chicken
- spicy nuts
- spinach
- Spotlight
- squid
- sri lankan
- steak
- stew
- Sticky ribs
- stir fry
- stuffing
- Sue
- sunshine
- sushi
- sweet and salty
- sweet and spicy
- sweet bones and bacon
- sweet potato
- sweetcorn
- taco
- Taco Al Pastor
- taco recipe
- taco-gami
- tagine
- tahini
- tandoori
- tandoori cooking
- Teriyaki
- Tex-mex
- Texan
- thai
- The General
- thin cut steak
- tikka
- Tikka Gold
- Toffee apple
- tom yum
- tom yum seasoning
- tomato
- tortilla
- traditional
- turkey stuffing
- Turkish
- vegetable
- vegetarian
- Voodoo Mango
- wedges
- winter recipes
- za'atar
- zhoug