Daube of Pork Cheeks

recipes from a life lived at a slow pace

This Provençal pork stew is ideal for chilly days when you crave a comforting meal. Traditionally, daubes were prepared in the fading embers of a wood fire using a distinctively shaped pot known as a daubière. The extended cooking time and the pot’s rounded form facilitate a convection process, where heat rising from the bottom transforms into steam, meets the cooler top, and condenses back down onto the simmering meat. This cycle helps the collagen in the braising meats convert to gelatin, giving the final dish a smooth and silky texture.

Daube of Pork Cheeks, photo by Francois de Melogue

Daube of Pork Cheeks

incredibly tender pork cheeks simmered with vegetables in a classic Provencal stew

PREP: 10 minutes + 2 days marinating | COOK: 3.5 hours | SERVES: 4

• 2 pounds of pork cheeks (about 12 cheeks)
• 8 cloves of garlic crushed
• 2 carrots peeled and diced
• 1 large sweet onion peeled and diced
• 1 rib of celery diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 sprigs of thyme
• 4 juniper berries crushed
• 1 dried orange peel (if you don’t have zest one orange)
• 1 bottle of Provencal red wine…