Carrillada ibérica is Iberian pork cheek braised until tender, a Sevillian tavern dish served in red wine or sweet wine sauce, as a tapa or a main plate.

Carrillada, the pork cheek, is braised slowly in wine until it falls apart. Bodeguita Antonio Romero lists a carrillada tapa and a carrillada al vino as a main plate, Bodeguita Casablanca a carrillada de cerdo al vino tinto, Casa Cuesta a stew of pork cheeks with PX wine and Las Teresas a carrilera ibérica. We found no page that dates the dish or says it became canon in the late 20th century, so we make no such claim.

Where to eat Carrillada ibérica in Seville

4 editor picks for Carrillada ibérica in Seville, ranked by editorial score. All Seville signature dishes · Carrillada ibérica across every city.

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Make it at home

Serves 43 hr 30 minEasy

Ingredients

  • 1kg Iberian pork cheeks (carrilladas ibéricas), trimmed of sinew
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 large onions, finely diced
  • 1 large carrot, finely diced
  • 1 leek, white and pale green only, finely sliced
  • 6 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 1 bottle good Spanish red wine (Tempranillo or Rioja Crianza)
  • 100ml Pedro Ximénez sherry (or substitute oloroso plus 1 teaspoon brown sugar)
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 small bunch fresh thyme
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 4 cloves
  • 8 black peppercorns
  • 1 small piece dried orange peel (optional)
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Plain flour for dusting
  • To serve: country bread fried in olive oil, or potato puree, fresh parsley

Method

  1. Pat the pork cheeks dry. Season with salt and pepper and dust very lightly with flour.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a heavy casserole. Brown the pork cheeks on all sides over high heat, 8 minutes total. Lift out.
  3. Reduce the heat. Add the onion, carrot and leek; cook 12 minutes until soft and just golden.
  4. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste and cook 1 minute more.
  5. Return the pork cheeks. Pour over the red wine, Pedro Ximénez and add the bay leaves, thyme, cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns and orange peel.
  6. Bring to a simmer, cover, and braise at 150C for 2.5 to 3 hours until the cheeks yield to a fork.
  7. Lift the cheeks out. Strain the sauce through a sieve, pressing the vegetables. Discard the solids.
  8. Return the sauce to the pan and reduce by a third over high heat until glossy and slightly thickened.
  9. Slice or break the pork cheeks into pieces and return to the sauce. Warm through.
  10. Plate on slices of fried bread or alongside a smooth potato puree. Scatter parsley.

Editor tip. Iberian black-pig pork cheeks are the dish; supermarket pork cheeks work but the flavour is thinner. Look for jamón Ibérico cheeks at any Spanish butcher.

Common allergens: Sulphites.