Beef Cheeks in Red Wine
Melt-in-the-mouth, fork-tender braised beef in a rich red wine sauce. Start this dish at least a day in advance, or (even better) two or three days. Braises are well known for improving in taste over a couple of days.
Servings: 4
Equipment
- Wide shallow lidded oven-proof pan big enough to take the beef cheeks in a snug single layer (about 30cm) The same pot can be used for browning and braising.
- Stick/immersion blender
Ingredients
- 1 kg beef cheeks (note)
Marinade
- 500 ml red wine
- 2 carrots
- 40 g celery (about ½ stick)
- 2 fresh bay leaves
- small bunch fresh thyme (note)
- vegetable oil
- olive oil
- 500 ml stock meat or vegetable made up to 750ml with plain water (note)
Instructions
- Marinade Meat – put the meat in a large zip-lock bag or bowl. Dice the (peeled) carrot and celery and add this, along with the other marinade ingredients. Ensure the meat is well covered in marinade. Transfer to the fridge for up to 24hrs, turning the meat occasionally if you remember.1 kg beef cheeks500 ml red wine2 carrots40 g celery2 fresh bay leavessmall bunch fresh thyme
- Dry Meat – remove the cheeks from the marinade (don’t throw it out!) and pat them dry with paper towel. They should be dry enough that they look matte, not shiny. Pick off any veg or herbs that have stuck to them and return these to the marinade.
- Brown Meat – preheat the pan over medium then high heat. Add a tablespoon of oil to the pan and brown the cheeks well on both sides. This will take a few minutes per side. They’ll thicken up but will relax after their slow cook. You’ll need to do this in two batches, adding more oil as necessary. Once browned, remove the beef cheeks to a plate.vegetable oil
- Strain & Reduce Marinade – pour the reserved marinade through a sieve set over a large bowl. Pour the marinade into a wide pan set over high heat and bring to a boil. Use a skimmer to remove the scummy impurities from the surface and discard. Reduce by about two thirds. Meanwhile, pick out the thyme and bay leaf from the solids in the sieve and put these in the now empty bowl. Tip the celery and carrot into some paper towel and pat dry. Line the sieve with a layer of paper towel and set back over the bowl. Once the marinade is reduced, gently pour it into the sieve and allow it to strain.
- Preheat Oven – to 140°C.
- Sauté Veg – reduce the heat under the pan to minimum. There will be lots of residual heat in the pan. Add a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the dried celery and carrot. Sauté for about 10 minutes until well coloured and slightly softened. You can loosen any stuck bits at the bottom of the pan with a flat-ended spatula.olive oil
- Braise - stir the stock into the marinade. Pour this over the veg. Bring to the boil over high heat. Return the cheeks to the pan. The liquid should come about ½ way up the cheeks. Add more water if this isn’t the case. Carefully cover with a layer of baking paper, tucking in the edges as best as you can with a spoon like you’re putting the cheeks to bed. Line the lid with foil (turn the edges upwards (towards the handle) to prevent leakage and clamp on. Transfer to the oven for 4 hours. The cheeks are ready when they yield easily when prodded.500 ml stock
- Transfer Cheeks – carefully remove the cheeks from the marinade (they will be very soft). Transfer to a smaller baking dish in a single snug layer.
- Blend Sauce - transfer the sauce to a tall container. Pick out and discard any thyme stems and the bay leaves. Blend using a stick blender until smooth. Pour over the cheeks.
- Reheat to Serve – cover with foil. Transfer to the oven for about 20 minutes to heat through.
Notes
Beef Cheeks - most butchers sell these. You're less likely to find them in the supermarket. Depending how high the demand is/what season it is, they might sell them frozen. That's easy enough. Unwrap and separate them as soon as you get home and place them in the marinade. They can defrost overnight in the fridge and marinade at the same time.
I've found that beef cheeks can vary considerably in size, even from the same butcher. Smaller ones (around 200g) are perfectly portioned for one person. It's fine to slice larger ones into smaller chunks to serve though. If you can, try to find ones that are similarly sized. This can be a bit tricky if they're vacuum-packed - sometimes there's one in a pack, sometimes a pair. It can be a mystery until you open the bags. I've cooked very differently sized beef cheeks together. They've ended up still being cooked to perfection. Another bonus of slow cooking; it's very forgiving. The 1kg weight suggested here is a guide.
Thyme - if you have any cooking string/twine, use this to tie the bunch of thyme together. It will make it easier to fish this out later.
Stock - if you're using Vegetable Stock Paste, use 1 Tablespoon in 750ml water.