Recipe Beef Cheeks in Red Wine

The Velvet Curtain

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Ingredients to serve 2

Robust red wine, I favour a Bordeaux
2 beef cheeks trimmed of all sinue
Beef stock
Tomato puree
Thyme sprig
Medium onion coarsely chopped
Medium carrot chopped
Garlic clove crushed

Method

  1. Put half a bottle of wine in a small saucepan, bring to the boil, flame off the alcohol and reduce by 1/3.
  2. In an oven proof deep lidded pan, well brown the beef cheeks in a little oil then set aside.
  3. Add the onions, carrot and garlic to the pan, saute until the onion begins to brown.
  4. Deglaze the pan with some wine, ensuring everything is scraped up.
  5. Add the rest of the wine, a similar quantity of stock, the thyme and the beef.
  6. Add 1/2 inch of tomato puree and pepper. Do not salt at this stage as the stock will be reduced later.
  7. Place the covered pan in a low oven, after 1 1/2 hours turn the beef cheeks and return to the oven.
  8. After 2 1/2 hours total remove the pan from the oven and place on the hob. Carefully lift out the beef - it should be in danger of falling apart by now. Loosely wrap the beef in foil and return to the oven to keep warm, and fish out the thyme stalks to discard.
  9. Using a stick blender, liquidise the veg and stock until it is smooth, it will look a bit thin and pale, no problem.
  10. On the hob, bring the stock to the boil and skim off the impurities as they rise.
  11. Continue to simmer the stock so it reduces, thickens and darkens. Taste continually until you are happy with the intensity of flavour and silkiness. Now adjust the seasoning and add a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar if the sharpness of the wine needs balancing.
  12. Return the beef to the sauce and put back in the oven for another 30 minutes. This allows you to deal with the accompaniments, or impress your guest with how calm and in control you are in the kitchen.
  13. Finally remove the pan from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Slice the cheeks into 3 or 4 to aid presentation and nap over some of the sauce, presenting the rest in a gravy boat.
 
A stunning sauce - and with a few simple ingredients. Bravo!
It's the blending and reducing that turns it from a standard rustic dish into something more fine dining, and no need to add a thickening agent. I think I came across the idea on the BBC Good Food website.

I did pour a little of the sauce over the beef to make it look elegent, but once you taste it you can't help but empty the gravy boat over the plate :rolleyes:
 
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