This is the first time ever making beef cheeks. I don’t even remember if I’ve had it before, but it was amaaaaazing. Just falls apart and so melty. You’d think it was marbled with fat to make it that way, but I think it’s all of the connective tissues (collagen?) in the cheeks that just melt when you cook it for hours.
At hour 7, I rolled the cheeks over in the juice, and the fork was like a hot knife to butter 🤤
I don’t know how my butcher got such big cheeks (lol…) but they were over 450g raw… So I slow cooked them on high for 9 hours. Worth it.
My plating was no bueno, but you can zoom in and see how luscious the meat is. My stick blender also carked it part way through, so I ended up with bits of unblended carrot, onion, and celery in the gravy. Mashed red potatoes and green beans on the side.
Going to bed happy tonight.
https://www.recipetineats.com/slow-cooker-red-wine-beef-cheeks/
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There’s something magical about slow cooked meat.
If plating was a problem, I would be banned from this group.
Wouldn’t we all ?
I know, right! Thing is, my GP said I need to try to lower my cholesterol tentatively shakes fist at genetics. She doesn’t want to put me on pills yet and is giving me time to try to sort it out myself, so finding healthier cuts of meats that have the same characteristics as deliciously fatty cuts is an adventure (like slow cooked pork or lamb shoulder). Online shows varying levels of saturated fats for beef cheeks, so I’m on the fence about having this regularly. :(
Sometimes I get the plating right, sometimes it’s just my camera skills. Mostly missing out on both.
Ha man… that’s soooo delicious. I started cooking those as well earlier this year. Tex-mex style, Chinese style… French style with red wine. Such a delicious piece. Also super cheap.
Omg. I’ve just had toast with cottage cheese and egg for breakfast, and your food looks infinitely tastier 😭
Do you have recipes that you follow, or just by the seat of your pants? And whereabouts are you? Beef cheeks here aren’t so cheap… $23/kg is the price I got it for. Cheaper than some other cuts, though.
Hahaha thanks :) It took forever to reach the stage where I’m proud of sharing the food…
I’m building my own recipe notes based on too much YouTube vids and grandma’s notes. Plus a ton of trials and errors and a few reference books.
I’m from Belgium and these cuts are surprisingly affordable. I’m looking into tails and short ribs as well because they are suddenly both available and cheap. It seems not many are eating those parts.
I think that the cheeks were going for close to 12\kg last time. About the price of mince. It’s dairy cows though so unlikely to be as delicious as meat beef but honestly this is super delicious already as it is :)
But you got there! And that’s definitely an achievement to be proud of. 👊
Ohhh tail and short ribs!! I love them both, but everything has gone a bit crazy with the prices here in Australia… I don’t eat as much meat as I used to.
I love oxtail in soup, and this for short ribs: https://www.recipetineats.com/braised-beef-short-ribs-in-red-wine-sauce/#h-braised-beef-short-ribs-easy-and-luscious.
I would think the dairy cow cheeks would be similar? I don’t know too much about either of them. Regardless, slow cooking them would still be so tasty with the right ingredients. 🤤
I’ve got some hanger and skirt I pulled out of the last few animals we butchered for friends and family, since those don’t do well in the hanging process.
I was planning something similar, I love those type of muscles for slow cooking. I’ve never pulled the cheeks though, the head just goes out to the coyotes, have to save those next time. Looks great!
I’ve decided that cheeks are one of my favourite cuts! I also love the tail, but the prices here have really gone up for those. What used to be a “poor man’s” cut is now right up there in cost. :(
Like what FauxPseudo said (I don’t know how to tag people :( ), I feel like so many things can be slow cooked and turn out amazing. It’s just finding the right flavours to suit your tastes!
And thank you. :)
Yah, if I didn’t raise them, I wouldn’t be enjoying steak very often. I just about fell down when I saw the price in the store. We’re doing well on price for live shipped cattle these days, but I can see why we had a lot of “family” looking for butchered halves this year. But not a lot of people want to chew off $3500 for a full half in one purchase.
Wow, that’s a lot of money. I’ve never purchased even a quarter - I just don’t have the space for it. I’ve been making friends with beans lately. Body doesn’t enjoy it so much sometimes, but it’s gotta be done. If I lived alone, I’d definitely not be indulging in as much meat as I do now (still not much). It’s a treat now.
