Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks in Red Wine

Beef cheeks, when cooked long and slow result in tender, juicy and flavoursome beef. When paired with silky smooth polenta or potato, doused in a rich sauce spliced with a little orange for freshness, you have a dish made in heaven. Impress your guests this winter with a recipe that requires minimum fuss but delivers maximum impact at an economical cost.

Ingredients

• 4 x 250 gram beef cheeks, trimmed of silver skin
• 3 tablespoons seasoned flour
• 2 stalks celery, strings removed and finely diced
• 1 carrot, very finely diced
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 bay leaves
• Pared rind of 1 orange
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 cups red wine
• 1 cup beef stock

To serve

• Polenta or mashed potato
• Carrots (or your choice of veges)
• Fresh parsley, chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

Remove the silver skin from the beef

Add a dash of oil to a large casserole dish (one that is suitable for stovetop and oven) and place over a medium-high heat. Dust beef cheeks with seasoned flour, place in casserole dish and brown on both sides (do this in batches to avoid overcrowding the dish). Transfer to a plate as you go.

Lower the heat and add another dash of oil. Add the celery, carrot and onion and cook until soft. Add the garlic, bay leaves, orange rind, ground cumin and allspice and cook for a further one minute.

Return browned beef cheeks to the casserole dish, pour in the red wine and bring to the boil. Pour in the beef stock, bring up to the boil again then cover with a disc of baking paper and a tight fitting lid. Place in the oven and cook for 3-3 ½ hours or until the beef cheeks are almost falling apart. Stir beef cheeks halfway through cooking and check seasoning as required.

Once the cheeks are fall apart tender remove them from the pan and rest on a plate. Reduce the cooking liquid until it coats the back of a spoon, add a nob of butter (optional) and stir in

To serve

Remove bay leaves and serve the  beef cheeks on polenta or mashed potato with carrots, generously spoon over the thickened sauce. Garnish with a sprinkle of fresh parsley.

Buy your Beef Cheeks Here