The cheek of it! Part 1: Beef

not for the faint hearted... raw beef cheeks

I have recently noticed cheek coming up on the menu of many a fine dining establishment, especially those of the gastro pub variety. It got me thinking, why do you never see cheek on offer in the supermarket? Why don't people tend to cook with it?

When I found I could get beef cheeks at the Waitrose butcher, and that they were only £6.60 per kg (bearing in mind there is no bone in them that is really, really cheap), I was surprised I had never cooked with them before.

The one caveat against them is that they are more of a weekend thing since they require very long, slow cooking. However, once done they are so succulent and fall apart-y that you will be using them again and again. Here is what I did with them:

Slow cooked beef cheeks, a potato and white bean puree and buttery baby vegetables (serves 4)

For the beef cheeks

2 beef cheeks, trimmed and cut into 4 equal-sized pieces

Oil for frying

1 onion, sliced

1 garlic clove, sliced

125ml/4fl oz port

1 orange, juice and zest

1 litre beef stock

1 tbsp cracked black pepper

8 shallots, peeled and sliced 

For the bean and potato puree 

1 tin of cannelinni beans

3 large potatoes (peeled and quartered)

2 sprigs of rosemary

50g butter

100ml double cream 

For the baby vegetables

8 button onions (peeled)

20 baby carrots (peeled)

8 baby fennel (trimmed)

3 tsp sugar

Thyme

½ a star anise

150 ml chicken stock (from a good stock cube is fine)

Butter

The Beef

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

2. Season the beef cheeks with salt and fry in a little oil in a large ovenproof pan until browned on all sides. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside. Fry the onion and garlic in the same pan until brown then return the meat to the pan and deglaze with the port and orange juice. Lower the heat and reduce the liquid until it is syrupy then add the stock, pepper, and orange zest.

3. Cover with greaseproof paper and place in the oven for about three hours or until the meat is very tender.

Meanwhile, the puree

4. Boil the potato until soft.

5. Heat the beans up with the rosemary for 5 minutes.

6. Heat up the cream to just before boiling point

7. When the potatoes are done crush them and add the butter. Add the beans and crush them too.

8. Mix in as much cream until you are happy with the consistency. P

9. Pass through a sieve once or twice until nice and velvety smooth.

Sieved

The baby vegetables

10. Fry the carrots and onions in 40g of the butter for 3 minutes. Sprinkle over 2 tsp sugar. Cover with stock and simmer gently for 20-25 minutes.

11. Fry the fennel in the remaining butter, sprinkle with sugar and cover with stock, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Add the star anise for the last 5 minutes and then remove again.

12. With both of the vegetables, reduce the stock to a glaze at the end before stirring

Back to the Beef

13. When the beef is cooked, remove from the pan. Place a sieve over a bowl and strain the cooing liquid. Pour the liquid into a clean pan and reduce to a syrupy consistency.

lazy presentation... sorry, I was hungry!

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