Shanks and oxtails are well-known meat cuts that are ideal for slow cooking, but have you ever heard of beef cheeks?
I dislike the word “braised”, as it conjures up images of pale and tough stewed meat. “Slow-cooked”, on the other hand, is a much better description for the same cooking method, because it evokes images of extremely tender and tasty meat. Richly satisfying, slow cooking is true cooking and it shows the skill of the cook to full advantage.
Visit your local butcher to obtain the beef cheeks for this recipe – and even if he has to get them in for you, it will still be well worth the effort. If cheeks are unavailable, this recipe works just as well with oxtail, brisket, shanks or shoulder. You want meat with plenty of connective tissue that will dissolve into gelatine, as this is what makes braised meats so succulently moist and fork-tender. Always sear the meat first to caramelise it. This adds complex roasted flavours to the dish and gives the stock a deeper colour. Contrary to popular opinion, searing does not seal in any juices.
In this dish, I use the smoked eel like bacon. It imparts a beautiful smoky aroma and even looks like bacon. The vegetables that are cooked with the beef may also be served with the meal, but as they have contributed all their flavour to the stock, they do end up looking a bit washed out. Instead, cook some fresh vegetables and add just before serving. As with the carrots, you can add a little spice – in this case cardamom – which brings more fragrance than taste to the dish.
The beef cheeks can be done two to three days in advance, and then reheated with the sauce and vegetables in a covered pan in a 160?C oven. When cold, the cheeks resemble small rocks, but they will be easy to slice. Once reheated, they will quickly become soft and tender.
SLOW-COOKED BEEF CHEEKS, SMOKED EEL, YOUNG CARROTS AND CELERIAC PURÉE
6 whole beef cheeks
30ml olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 litre red wine
4 cloves garlic
8 shallots
1 medium onion, sliced
4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into
1cm-thick slices
6 star anise
4 sprigs of thyme
2 bay leaves
1 tsp black peppercorns
400ml beef stock
200g button mushrooms
200g smoked eel, cut into 1cm cubes
18 young carrots, peeled
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp cardamom pods
Heat the oven to 160?C. Trim the excess fat from the cheeks. Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan and brown the cheeks on all sides until nicely caramelised. Lift them from the pan and drain on some absorbent paper. Season generously with salt and pepper. Pour the wine into the frying pan and bring it to a rapid boil for 5 minutes. Place the garlic, shallots, onion and carrots in a roasting dish suitable for stovetop use, then arrange the cheeks on top.
Tie the star anise, thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns in a piece of muslin and add to the dish. Pour in the wine and stock. Bring the contents of the pan to a simmer on top of the stove and cover with a piece of baking paper. Cover this with tinfoil. Place in the oven and cook for 2 hours. Remove the dish from the oven and carefully fold back the foil and paper. Add the mushrooms, then re-cover and return the dish to the oven for another 45 minutes.
Remove the cheeks from the cooking stock while they are hot – do this carefully as they will be very delicate. Allow them to cool, then slice thickly. Strain the stock and you can either discard the vegetables or chop into smaller pieces to be served with the meat. Discard the bag of herbs and spices. Pour the cooking stock into a clean saucepan and simmer until it has reduced by half to make a rich sauce. Add the smoked eel and the cheeks and the cooking vegetables if you wish.
Place the carrots in a frying pan with the butter and the cardamom pods and cook for 5 minutes or until tender.
Serves 6.
ONE OF THE ugliest vegetables on the market, celeriac tastes much like the more familiar celery, but is not related to it. Celeriac requires deep peeling and can be cooked like most other root vegetables, but it is also delicious raw, sliced into thin matchsticks and mixed through some mayonnaise with capers and smoked eel. In this recipe the silky texture is the perfect accompaniment for the meat – and makes it a pleasure to eat.
CELERIAC PURÉE
1 large celeriac, peeled and diced
2 bay leaves
600ml milk
1 tbsp unsalted butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper
fresh thyme for garnish
In a saucepan, place the celeriac, bay leaves and enough milk to cover the celeriac. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes until the celeriac is tender. Strain the celeriac, reserving the milk but discarding the bay leaves. Put the celeriac into a food processor and blend until smooth, adding the butter and just enough milk to make a velvety purée. Season lightly. Place a spoon of purée on each plate and top with spoonfuls of the cheeks, eel and sauce. Arrange 3 carrots around each plate and sprinkle with fresh thyme if desired.