Beef Cheeks

[Pam R]

I have a number of beef cheeks that I and some customers want to use for an upcoming holiday. I've been served braised cheeks before and they were wonderful, but have no idea what the chef did with them.

We're having an argument here about whether they're tough and must be braised or if they are tender and can be cooked in other ways.

Any good recipes?

[philadining]

I've never cooked them, but I've been served them several times, and I find the braised versions to be the most appealing. I'd recently had them grilled, but the texture was very odd, so I think the low, slow, break down the collagen thing is the way to go.

I'd like to hear about successful recipes/techniques too...

[Chris Amirault]

Given all that ruminating, I think that you want a braise for sure.

[nickrey]

They definitely need to be slow cooked.

I've done them Sous vide for 30 hours and they just fall apart.

[Dave the Cook]

Then there's the middle road, amply straddled by Mario Batali: braise for an hour, then puree it and put it in ravioli. Serve with a sauce made of chicken livers.

[Sony]

Beef cheeks work wonderfully in Boeuf Bourguignon (which I make sans bacon). Amazing texture and flavor, and the sauce gets great body from the collagen breakdown. Great party dish because it's best made ahead of time.

I can't imagine them cooked in any way other than slowly and lowly , but would be interested to hear if there's other successful ways to make them. It's one of my favorite cuts....

[weinoo]

Given all that ruminating, I think that you want a braise for sure.

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Absolutely...how big are those suckers?

[djyee100]

Have you seen this blog? A bunch of ideas for cooking beef cheek. http://www.eatsforone.com/?p=815

[hummingbirdkiss]

braise until tender then shred them up and simmer in chile colorado ..home made red chile sauce..mild or spicy ....

just so happens I am making this today

fanfreakingtastic on warm corn tortillas ...very comforting autumnal goodness

[Ktepi]

I have beef cheek chili cooking at the moment, the first thing I've made with beef cheeks. I'm hoping for a chili that's really beefy to stand up to the amount of spice, and so far it looks like I'm going to get it. The cheeks simmered in stock in the crockpot overnight (I'm new to crockpots too), and now I've added chopped sirloin steak tips, the chili seasonings, and a can of Ro-Tel tomatoes.

(Why am I making this the day before Thanksgiving? So that it'll rest in the fridge and let the flavors develop, and then there'll be easy-to-reheat leftovers that aren't turkey or turkey-related.)

[Toufas]

i cooked my first beef cheek 2 weeks ago, and it will be my meat of choice for beef braising from now on

braised in chicken stock with some dijon

[Pam R]

Toufas -- what makes it your choice for braising? Does it have a beefier flavour?

I'm planning on making a batch of beet borscht next week and I think a few cheeks would be a good addition.