Linda wanted to try beef cheeks at home, since we recently found them at one of our butchers. We have had them at restaurants once or twice and liked them very much, but hadn't seen them at the butchers until recently. It was our New Year's Eve treat. The recipe is based loosely on one I found by Neven Maguire at http://www.rte.ie, from his book Neven Maguire: Home Chef, which I'd never heard of before.
I served it with mashed potatoes made with fresh dill, butter and crème fraîche, oven-roasted fennel and a 1984 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Reserve. It all went very well together.
The recipe doesn't say whether to trim the fat from the meat, although some other recipes I found do so. In the end, I trimmed most of the fat (and the silver skin) before cooking. It might have been even richer if I had left the fat on and skimmed it off after cooking.
Braised Beef Cheeks with Smoked Bacon
4 Tbsp olive oil
2-2½ lb beef cheeks
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
2 stalks celery, cut into chunks
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2½ cups red wine
5 cups beef stock
2 thyme sprigs
2 rosemary sprigs
5 oz piece of smoked bacon, rind removed and diced
10 oz whole baby button mushrooms, wiped clean
Maldon sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
2-3 Tbsp beurre manié
Mashed potatoes
chopped flat-leaf parsley, to garnish
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large, flameproof casserole (with a lid) over a medium heat. Add the pieces of beef and brown all over for 4-5 minutes, turning regularly with tongs. Transfer to a plate. Add another tablespoon of oil to the casserole, reduce the heat a little and add the carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring, until golden brown.
Return the beef and any juices to the casserole dish and pour over the red wine and beef stock. Add the herbs and season with salt and pepper to taste, then bring to the boil. Cover the dish tightly. Cook in the oven for 3 hours until the beef is really tender and melting.
Carefully remove the beef cheeks from the braising juices, allow to rest on a warmed plate and cover loosely with foil. Strain the cooking juices into a medium saucepan and allow them to simmer rapidly for 40-45 minutes until reduced to a quarter. Stir in the beurre manié to thicken.
Meanwhile, heat a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the remaining oil and sauté the bacon and mushrooms for 4-5 minutes until golden brown. Drain off any excess oil and stir into the reduced braising juices. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the beef cheeks and heat through.
Divide the mashed potatoes among wide-rimmed bowls and carefully arrange the cooked beef cheeks on top. Ladle over the braising juice with the bacon and mushrooms. Garnish with parsley to serve.
Serves 4.