One of the goals of our website is to provide a catalog of some of our favorite recipes. We made this delicious dish just last weekend and its perfect for this time of year. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 4 lbs of Highland Spring Farm beef cheeks
- 1 onion, roughly diced
- 1 celery stalk, roughly diced
- 4 garlic cloves, mined
- 6 stems of fresh thyme
- 4 dried bay leaves
- 1 cup of beef stock (make your own with our bones!)
- 2 cups of red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot)
- 2-3 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
Prep - 15 min
1. Cut off any fatty membranes from the beef cheeks. Dry and season with 1 tsp of salt and black pepper
2. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pot or cast iron pan over high heat. Sear the beef cheeks on each side until nicely browned. Remove beef cheeks from heat.
3. Turn down the heat to medium high and add remaining olive oil. Add garlic and onion. Saute for 3 mins until onion is translucent.
4. Add the celery and carrots, saute for another 3 minutes
Cooking - 3.5 hours
1. Pour wine with onion mixture and stir to scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Bring wine to a simmer for 1 min.
2. Add remaining vegetables, browned beef cheeks, and spices. Place lid on the pan.
3. Simmer on stove-top for 2 to 2.5 hours until the cheeks are very tender. (We recommend turning beef cheeks at 1 hour and adding more wine and stock at that time).
4. Remove the cheeks from the sauce. Discard the thyme stems and bay leaves.
5. Use a handheld stick blender to puree the braising liquid into a smooth sauce.
6. Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Simmer until it turns to a dark brown color and reduces by 25% to a gravy consistency.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Remove from heat, add beef checks back to the sauce, and cover.
Serve
1. Serve the beef cheeks and sauce on a mashed potato or polenta to soak up the sauce.
2. Freeze any leftovers for an easy meal. Just heat up in a pot and enjoy!
Rather use a slow cooker or oven? Check out the recipe from RecipeTinEats for other preparation methods.
Picture courtesy of RecipeTinEats