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/
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.