Name: How to Cook Slow-Braised Beef Cheeks
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Australian
Ingredients: 4 beef cheeks, approximately 350g each once the silverskin is trimmed off; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 brown onion, roughly chopped; 2 carrots, cut into thick lengths; 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped; 4 garlic cloves, bruised; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; 350ml full-bodied dry red wine; 600ml beef stock; 2 bay leaves; 3 sprigs thyme; Salt and coarsely cracked black pepper; Good olive oil, to finish

This is a from-scratch recipe for Slow-Braised Beef Cheeks. If you have bought a prepared Providoor dish, use its product instructions instead; the raw ingredients and cooking times below do not apply to reheating it.

Recipe yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

4 beef cheeks, approximately 350g each once the silverskin is trimmed off
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 brown onion, roughly chopped
2 carrots, cut into thick lengths
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, bruised
2 tablespoons tomato paste
350ml full-bodied dry red wine
600ml beef stock
2 bay leaves
3 sprigs thyme
Salt and coarsely cracked black pepper
Good olive oil, to finish

Method

Trim the silverskin. Trim the silverskin from the cheeks before weighing the portions for this recipe.
Season and dry the surface. Season the cheeks generously with salt and pepper and pat the surface completely dry. A wet cheek steams instead of browning.
Sear hard, in batches. Heat the olive oil in a heavy casserole over high heat and brown the cheeks deeply on both sides, two at a time. Crowding the pan drops the temperature and you get grey meat. Set the cheeks aside.
Build the aromatic base. Lower the heat, add the onion, carrot and celery and cook for eight to ten minutes until softened and coloured. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook for two minutes more so the paste darkens.
Deglaze with the wine. Pour in the red wine, scrape the browned fond off the base of the pot, and simmer until reduced by half, about five minutes.
Return the cheeks and add liquid. Sit the cheeks back in the pot with any resting juices, add the stock so the cheeks are roughly two-thirds submerged, and tuck in the bay leaves and thyme. Part-submerged, not drowned.
Cover and braise low. Bring to the barest simmer on the stove, put the lid on, and transfer to a 150C oven for three to four hours. Check once an hour that the liquid is trembling rather than bubbling.
Check tenderness. Check that the meat is thoroughly cooked and tender enough to part with a spoon. Cooking time varies with the size of the cheeks and your oven.
Rest the meat and reduce the sauce. Lift the cheeks out and keep them warm. Strain the braising liquid, skim the fat, and simmer it down until it coats the back of a spoon. Return the cheeks to the sauce.
Finish. Check the seasoning and finish each plate with a drizzle of olive oil.

Serving and preparation notes

Cooking times depend on your equipment and ingredient size. Keep raw-food preparation separate from ready-to-eat food and follow appropriate storage directions. This recipe is distinct from the product sold below.

Prefer a prepared dish?

Slow Cooked Country Beef Cheeks is a separate product with its own ingredients, serving count and preparation. Check the current page and latest packaging before use.

For prepared meals, use the reheating guide. Explore the current menu and postcode delivery.

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Providoor Editorial Team

Content and food research at Providoor. We write about premium frozen meals, Australian food delivery and the chefs behind the dishes, drawing on direct relationships with our chef partners — Marco Pierre White, George Calombaris, Silvia Colloca, Christine Manfield and Anna Polyviou — and check every claim against the live menu before publishing. Nutrition and food-safety statements are checked against Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) and the Australian Department of Health.