Slow-Cooked Beef Cheeks with Mushrooms and Red Wine

Since starting my blog I’ve become addicted to visiting blogs every morning.  I like this for the sense of community I feel from being invited into a part of your lives but also because I love the sneak peek into your kitchens and seeing what you’re putting on your table.  I find this inspiring and in the two years I have been blogging I have learned so much from all of you and I continue to learn so I find it encouraging as well as exciting.

Slow-cooked beef cheeks

Slow-cooked beef cheeks – who will clean the pot?

Last week Lorraine reviewed a restaurant and she showed a dish of ramen with a roasted pork spare rib lying across the bowl.  The spare rib looked so good that I immediately wanted one so I picked up the phone, invited friends for dinner, went to the butcher for spare ribs and served them to my guests that night.

Beef cheeks:  They're not for attractive!

Beef cheeks: They’re not very attractive!

This morning Celia posted a chicken laksa she made and again, all inspired, tonight we’ll be sitting down to a similar chicken laksa.

Coated in seasoned flour

Coated in seasoned flour

But a few days ago I saw on Rebecca’s blog slow-cooked beef cheeks Balinese-style where the cheeks are cooked in coconut milk.  It occurred to me that I’d never cooked beef cheeks before as I always thought they would take too long – some recipes say you have to cook them overnight or all day!  Rebecca said you could have these on the table in half that time.

Brown the meat in heated olive oil

Brown the meat in heated olive oil

I decided to give it a go.  I went to the butcher and bought beef cheeks but as I was stocked up on red wine (after visiting the Mudgee Food and Wine Fair), I thought instead of going Balinese-style, I’d go more Italian-cuisine and so I cooked mine in red wine with a lot of mushrooms.

Roughly (and I mean 'roughly') chopped onions, garlic and carrots

Roughly (and I mean ‘roughly’) chopped onions, garlic and carrots

I had them in the oven by 1pm and by 6pm they were ready for dinner.  An early dinner I know but Carl had to head out to a meeting at seven and so I thought I’d better feed him before he had to disappear.

The mushrooms, fresh thyme, red wine and beef stock

The mushrooms, fresh thyme, red wine and beef stock

I served the beef cheeks on top of a bed of wet polenta which was the perfect contrast for the richness of the beef.  The meat was so tender and soft it just fell apart as soon as I gave it the slightest nudge.

Sauteing the mushrooms in butter - no need to chop them, they are better kept whole

Sauteing the mushrooms in butter – no need to chop them, they are better kept whole

Archie and his girlfriend came for dinner and loved the beef cheeks then swallowed a few protein balls for dessert.  Arabella missed out because she was working but she didn’t mind because she’s not keen on meat.  This is not the sort of meal Alfie would have liked so earlier and after his swimming lesson, I took him out for dinner (leaving the beef cheeks slowly cooking) where he enjoyed a burger.

Cooked with red wine and mushrooms

Cooked with red wine and mushrooms

So I’d say everyone was happy.

Garnished with a little parsley from the garden

Garnished with a little parsley from the garden

Leftovers disappeared into this morning’s lunch boxes.

Beef cheeks - very economical

Beef cheeks – very economical comfort food

So I’d like to thank all my blogging buddies for the wonderful inspiration you give me.  You’re keeping this family very well fed.

Slow-Roasted Beef Cheeks with Mushrooms and Red Wine

Serves:  6

Degree of Difficulty:  3/5

Cost:  Beef cheeks are a cheaper cut of meat.  You can buy them for around $5.00 each depending on size.  I bought 6 for $32.00.

  • 1/4 cup flour with some seasoning added
  • 1.2kg of beef cheeks (around 5 or 6 beef cheeks)
  • 2tbspns olive oil
  • 2 brown onions, roughly chopped
  • 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 6 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 500ml (2 cups) beef stock
  • 2tbspns tomato paste
  • 2 tbspns brown sugar
  • seasoning
  • a handful of fresh thyme, leaves stripped from stems
  • 30g butter
  • 12 button mushrooms, wiped clean with a damp cloth and halved
  • 12 Swiss brown mushrooms, wiped clean with a damp cloth
  • 6 Shiitake mushrooms

Pre-heat oven to 140C.

Coat beef cheeks in seasoned flour and shake away excess.

Heat a large casserole dish with a secure lid over medium heat.  Add olive oil.  When heated, add beef cheeks in a single layer and brown on both sides.  Remove with a slotted spoon.

