Slow-cooked beef cheeks
Beef cheeks, when cooked long and slow result in tender, juicy and flavoursome beef. When paired with silky smooth polenta, 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.
Ingredients
Method
Ingredients
- 4 Quality Mark beef cheeks
- 3 tbsp seasoned flour
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 1 carrot finely diced
- 1 onion finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 piece orange zest
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1 cup red wine
- 2 cups beef stock
To serve
- Soft polenta (or try some mashed potato)
- Carrot
- Chopped fresh parsley
Method
To make the beef:
- Preheat the oven to 160°C.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.
To serve:
- Remove bay leaves and serve beef cheeks with polenta or mashed potato and carrots that have been cooked in a little water with a teaspoon of honey and butter.
- Garnish with a sprinkle of fresh parsley.
Slow-cooker option
- Preheat slow cooker for 20 minutes.
- Brown ingredients as per recipe and make the sauce, then transfer to preheated slow cooker and slow cook on low for 8 hours.