Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks with Gnocchi
Back in September when Meg was on a tour of the California coast celebrating her anniversary, she sent me an idea.
This idea was to re create the Beef Cheek dish she enjoyed so much at restaurant Julienne in Santa Barbara. Armed with the original recipe from Chef Pierre-Alexandre, I just needed to execute it.
Step 1 Locate Beef Cheeks
I found beef cheeks frozen and ready prepped at my local butcher Paulina Market, where they are more inclined to keep all parts of the animal from nose to tail.
Step 2 Prepare
Here is what chef Pierre-Alexandre had to say about preparing beef cheeks.
“Beef cheeks arrive as nuggets of meat which have bizarre inter connective tissue which unlike most sinew and tough stringy meat tissue, break down very nicely when braised making them ideal for crock pots or dutch oven cooking. To clean beef cheeks just cut away excess fat and visible silver skin. Don’t be afraid if they smell very gamy, because they usually do. Usually there is about 30-40% trim, so for a 2lb batch, you will want 3lbs of untrimmed beef cheeks.”
Step 3 Serve
Three ways! The first remains faithful to the original recipe by the Chef which made it onto his restaurant menu. The second iteration is a simple and comforting dish to be enjoyed by the bowl full. Finally the leftovers make it into tacos with hot sauce and coleslaw.
So to be clear, the recipe is simple, to a point, using your slow cooker which fits our 20 minutes or less preparation time. The beef braises slowly in red wine, broth and stock for a melt in your mouth preparation. However the accompaniments, which make the dish from Julienne really “shine”, are more time consuming. For that reason we have included an alternative execution inspired by a serendipitous encounter with a beef cheek recipe recently at Arbor in Chicago. It appears that beef cheeks are making a come back.
I was surprised at the texture of the beef. It has a rich flavor and is very tender, not unlike a very soft filet mignon but with more fat. This is why I think the jalapeño crema or the gremolata dressing “make” these dishes.
- 2 1/2 lbs beef cheeks, already trimmed
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 large carrot, 1" pieces
- 2 stalks of celery, 1" pieces
- 2 large onions, 1" pieces
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp whole peppercorns
- 10 cloves of garlic smashed
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 cups of beef stock
- 1 sliced onion, caramalized
- 1/2 cup corn, cooked
- 1 head of garlic, roasted
- 1 pack of gnocchi, cooked
- 2 cups white cabbage, finely shredded
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1/2 cups heavy cream
- pinch kosher salt
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon lime juice
- Freshly ground white pepper
- season the beef cheeks generously with salt and pepper on both sides
- heat a sauté pan and sear both sides of the cheeks and transfer them to the slow cooker
- pour the wine into the sauté pan and de-glaze, scrape all the bits from the pan and transfer to the slow cooker
- add the carrots, celery, onions, bay, peppercorns, garlic and beef broth to the slow cooker and set to HIGH for 2 1/2 hours or LOW for 5 hours
- you are looking for the beef cheeks to be tender, easy to bite through with little resistance
- strain the beef cheeks and heat 1 cup of the liquid in the sauté pan over a medium high heat, stirring until it reduces and thickens (this may take 10 - 15 minutes to really reduce)
- once the sauce has reached a desired thickness stir in the butter
- if using, add the caramelized onions, corn, and roasted garlic to the sauce
- the combination gets served with homemade gnocchi, shredded cabbage salad dressed with the lime juice, and dot the plate with cilantro jalapeno crema.
- this is a delicious combination of tender beef with the complexity and piquancy of the jalapeño crema cutting through the meat
- leftovers make great tacos!
- 2 1/2 lbs beef cheeks, already trimmed
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 large carrot, 1" pieces
- 2 stalks of celery, 1" pieces
- 2 large onions, 1" pieces
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp whole peppercorns
- 10 cloves of garlic smashed
- 2 cups beef stock
- 2 cups barley, cooked
- 1 lemon, juice and zest
- 1 cup / small bunch parsley leaves, chopped
- 1/2 tsp garlic, minced
- season the beef cheeks generously with salt and pepper on both sides
- heat a sauté pan and sear both sides of the cheeks and transfer them to the slow cooker
- pour the wine into the sauté pan and de-glaze, scrape all the bits from the pan and transfer to the slow cooker
- add the carrots, celery, onions, bay, peppercorns, garlic and beef broth to the slow cooker and set to HIGH for 2 1/2 hours or LOW for 5 hours
- you are looking for the beef cheeks to be tender, easy to bite through with little resistance
- remove the meat and shred it onto a bed of cooked barley
- add the cooked vegetables and pour the juices from the slow cooker, over the top
- dress with gremolata
- this sauce is not reduced and thickened so resembles a broth like consistency which is partially soaked up by the barley
- enjoy this either by the bowl full as a wholesome soup or plated simply and elegantly as featured
Zen Moment
“The smells of slow cooking spread around the house and impart a unique warmth matched only by the flavour of the food. So do try it for yourself. But do it slowly.”
-Yotam Ottolenghi, The Guardian Lifestyle Food and Drink, January 2010