Add onions, carrots and garlic and cook until softened.  Return beef cheeks to casserole dish.  Pour in wine and allow alcohol to evaporate.  Pour in beef stock, tomato paste, brown sugar and thyme and bring to the boil.  Season.

Meanwhile, take a medium-sized frying pan and place over medium heat.  Add butter and when melted add mushrooms and lightly saute.  Add mushrooms to the casserole dish.

Put lid on casserole dish and place in the oven for 4-5 hours.  Serve on heated plates with wet polenta.

No carbs!

No carbs!

This recipe has been adapted from a recipe found on Best Recipes.

You can check out my other recipe for beef cheeks with Asian flavours here.

If you’d like to try beef cheeks Balinese style, hop over to The Intolerant Chef.

If you liked this post, you’re welcome to share it.

Comments

  1. G’day HOW delicious does your recipe look Charlie, TRUE!
    I have never cooked beef cheeks at home, but your post inspired me to do!
    Know what you mean re viewing other people’s blogs and the sense of community!
    Who loves learning and sharing all things about food? ME!
    Cheers! Joanne

    • wow, brought beef cheeks at the weekend after watching the sunday brunch prog on the telly, they are fab, and oh so satisfiying, hubby just loved them will be cooking these bad boys again… We are lucky in the UK my butcher is just fab all the odd cuts are the best. Happy cooking
      thanks

  2. Aww Charlie I’m so touched!! I love our little blogging community and thank YOU for inspiring us!! 😀 xxx

  3. Ooooh Charlie just the thing we need here in Cape Town right now…good filling comfort food like this goes a long way to making me happy 🙂 Thank you for sharing. It looks totally delicious! I love getting inspiration from my friends too! xx

  4. Funny, dinner is always inspired by whatever pops up in my morning browsing too. There’s nothing better than minimum prep, a slow cooking to let you get on with life and a big reveal and this just looks so delicious.
    P.S. Who did clean the pot?

  5. Charlie, you are so nice, thanks for the mention. And your beef cheeks look fantastic – love the mushroom and red wine, wish I could have thrown some tromboncino your way to add to it! 😀

  6. Oh yes yes this is my kind of slow cook. I have never bought or cooked beef cheeks… that’s all about to change. Thank you for your lovely recipes.

  7. I’d kill for a taste of that. Still haven’t been lucky enough to find a local butcher who has beef cheeks, but will keep looking.

  8. What are beef cheeks?

  9. That pot of beef cheeks looks delicious, although I have no idea what a beef cheek may be. But then, as you know from following my blog, I’m not a food blogger. Just a blogger.

    Likewise, I enjoy reading others’ blogs every morning, including yours. I’ve learned a lot about different parts of the world, many places so unlike my home and life in southern Minnesota.

  10. We really enjoy beef cheeks but mine have never looked as good as yours I don’t think. I get inspired by your blog all the time. I’m starting to try things and blog my version. I’ll be back. (said like Arnold)

  11. I’d love to hear more about the lunch boxes Charlie. That’s my struggle right now.

  12. Yum!

  13. Just looking at this makes my mouth water! I don’t think i’ve cooked with beef cheeks before 🙂 Usually we just use beef shin but I’ll definitely need to go to my local butcher and ask for some cheeks to try! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

  14. This looks delicious! I realized when I read this post that although I have eaten beef cheeks, I have never cooked with them. Am not even sure they are available locally, but will check it out.

  15. I feel the same way Charlie, it’s made the world seem much smaller having friends who stretch all the way from the other side of the planet. I have never cooked beef cheeks before either but this dish really looks like something JT would adore. It’s a particularly cool day in Toronto but we’re hoping that summer will stick around just a wee bit longer before the fall sets in. Hope you’re having a great week.

  16. A beautifully hearty meal, Charlie. Too bad not everyone in the family are big fans of red meat but it’s close enough to a beef stew that I’d have no qualms about eating it. Now that I’ve broken the wine barrier by buying and cooking fresh mussels with white wine, can a bottle of red be far behind? 🙂

    I’ve never seen or rather looked for beef cheeks, but I’m sure my favourite butcher stall at the market has some or can get some for me.

  17. Gorgeous looking dish! I love rich, hearty stews (or braises) with red wine and mushrooms – so comforting. Lovely recipe – thanks.

