Beer Braised Beef Cheeks
Beer Braised Beef Cheeks are wonderfully tender with a deep, meaty flavour. Either slow-cooked or pressure cooked, the cheeks absorb the braising liquor of dark beer and beef stock flavoured with vegetables, garlic, and thyme.
The result is an easy, comforting dish of spoon-ably soft meat in a rich sauce. Perfect served over buttery mashed potatoes with a side of greens.
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I think that beef cheeks (sometimes called ox cheeks), really deserve to be much better known. Once a cheap cut, they’re now recognised as being some of the best flavoured, and beautifully textured, slow-cooked beef. But I guess beef cheeks aren’t something most home cooks will have come across. So, before we get to the recipe, here’s my quick guide.
WHAT ARE BEEF CHEEKS?
Beef cheeks are precisely what you think they are. The piece of meat found either side of the face on cattle. But don’t go thinking this means they have a strong offal taste. Cheeks are a muscle in the same way that familiar cuts such as steaks are. They’re not an organ like liver or kidney.
After falling out of favour, beef cheeks appear to be gradually becoming more popular again, especially among professional cooks. I suspect that’s partly due to the champions of ‘nose to tail’ eating who aim to use every part of a slaughtered animal. We can probably thank the same trend for the increasing availability of oxtail and beef short ribs too.
WHERE CAN I BUY BEEF CHEEKS?
You’re unlikely to find beef cheeks in the supermarket here in Britain. But a good butcher should be able to source them for you. I bought the ones you see in this post from brilliant local butcher Dunwood Farm. If you can’t get beef cheeks easily where you live, order online from Dunwood who do national delivery.
Bear in mind that beef cheeks shrink quite a lot during cooking. So, as a rough guide, aim for a minimum of 250 grams or one per person when buying. They can vary in size though, so if you buy by the kilo you could get between three and five.
HOW DO I COOK BEEF CHEEKS?
Spending large parts of the day chewing, eating grass, cattle cheek muscles are hardworking. This means that their meat will be tougher. However, the flip side is that, cooked properly, it will have bags of beefy flavour.
To get the best from tougher cuts such as beef cheek, they should be cooked in plenty of liquid and slowly. This will break down the connective tissue or collagen, resulting in wonderfully tender meat. For the liquid, red wine, beer and/or stock are commonly used.
You can cook beef cheeks in the oven, on top of the stove, or in a slow cooker. As we’ll see, you can cut down the cooking time considerably by using a pressure cooker. In the detailed recipe card at the end, I give instructions for both cooking in the oven and in an Instant Pot pressure cooker.
WHAT DO BEEF CHEEKS TASTE LIKE?
Happily for me, it’s very easy to describe the taste of beef cheeks: supremely beefy. Essentially, if you like beef you’ll be wowed by the concentrated flavour of beef cheeks.
As well as its taste though, I love the texture of a properly cooked beef cheek. Get it right and you will literally be able to eat with a spoon. That’s how soft it should be. I particularly like its slightly gelatinous quality. I hope that doesn’t put you off because it’s a good thing! Moist, succulent and luscious.
So, now you know what beef cheeks are, where to buy them, and what they taste like, how exactly should you cook them? If you want to see the recipe card now then Jump to Recipe. But I recommend you read the rest of the post first with its step-by-step images.
BEER BRAISED BEEF CHEEKS
The technique of braising is perfect for cooking beef cheeks. Braising meat simply means to brown and seal in fat then slowly simmer in liquid until tender. For my Beer Braised Beef Cheeks I use a combination of stout and beef stock as the liquid.
Even closer to me than Dunwood Farm is Staffordshire Brewery, just a 10 to 15-minute walk from home. Their lovely Black Grouse Stout is perfect for this recipe. Much richer and smoother than that well-known big brand stout, a glass of it will go down well drank alongside too. If you don’t want to use stout, then chose any other decent dark beer.
The cooking liquid is also flavoured with onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and thyme. After browning the cheeks in batches, the roughly chopped veg goes in. Once it has some colour, I add the bottle of stout. It’s important that, before we start the gentler cooking, you allow the stout to vigorously bubble and reduce by about a third. Although we want a subtle taste of beer in the finished dish, for most people a too-bitter tang is unpleasant.
At this stage, if you’re going to braise in the oven, transfer everything into a casserole dish. If you’re going to use an Instant Pot (IP), then transfer to the IP inner. Also in the dish or pot go the browned beef cheeks and a little bunch of thyme sprigs.
Lastly, we add some beef stock. I dissolve a couple of cubes in 500 ml of boiling water, but you won’t necessarily use the lot. IP users will know that, because it’s sealed, you get very little evaporation of liquid. So, while you need to cover the meat to ensure it cooks properly, don’t overdo it or you’ll have to bubble and reduce for too long at the end.
On the other hand, you’re likely to get significant evaporation when braising in the oven so you must ensure the meat is well covered. I’d also recommend checking regularly to see if the liquid needs topping up with more stock.
HOW LONG TO COOK BEEF CHEEKS FOR?
Each batch of beef cheeks will necessarily differ in how long they take to get meltingly tender. Some cheeks will be large, some small. Produce from different suppliers and different animals will vary greatly too. Therefore, I can only give an approximate guide. The main thing is to allow yourself plenty of time and don’t be tempted to serve them before they’re perfect. If they need a bit longer then so be it.
Beer Braised Beef Cheeks done in the oven at 140° C / 120° Fan oven / Gas 1 are likely to take between three and four hours. Using the Instant Pot, unless you have uniformly small cheeks (250g each or less) I recommend cooking on high pressure for 90 minutes then checking. For the smaller cheeks, 60 minutes should do it.
