Braised Beef Cheeks in Red Wine Sauce

Braised Beef Cheeks in Red Wine Sauce

Serves 4-6

 

A perfect winter dish. Serve these tender beef cheeks with my velvety mash potatoes or creamy polenta.
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 300 mins
Total Time: 310 mins
Ingredients
  • 1.5 kg beef cheeks, trimmed
  • oil for searing
  • salt & pepper, to taste
  • 750 ml full bodied red wine (or 3 cups)
  • 1/2 bunch thyme
  • 2 bay leaf
  • 1/2 bunch rosemary
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 brown onions, quartered
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 stalks celery
  • 250 ml beef stock (or 1 cup)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 200C. Heat up oil in a sauté/casserole pan until smokey. Season beef cheeks with salt & pepper then sear all sides in the hot pan until golden brown. Take off the pan and set aside.
  2. Now add the onion and garlic. Cook the onion through without burning. Then add the carrot and celery. Drain off any excess oil. Pour red wine into the saucepan and quickly scrape the bits off the bottom then simmer until reduced by half.
  3. Now add the herbs and the beef stock. Bring to the boil then pour into a braising pan or roasting dish. Add the beef cheeks, cover with baking paper then wrap tightly with aluminium foil.
  4. Place the roasting pan in the oven and turn the oven down to 150C. Leave to cook slowly for at least 3 hours up to 5 hours.
  5. Once done, remove the beef cheeks and set aside, then try to skim the fat off the top of the liquid and strain off all the vegetables to discard. If you have more time, I strain the liquid into another container and discard the vegetables. Then I let the liquid cool down in the fridge so the fat will solidify and I can easily scoop it out the next morning. Discard the fat.
  6. Put the strained liquid and the beef cheeks into a pot and reduce down the liquid to a nice saucey consistency. Serve warm with creamy polenta or mash potatoes.