It’s been quite a while since I’ve written on my blog, so welcome back to me! We just left Lisbon, and while BBQ isn’t a thing there, food and wine is. Let me share something we had never tried before until last night. Braised pork cheeks. Now I didn’t realize pork cheeks were a thing either, thinking maybe it was just a term used to describe a preparation style or perhaps a way a particular cut of pork was trimmed and snapped, maybe a center loin or something. Turns out, it is the cheek meat, not to be confused with he jaw or Guanciale (our favorite for pasta amarati)
The plate we had was a tapas at a wine bar in Lisbon, braised pork cheek served on a light sauce. Tender and flavorful for sure and easy to cut with a fork. Turns out that while I’ve never seen the cut in our local meat market, it is supposed to be a fairly inexpensive cut of meat. I’ll definitely be asking for it in the meat market and trying this one at home. I was able to find some good recipes on line, so I’ll definitely be trying it when I get home.
We visited a great market near the old town which was a must do for a foodie. My food focus has shifted a bit towards more seafood (more surf and less turf) so it was really interesting to see the fish mongers in the marketplace. There was a line of four separate fish sellers, with truly the catch of the day, including live eels, and shellfish. I was surprised to see salmon on the local restaurant menus and fresh salmon in the market. While I didn’t personally try it, I spoke with a fellow from Ireland who did and said it was delish. He said it was all about how they grilled it, which I image is a key factor. As I told him, salmon is something we get in Oregon fresh and wild from March through October, and fresh farm from Canada all winter, so not much of an attraction for me.
We on the train to Porto, so I’ll update my dinning adventures in the next few days. Chow!
Grapes & Bites
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