Pork cheeks from Benz. Three braised pork cheeks in their own gravy.
Pork cheeks from Benz are pre-braised pork cheeks from the Benz butcher shop in Köngen: three pieces per tin, cooked in their own house-made gravy with braising vegetables. No flavor enhancers or preservatives, containing only what you would put in the pot yourself – 410 grams, two portions.
Buying pork cheeks used to mean ordering them in advance at the butcher's. The cheek is a small cut; there are only two per animal, and it needs time: two to three hours of braising until the connective tissue is soft and the meat melts on the tongue. Gina Benz takes both off your hands: the pre-ordering and the braising. The tin contains three ready-braised cheeks in a dark sauce. Heat them for a quarter of an hour over low heat, and serve with mashed potatoes with milk and butter – which, by the way, is her own favorite meal from the assortment.
As soft as a pot roast, but with more flavor
Pork cheeks taste richer than fillet and juicier than a roast because the meat is marbled with connective tissue, which turns into gelatin when braised. This is exactly what happens here in the tin. The cheeks are so soft that a fork is all you need, yet they remain fibrous enough to be recognized as a distinct cut. The flavor is mild and porky, with less of a smoky bacon note than belly or neck cuts.
The sauce does the rest: dark, roasted notes, with carrots, onions, and a subtle hint of tomato. The braised vegetables are recognizable as soft chunks. Herbs, wine, and sweetness are kept in the background – the seasoning remains restrained so that the meat can play the leading role.
Anyone who knows these cheeks from a restaurant, served with a red wine reduction and a glazed surface, might find these a bit too simple. This is intentional. And for those looking for lean meat: cheeks are not suitable, as their tenderness comes from the connective tissue and the fat that melts during the braising process.
Mashed potatoes, ribbon noodles, or bread for dipping
Open the tin, pour the contents into a pot, and heat over low heat for about fifteen minutes, stirring as little as possible to keep the cheeks whole. It takes four minutes in a suitable container in the microwave. The side dish recommended by the Benz family is mashed potatoes, or alternatively, ribbon noodles. Both soak up the sauce, and there is plenty of it.
A few more ideas: serve the cheeks with apple-red cabbage and bread dumplings to turn the contents of the tin into a Sunday feast. Or serve on toasted sourdough bread with some horseradish as a warm evening snack. For a dish with more vegetables, add sautéed mushrooms and a few Brussels sprouts to the pot. If you need to stretch the sauce because three guests are coming, use half a tin of gravy from the same producer – it's the same base.
A simple recipe that is ready in twenty minutes: boil potatoes and mash them with hot milk, butter, and nutmeg. Heat the cheeks, place them on the mash, and drizzle with the sauce. Sprinkle with parsley, and that's it. That is enough, and it is exactly how Gina Benz prefers to eat them.
Our tip: Three cheeks are sufficient for two people with a side dish; for two very hungry diners without a side dish, it will be tight. When hosting guests, count on one tin per two people and it's better to have one extra. The dish is gluten-free and lactose-free.
A word about the sauce: there is plenty of it in the tin, more than in a goulash. If you only need a portion, save the rest – the next day, it will provide the base that a piece of pan-seared meat or fried potatoes might otherwise lack. Covered, it will keep in the fridge for two to three days, during which time it will jellify because it is cooked from bones. It will become liquid again when heated.
A little piece of pork from Köngen
The cheek is a muscle that is constantly working in the pig, which is why it is permeated with connective tissue and fat – and that is why it becomes so soft when braised. For a long time, it was considered a "butcher's cut" that ended up in sausage or the butcher's own kitchen rather than in the display case. The fact that it is now on restaurant menus is precisely because of this tenderness. For their tins, Benz uses pigs from a farmer in Köngen, slaughtered in the region and processed in their own butchery.
They are braised in the gravy that Benz also sells pure: pork bones, vegetables from Köngen, reduced for at least 24 hours. The cheeks cook in it until the connective tissue has turned into gelatin. Afterward, everything is put into the tin and heated a second time – this heat makes the unopened dish shelf-stable for about two years without the need for preservatives. The meat content is around 50 percent, at least 180 grams.
What happens during braising explains why this cut is so special: the cheek's connective tissue consists of collagen. Under short, high heat, it contracts and makes the meat tough. With long, low heat, it dissolves into gelatin – the meat becomes tender, and the sauce gains its body. A cheek that has been braised for too short a time is inedible. One that has had enough time melts on the tongue. Benz hits this point in their production facility; you just have to heat it up.
The Benz butcher shop has existed in Köngen for over 100 years, managed in the fifth generation by master butcher Daniel Benz and his wife Monika. Together with their daughter Gina, a master butcher and food manager, they founded the delicatessen manufacture in 2019. The pork cheeks are their declared favorite product – and the dish they use to explain to customers what defines their manufacture.
The restaurant dish for a Tuesday evening
Braised cheeks are a dish you usually order instead of cooking yourself. In the tin, they become something that can be served on a normal weekday after someone else has spent the three hours at the stove. That is the real difference from other convenience foods: it is less about convenience and more about the fact that this tin contains a cut you could hardly get yourself.
As a gift for people who enjoy good food but cook little, the cheeks work well in a package together with the premium beef goulash. Two braised dishes from the same butcher, both without additives, both ready in twenty minutes. Experience shows that once someone has opened a tin, they tend to order several more.
Three pork cheeks, two hours of braising time, a butcher in Köngen – and all you have to do is make the mashed potatoes.
