Recipe for beef cheeks braised in stout: slow cooker/crock pot
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Beef and Steak and Veal | 7 comments
Slow cooked beef cheeks on horseradish mashed potatoes
I only started watching Masterchef towards the end of last year and I’m totally hooked. Recently a team of contestants were working in Jason Atherton’s restayrant kitchen. The main course was beef cheeks braised in stout served with horseradish mashed potatoes – it looked delicious and I thought that I’d try making it in the slow cooker/crock pot.
Beef cheeks are double the price of pig cheeks in the UK but they are still a budget cut of beef at around £5.99 a kilo. Don’t be alarmed when you cut them as they are very tough indeed! The slow cooking process converts the sinewy cheeks into mouth meltingly delicious beef. The stout creates a rich gravy and the recipe is so simple to prepare. Like most slow cooked meat it is even tastier if allowed to chill overnight and reheated the next day.
I used home grown shallots which gave a sweetness to the dish and looked pretty on the plate.
There is a review of Jason Atherton’s dish here. As I couldn’t find the recipe online I had to make up my version! I was delighted with the results – a rich dish for real foodies.
Recipe for beef cheeks braised in stout (for 6 greedy people)
Ingredients:
I kilo of beef cheeks cut into six portions
150g of shallots peeled and halved if they are big
1 tomato sliced
2 heaped tablespoons of seasoned flour
1 tsp of dried savory or thyme at a pinch
1 chunky garlic clove squashed and cut fine
Half a tsp of balsamic vinegar
Half a tsp of anchovy sauce (or one anchovy cut into fine strips)
440ml of stout
Method:
Place the prepared shallots in the base of the slow cooker.
Add the tomatoes.
Roll the beef in the seasoned flour and place these on top of the shallots.
Sprinkle over the savory, garlic, anchovy sauce and balsamic vinegar.
Finally pour over the stout (don’t worry if the stout doesn’t cover the beef completely).
Put the lid on the slow cooker and switch to high until the stout is simmering and bubbling well – this will take about an hour.
Switch to low for a further four hours, turning any exposed beef after two hours. The beef should be tender and succulent.
Remove the slow cooker dish to a cold place to chill for 24 hours. Reheat the dish and serve with horseradish mash (recipe to follow tomorrow) and a green vegetable.
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Got this in the slow cooker right now, will let you know what I think tomorrow!!!
And would love the egg custard recipe too…… x
For those of us who live on the other side of the pond, what exactly is stout, can I get it here, and if not is there a good substitute? I know it’s a type of beer, but that’s all I know. Help! Cuz that recipe sounds wonderful!! Thanks.
It’s Guinness – Not sure where you live but you should be able to get all kinds of stout at any supermarket, esp Guinness. I’m sure there are a few US microbrewery stouts out there – or try a porter. If not, just get a really good, dark beer.
I often do ox cheek in the slow cooker and do nothing but add an onion and some stout. Once it is all cooked I thicken the gravy and adjust the seasoning. Then serve with mash dumplings or loads of vegetables.
I am a huge fan of both pigs and ox cheeks. Mine are now cooked in a slow-cooker, rather than in the oven (much more economical). I often put kidneys or liver in with them to further deepen the flavour. I add Worcestershire Sauce & a slug of my Blackberry or Plum Brandy. Sometimes I cook the pigs cheeks with dried apricots & cider, which is delicious.
Kate, do tell how you did the egg custard in the slow-cooker; how long does it take & at what setting.
I cooked an egg custard in the slow cooker today- it was lovely!Bit of a shot in the dark, but it worked.
Ooh! love egg custard – any chance of the recipe?!!