Up until recently, beef cheeks were relatively unknown. With the advent of reality TV cooking shows, they have become popular for slow cooked dishes as the weather gets colder. I have tried a number of recipes but this one is by far my favourite! This recipe is a combination of a few recipes I have found in different magazines over the years. The meat is tender, tasty and just melts in your mouth – it is absolutely divine with a bottle of red wine on a cold evening!
Hints & Tips
- I love the addition of mushrooms but if you do not like mushrooms you can still make the recipe without them.
- You can make this dish in a slow cooker. If you use a slow cooker, there is no need to cover the slow cooker with baking paper or foil. Cook on low for 8 hours.
- Category: Baking & Roasting, Beef, Dairy Free, Main Course
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 kilograms Beef Cheeks
- 12 Brown Mushrooms
- 20 Button Mushrooms
- 12 Shitake Mushrooms
- 4 tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 4 tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 3 cups Beef Stock
- 3 cups Shiraz
- 1 Bouquet Garni (8 Thyme Sprigs, 5 Bay leaves, 12 Flat-Leaf Parsley Sprigs)
- 1 tablespoon Nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon Cinnamon
- 1 cup Plain Flour
- Salt
- Pepper
- Olive Oil
- 4 Onions, Chopped
- 4 Carrots, Cut into chunks
- 15 Garlic Cloves, Sliced
- 3 tablespoons Plain Flour
- 50 grams Butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius.
- Cut Beef Cheeks into large pieces if they are very big.
- Place flour in a bowl with some salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Flour beef cheeks, shaking off any excess.
- Preheat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a deep frying pan and brown the beef cheeks on all sides, a few at a time. Add a bit of extra olive oil if needed. Set aside.
- Add another 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Cook the onions until golden.
- Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes.
- Add the cinnamon and nutmeg and cook for a minute before adding the carrot and cooking until golden.
- Spread half the onion mixture into the base of a cast iron dish.
- Place the beef cheeks on top. Place the bouquet garni on top of the beef cheeks.
- Top with the remaining onion mixture.
- Deglaze the red wine in the frying pan. Add the stock, sugar and tomato paste and shitake mushrooms. Bring to the boil and then pour over the beef.
- Fry the remaining mushrooms for 3 minutes and then add to the beef.
- Cover the dish with baking paper and then a layer of foil before placing the lid over the dish tightly.
- Bake for 3.5 hours or until beef is meltingly tender.
- Half an hour before the dish is complete, ladle 1 cup of juice into a jug.
- In a separate jug, mix the butter and flour to a paste. Add to the ladled juices and mix well. Pour back into the dish and continue to cook. This will thicken up the overall sauce.
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