FINISHING THE SAUCE
By the time the beef cheeks are wonderfully tender, virtually all the goodness and flavour will have been extracted from the vegetables. So, after plucking out the beef cheeks and setting them aside, I strain the braising liquor and discard everything that’s in the sieve. Now I can finish the smooth sauce by getting the taste and thickness exactly how I want it.
If, like me, you’ve braised the beef cheeks in the Instant Pot, you’ll almost certainly want to reduce the liquid by vigorous bubbling. But you might also want to do this even if you’ve oven braised them. Don’t be tempted to add any more salt or pepper until the sauce is reduced to your liking though. Otherwise, it could end up over seasoned. To thicken the sauce a little, you can mix 1 – 2 tsp of cornflour with 2 tablespoons of the cooled liquor, stir back into the pot, and bubble for a few more minutes.
Finally, put the beef cheeks back into the sauce and very gently bubble for a minute or two. This will both increase the flavour of the sauce and further imbue the cheeks with it.
SERVING BEER BRAISED BEEF CHEEKS
With their rich, meaty flavour, I think that Beer Braised Beef Cheeks are crying out to be sat on a pile of buttery mashed potato. Some gently cooked, iron-rich greens (I like little morsels of smoked bacon in it) and a scattering of chopped parsley are the only other additions required. Give the mash a couple of swirls with the back of your serving spoon to create little potholes: pools of that powerful sauce will gather in them then trickle down when you pour it over.
Digging in to the soft, slightly wibbly wobbly beef cheek (no knife necessary), you’ll find melt-in-the-mouth strands of delicious, tender beef. Now, isn’t that just about the most perfect comfort food?
Even with a pressure cooker, Beer Braised Beef Cheeks isn’t a speedy dish. But the actual hands-on time turns out to be quite minimal. Get to know these wonderful chunks of meat, put in just a little effort, and you’ll be rewarded with deep, rich flavour and exquisite texture.
If you’ve made this recipe, I love to know what you thought, so please leave a comment and rating.
Beer Braised Beef Cheeks
Slow cooked for 4 hours, or sooner in a pressure cooker, beef cheeks become wonderfully soft and tender with a rich, meaty flavour.
Here they're braised with stout, beef stock, vegetables, garlic and thyme. Perfect comfort food served over buttery mashed potatoes with a side of greens.
Ingredients
- 4 beef cheeks approximately a kilogram in total
- salt and black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil or beef fat if you have it
- 15 g butter
- 2 med-large onions roughly chopped
- 2 med-large carrots roughly chopped
- 2 sticks celery roughly chopped
- 1 head garlic roughly chopped
- 6 sprigs thyme tied together with string
- 500 ml stout or other dark beer
- 300 - 500 ml beef stock low salt if possible
- 1 - 2 tsp cornflour optional
Instructions
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If you are going to braise the beef cheeks in the oven, preheat it and a large, lidded casserole dish to 140° C / 120° Fan / Gas 1.
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Using a sharp knife, remove any excess fat, sinew or gristle from the beef cheeks then season lightly with salt and pepper.
Put 1 tbsp of the olive oil or fat in a large sauté or frying pan over high heat. When hot, brown the beef cheeks on both sides. Do this in batches so as not to crowd the pan, adding more olive oil if needed. Transfer the cheeks to a plate when well-browned.
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Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter to the pan.
Tip in the prepared onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, seasoned with a little salt and pepper.
Stir well, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan, and cook until browned and starting to soften: 10 - 12 minutes.
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Stir in the beer and turn the heat up to high. Bring to a boil and bubble for 5 - 8 minutes or until the liquid is reduced by about a third. Take off the heat.
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To braise in the oven
Carefully transfer the contents of the pan to the preheated casserole dish.
Put the browned beef cheeks in the casserole along with the bunch of thyme, a pinch of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Stir.
Pour in enough beef stock to cover the meat and vegetables then put on the lid.
Transfer the dish to the oven and cook until the beef cheeks are very soft: they should easily come apart when done (approximately 3 - 4 hours). During the cooking, check regularly and add more stock if necessary.
To braise in an Instant Pot (IP) pressure cooker
Switch on the IP and carefully transfer the contents of the pan to the inner.
Add the browned beef cheeks along with the bunch of thyme, a pinch of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Stir.
Pour in enough beef stock to just cover the meat and vegetables then lock on the lid.
Set the valve to 'Sealing' then press the 'Manual' button. Use the +/- buttons to set the time to 80 minutes (60 minutes for small cheeks 250g or less).
When the time is up, leave for 15 minutes, press 'Keep Warm/Cancel', then release the pressure manually by switching the valve to 'Venting' (or leave pressure to release naturally if preferred).
Unlock the lid and check that the beef cheeks are very soft: they should easily come apart when done. If not ready, lock the lid back on, switch the valve back to 'Sealing' then press 'Manual'. Use the +/- buttons to set the time to either 10 or 15 minutes, depending on doneness. When the time is up, repeat the process above for checking the meat and cook for longer if necessary.
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When done, carefully remove the cooked beef cheeks from the liquor, set aside, cover, and keep warm.
Strain the liquor through a sieve and discard the vegetables and herbs.
To reduce and concentrate the sauce, bubble on top of the stove or use the Sauté button on the IP. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Tip: for a slightly thicker sauce, cool 2 tbsp of the sauce. Put 1 - 2 tsp of cornflour in a small bowl and whisk in the cold sauce. Stir the mixture into the hot sauce and bubble for 2 - 3 minutes.
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Put the beef cheeks back in the sauce and gently simmer for a few minutes before serving.
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