  18. I must admit that it’s quite rare for me to actually make the blog recipes that I bookmark to a ridiculous extent, as I tend to use ideas more than direct recipes, so I am stupendously impressed by your follow-through! Though, actually, thinking back to when I cooked for family regularly rather than predominantly just myself, I did do more… I look forward to scouring your blog when those days return 😉 x

  19. I love getting inspired about food! What a great choice for a family meal, and a nice chance to try a new cut of meat.

  20. This looks beyond delicious, absolutely love a good mushroom meal. Will be a dinner soon!

  21. It is lovely to see what veryone is doing. I have two such posts coming up myself. This looks amazing charlie. I love mushrooms and beef cheeks are a favourite. You are on the list of inspiring people

  22. I have never seen beef cheeks in a supermarket or even a butcher shop.I may go on a quest!

  23. Well now I want beef cheeks for dinner!
    I don’t think I’ve told the story of my first disastrous attempt at cooking beef cheeks? I blame the meat. Must have been bad. Must try again.

  24. now this looks like my kinda meal when I’m looking for some hearty and comforting food. Love the way it looks charlie 🙂 and the flavours are some of my favourites!

  25. Yum!! I’ve been wanting to try cooking beef cheeks.

  26. Well thank you for more than one interesting recipe: a cross between osso buco/beef bourguigon on the one hand and that delightful Balinese one on the other – beef cheeks not always available here: one stocks up when one sees . . . and am laughing: at the rate we all are using them, their lovely price will not stay lovely for long . . .

  27. And I (foolishly) look at blogs in the evening and get so hungry that I want a second dinner! Your beef cheeks sound scrumptious…I have a feeling I’d have difficulty finding that cut of meat, but I’m going to use your recipe as my inspiration. There’s a nip of fall in the air 🙂

  28. i am a sucker for slow cooked beef cheeks and love mushrooms! this recipe has my name all over it!

  29. Did Archie Mr Superman clean the pot, fuelled by all that protein?!

  30. This dish sounds wonderful, Charlie. I really do enjoy beef that’s been braised slowly in wine. Love how tender the meat becomes. I’ve not seen beef cheeks anywhere, though. We’ve still got plenty of time before the really cool weather gets here. That means I’ve got time to either find some or order them from the butcher. These sound too good to pass up.

  31. This looks just delicious. And I love the blue pot…such a lovely color contrast to the beef cheeks! Thank you for sharing. I love the blogging community too and I’m happy that you are part of mine!

  32. Awww shucks Charlie, thanks sweetie! I’m so glad you found some beef cheeks and made them work your way- btw love all those gorgeous mushrooms in there too.
    I usually start my mornings off with a nice cuppa and a catch up with Charlie, Celia and Lorraine and my other bloggy besties- all the guys who inspire me! (except I’m late checking in today as I was putting together a Basil Chiffon Cake with Peaches for a meeting. It’s gluten free and I wish I could send you a big chunk) xox

  33. I love slow roasting, but I have never had beef cheeks. You’re right about them not being very attractive, but you make the entire meal sound wonderful. You enjoy seeing what others are preparing, and then there are bloggers like me who would like to sit and eat in your dining room, Charlie. Both the food and the company would be so enjoyable. 🙂

  34. Julie Goyder says:

    I’ve begun to cook properly again, partly due to your ongoing inspiration!

  35. I seem to get inspired by blogs but then not necessarily follow through…or follow through several months later! You are far more impressive with your efforts 🙂

  36. I feel like all of us bloggers have a bit of a voyeuristic tendency to us. It’s not bad…just kind of funny. 😛

    That stew has me craving fall.

  37. Charlie, this is my kind of meal – fantastic! It’s great being inspired by others meals. Now, if I could just find beef cheeks!
    🙂 Mandy xo

  38. I have not seen beef cheeks in my food markets but that could be because I was not looking, will be looking from now on. Imagine this is a flavorful cut of beef. Saving this recipe for cooler weather which in my neck of the wood may be pretty soon (I am hoping not).
    I too learn a great deal and draw inspiration from the blogging community, a wonderful group to be part of.

  39. Although I never had beef cheek, the way you prepared by cooking it slowly and with lots of mushrooms and wine, the dish looks divine…really tasty…yum!
    Like you I too learn a lot and get inspired from what I see in the blog world.
    Thanks for this recipe Charlie and hope you are having a fantastic week 😀

  40. I’ve never had beef cheeks either, but this stew looks really delicious! I love beef + mushrooms + red wine. Definitely a winning combination and comfort food.

