Are you ready for serious deliciousness! This recipe combines classic flavours (and a few secret ones) with slow cooking. Creating melt in your mouth beef with an amazing sauce. Slow braised beef cheeks in a red wine sauce, is the perfect, comforting winter dish.
Let's show you how to perfect this dish!
This slow braised beef cheeks recipe ticks so many boxes. Real soul food, this cheap cut is simple to prepare yet packs a punch in the flavour department.
Make sure to follow our few basic steps to build a great flavour base and create the perfect melt in your mouth meat. Serve with your favourite sides and you will have a dish the whole family will love!
And dress the finished dish with a little of our rocket and almond pesto for another flavour highlight!
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Beef checks
A great piece of meat for low and slow cooking. They have wonderful flavour, as the muscle is one of the most used on the animal. Once butchered the cut has a lot of sinew on it, which your butcher will remove for you. Beefs cheeks are a cheap and under rated cut. We highly recommend you give them a try!
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If low and slow is your type of cooking our Lamb tacos are a beautiful thing! Or our lamb shoulder with balsamic glaze is next level delicious.
For a shorter cooking time but amazing flavour that's developed in one pan, our creamy pork loin chops and chicken in mushroom sauce recipes are for you!
How to cook beef cheeks?
They may be an unfamiliar cut, but once seared in a hot pan and slow cooked in a tasty stock they are simple to work with and delicious.
With a low slow braise, beef cheeks become meltingly tender and rich in flavour. Taking on flavour really well, they are perfect in a rich beef or red wine sauce, curry, ragu or even smoked!
The key to creating the perfect slow braised beef cheeks, is taking a little extra care at the beginning to sear the meat well and build a delicious flavour base.
Pro tip - Always sear your beef before slow cooking. We see this question come up a lot and the answer is always YES, your taste buds will thank you!
It doesn't take long but makes a massive difference to the flavour and texture.
Ingredients
- Beef cheeks
- Salt and pepper
- Cooking oil - we use canola oil but any non flavoured cooking oil will work.
- Shallots - we use them in this dish rather than onions for their milder, sweeter flavour.
- A bulb of garlic
- Capers - edible flower buds, they add a salty, tangy, tartness to the dish.
- Anchovy fillets - nutrient rich they bring a rich umami flavour.
- Red wine - Choose the best quality wine you can afford, we used a New Zealand pinot noir.
- Fresh rosemary
- Beef stock - home made or use a good quality liquid stock.
Optional - dress with a little rocket and almond pesto for another burst of fresh flavour.
Step by step instructions
- Sear the beef - Season well and sear the beef cheeks on a medium heat. Skin side down first for 5 minutes, to render the fat and create a nice golden brown skin. Turn and seal the over side. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Build flavour - In the same pan brown off the shallots and garlic. Then add the capers, rosemary and anchovies allowing them to fry for a few minutes. Add and reduce the red wine by half. Return the beef cheeks and add the beef stock to the pan and bring to a simmer.
- Slow cook - Place the lid on the pan and place in a pre heated oven. Cook low and slow for 4 hours until the meat is tender and pulls away with a fork.
Serve with your favourite sides and enjoy!
Serving suggestions
This dish needs a side that will soak up all that delicious sauce!
Perfect served with creamy mash potatoes or roast potatoes and a side of fresh seasonal vegetables.
Did you try this dish? Please leave a rating and review below. And if you have any questions about the recipe, you can ask us in the comment section below too.
Happy cooking!
Recipe
Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks
Ingredients
Method
- Pre heat the oven to 140 °C / 284 °F
- Take your beef cheeks and trim off any sinue or silver skin
- Heat a cast iron dish on the stove top to a medium heat. Add the canola oil.
- Season the beef cheeks with a good pinch of salt and pepper and place into the heated cast iron pan skin side down.
- Cook skin side down for five minutes until the fat has rendered and turned golden brown. Turn over and seal the other side. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add the peeled shallots and garlic cloves into the pan and cook until the shallots start to brown. Add the capers, rosemary and anchovies and fry for another minute.
- Add the red wine and reduce by half, Add the beef cheeks back into the pan and add the beef stock. Bring to a simmer then place the lid on and place into the pre heated oven.
- Cook covered for 4 hours until the cheeks and tender and they pull away with a fork.
- Gently remove the beef cheeks and place into your serving dish, spoon over the remaining sauce, shallots and garlic.
- Serve with the rocket pesto, seasonal vegetables and mashed potato and enjoy!
Notes
Originally posted 22nd June 2021, updated 19th January 2023.
Jessica Formicola says
We made these beef cheeks for dinner tonight and the whole family LOVED them! We can’t wait to make them again!
Toni says
This is my first time making beef cheeks and they were so tender and delicious! The recipe is so comforting for the cold weather we are having too.
Megan says
I always use red wine when cooking beef like this, and this recipe was sooooo good! Thank you! 🙂
Cyndy says
My husband LOVES beef cheeks so I was super happy to find and try this recipe. They turned out wonderful and so flavorful.
Sara Welch says
Enjoyed this for dinner last night it and it turned out perfectly tender and juicy! Easily, a new family favorite recipe!