Beef Cheeks Pie

Beef cheeks in a red wine sauce in a pie

• CuisineWestern
• CategoryBeef
• CourseMains

Ingredients

• 750 gmsBeef cheeks (2)
• 100 gmsBacon, chopped
• 250 gmsOnions, quartered
• 50 gmsGarlic, minced
• 150 gmsCarrots, sliced
• 150 gmsLeek, sliced
• 2 cupsRed wine
• 1 cupBeef stock
• 1 tspChilli flakes
• 3Thyme sprigs
• 1 tbspCornflour
• 2 sheetsShortcrust pastry
• 2 sheetsPuff pastry
• Oil
• Butter
• Salt

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a pan and brown beef cheeks
2. Remove beef cheeks and add bacon, frying till cooked
3. Add onions, garlic, carrots, leek and saute till soft
4. Add red wine to deglaze pan and simmer until thickened
5. Add the beef cheeks back with thyme and chilli flakes
6. Add beef stock to cover the beef cheeks
7. Cover and place in an oven at 160°C for 4 hours
8. Remove from oven, remove the beef cheeks and tear into chunks
9. Dissolve cornflour in some water and add to pan
10. Place pan back on heat and simmer and stir till thickened
11. Add beef cheek pieces back into the pan and remove from heat
12. Add salt to taste
13. Grease 4 ramekins with butter
14. Line bottom and sides with shortcrust pastry
15. Line with baking paper and part fill with ceramic beads
16. Blind bake in oven at 180°C for 15 minutes
17. Fill each ramekin with contents from pan and cover with a square of puff pastry and seal
18. Make small incision and place in 180°C oven for 20 minutes till golden brown raising it to 200°C in the last 5 minutes

Beef cheeks are one of those cuts that were considered cheap in the days of yore. But this was before gourmet chefs raised its profile, making it easier to obtain but no longer a cheap cut but it is well worth any price. It takes slow cooking but the results are simply delicious.

It is nice to have step by step illustrations of the cooking process. But cooking is not about cooking - it is about eating. So why not have step by step photos of the consumption?

Here is the pie fresh out of the oven. For the people who like the crispy top there is enough overhang.

Take off the crust and you get to the tenderly cooked beef cheek chunks and the red wine sauce.

The star of the show is definitely the beef cheeks - succulent and tender. It is the connective tissue in the cut after 4 hours of braising.

The crust is gone and pretty soon so are the contents. The last step is the shortcrust pastry base. Once that is gone, this is all that is left. The Cub reckons it is the best way to have beef cheeks.