  41. Oh! Now I know what I want to eat for dinner!

  42. I am licking my chops just viewing this photo. There is nothing like something slow cooked on the stove to make the house smell fantastic. umm however, I think the last one to leave the table needs to clean the pot. I think you have a built in dishwasher actually 2, right? They are called teenagers! Looks like the kitchen help might be in the kitchen a little bit longer tonight. Take Care, BAM

  43. Hi Charlie, your comfort food look soooo good. I love the first picture… forget about cleaning the pot… enjoy the beef and mushroom first. 🙂
    Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe.

    Have a nice weekend.

  44. Your picks are all delicious Charlie. It’s so much fun when you successfully re-create a dish. Thanks so much, you are one of the best out there.

  45. Man that looks absolutely fabulous. Your guests are very lucky indeed.

    I usually cook two different meals each night and I have to say you are inspiring me to do better.
    Carolyn

  46. I have to admit that I have never really tried beef cheeks but the way you did them certainly looks tasty. It sounds like you have dinner in flexible sittings. That would take some coordination!

  47. You had me at ‘beef cheek’ Charlie, the cut of the moment. Sooooo yum!

  48. This is going on my dinner table soon! This winter weather and constant rain in Perth begs for meals like this.

  49. First paragraph explained everything I want to say about blogging and visiting blogs. I learned SO MUCH even more than any of cookbooks I read through my food blogger friends and it’s very inspiring! I really have limited time a day to go through all the blogs I want to visit but I can’t stop doing because of that reason you just said. I hope I can always have time for this (I already gave up on my TV time for this so not much time left…). Carl is so lucky… I want to come home for this meal even though I have to run out to do something again. Looks scrumptious!

  50. I do love the blogging community, it’s such a great way to share beautiful home cooked recipes – and this one is no different! Mushrooms, beef and red wine are a killer combo, I need to give this a try! Thanks for sharing Charlie x

  51. Mmm, I’ve been wanting to try beef cheeks or a long time – have kept putting it off but they sound really good. Your dish looks wonderful Charlie – rich and so well flavoured. Beef cheeks are great too because they’re so cheap! Will have to finally motivate myself to getting some soon – something like this… wonderful mushrooms and red wine is the best way to cook beef I think!

  52. I totally agree, reading blogs makes me happy. I feel like I am truly friends with you all, and look forward to giving you all hugs one day! Okay seriously, O.M.G. I need to make this gorgeous recipe. I am trying to remember if Hubby and I have made beef cheeks yet….either way, I must enjoy ASAP!!! Yum, Hugs, Terra

  53. Charlie, I “revise” dinner as I read blogs, too, because of all of the fantastic ideas out there, including yours! Unfortunately, beef cheeks are absent in this area, but the techniques and flavors and other ingredients you used will elevate an alternate cut of beef to this side of heaven tonight. Many thanks!

  54. The thing that surprises me on these sites. Is what people have never eaten and lack of own imiganation. I learnt from my mother and was exploring, adapting and cooking from the age of 14.

    Beef Cheeks can be done so many ways, but a long slow braise is the way to go. The flavour combinations and what you serve to accomapany as sides are diverse.

    Rich red wine sauce with tomatoes, portobello and porcini mushrooms. Serve with potato mash and steamed sugar snap peas.

    Cheeks Thai style in coconut milk, lemon grass, garlic and chilli and fish sauce. Serve with asian greens and wilted spinach.

    Moroccan Tangine style with dates, preserved lemon, mandarin, honey and goats curd with couscous.

    It’s great comfort food for winter of anytime really.

    These are my own concoctions. I never usually make the same thing twice and use recipe books for inspiration. I like to make it up as I go, but do know how flavours work after cooking for 30 years.

    Came across this site for inspiration on a new Cheeks idea. Didn’t find so ill keep looking or find my own.

  55. Any como of Portobello. Porcini, Shitake or plain old button mushrooms will do.

    Maybe add some diced celery or celaraic and tiniest amount of star anise or Chinese 5 spice (1/4 tsp)

  56. yes love cooking beef cheeks the taste is great some of my kids said no to eating them but soon change there minds I pay $799 kg you get around 3

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