These slow cooked Beef Cheeks are braised in a beautiful red wine sauce until they are so meltingly tender, you can eat it with a spoon! The braising liquid in this Beef Cheeks recipe is infused with incredible flavour and when pureed, transforms into a thick, luscious gravy-like sauce.
Perfectly accompanied with creamy mashed potatoes, this is a very easy dish that is suited to an elegant dinner party or a hearty midweek meal. Make this in your slow cooker, pressure cooker or on the stove!
Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks
This is a magnificent dish that takes a budget cut of beef and transforms it with little effort into a dish that you’ll find on the menu of fine dining restaurants.
Except it’s 80% cheaper. 🙂 I had lunch at an upscale bistro on the weekend where Beef Cheeks were on the menu for $35 a serving!
Little known fact: Beef cheeks are the KING of all slow cooking cuts of beef!
What are beef cheeks?
Beef Cheeks are the cheek muscle of cows and they are a very tough cut of meat that needs to be cooked long and slow to make it tender. It absorbs the flavours of braising liquid well and when you cut into it, it is stringy, almost like pulled pork.
But unlike beef chuck (used for Beef Stew and Pot Roast), Brisket and even Beef Short Ribs which have patches of really juicy sections and also some that can (sometimes) be a bit dry, not a single part of the beef cheek is dry. Every mouthful is juicy and luscious and even just typing up this post is making my mouth water!
And THAT is what makes them so special!!
What you need for this Beef Cheeks recipe
We’re making a fine dining quality dish here, but it just calls for a trip to your local grocery store! Here’s what you need:
Beef Cheeks
5 years ago, they were cheaper and weren’t always available in the large supermarkets here in Australia. But nowadays, thanks to shows like Masterchef and My Kitchen Rules, the price has been driven up (?) but on the plus side, they are now regulars at mainstream stores like Coles and Woolies!
If you can’t find Beef Cheeks, other slow cooking beef cuts will work fine – Beef Short Ribs would be an ideal substitute. Cut them into 250g/8oz chunks so the same cooking times and liquid quantities in this recipe will apply.
This is a magnificent dish that takes a budget cut of beef and transforms it with little effort into a fine dining restaurant dish!
Red Wine for cooking
My Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks recipe is made with a classic Italian red wine braising liquid. The deep, warm, complex flavours of red wine are perfect for using as the stock base for slow cooked beef dishes.
Go to your local liquor outlet and look for end of bin specials and pick up a bottle of a full bodied red wine like Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon.
A pet peeve of mine are recipes that tell you that you must use good quality drinking wine for slow cooking recipes. I do not believe that at all for slow cooked dishes – and the New York Times agrees.
For quick sauces, yes, absolutely. But not for a braising liquid. I bet not even the greatest food critic in the world would be able to tell if it was a discounted $5 end of bin special or a $40 reserve Cab Sav. (Seriously. Who would make a slow cooked beef recipe using a $40 bottle of wine??).
You won’t use the whole bottle. If the wine is not to your standard for drinking, measure out cups and pour them into ziplock bags and freeze them. Handy to have when you need wine for other recipes!
How to make this Beef Cheeks Recipe
Though it does take time to slow cook, it’s an incredibly straightforward recipe:
- Brown beef cheeks aggressively – this is key for flavour!
- Saute garlic, onion, carrots and celery – our soffrito, the flavour base for the sauce;
- Add braising liquid ingredients;
- Slow cook the beef cheeks until they are fall apart tender – stove 2.5 hrs, oven 3.5 hrs, slow cooker 8 hrs, pressure cooker / Instant Pot 1 hr;
- Puree sauce to thicken into a gravy-like consistency;
- Serve beef cheeks with sauce over creamy mashed potato (go all out with Paris Mash!) or for a low carb option, Mashed Cauliflower.
Don’t let the length of the recipe directions fool you, this really is a simple recipe. It’s just long because I’ve provided directions for 3 different cooking methods.
This Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks is a recipe that is elegant enough for a dinner party and if made using a slow cooker, easy enough for mid week.
The other great thing about these Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks is that the leftovers freeze 100% perfectly, OR can be transformed into two other incredible dishes that I’ve shared:
- Beef Cheek Ragu Pasta – the rich braising liquid was made for tossing through pasta!
- Beef, Mushroom and Vegetable Pie
Cook once, eat thrice!! – Nagi x
Try these on the side
- Paris Mash (ultimate creamy mashed potato!) or Creamy Mashed Cauliflower
- Crisp salad with tangy Balsamic Dressing or French Vinaigrette
- Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots
- Garlic Sautéed Spinach
- Magic Roasted Broccoli
Watch how to make it
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Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil , separated
- 1.5 kg/3lb beef cheeks , (4 large or 6 small beef cheeks)
- 1 onion (white, brown or yellow), roughly diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 celery stalk , roughly diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 carrot , roughly diced (about 3/4 cup)
- 4 garlic cloves , minced
- 6 stems of fresh thyme or 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
- 4 dried bay leaves (or 3 fresh bay leaves)
- 1 cup (250 ml) beef stock (broth)
- 2 cups (500 ml) red wine (full bodied eg. cabernet sauvignon or merlot)
- 2 - 3 tsp salt , separated
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Prepare the beef cheeks: cut off any large, fatty membrane. Pat dry then use 1 tsp of salt and black pepper to season the beef all over.
- Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large heavy based pot over high heat. Sear half the beef cheeks on each side until nicely browned. Remove beef cheeks onto a plate, repeat with remaining cheeks.
- Turn down the heat to medium high and heat the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add garlic and onion. Sauté for 3 minutes until onion is becoming translucent.
- Add the celery and carrot,s sauté for a further 3 minutes.
- Follow directions for your chosen cooking method below.
Slow Cooker Directions
- Pour the onion mixture into the slow cooker and place the beef cheeks on top.
- Pour the wine into the pot and return to heat. Turn the heat up to high, bring to simmer and let it simmer for 1 minute (to cook out the wine a bit). Scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan so it mixes in with the wine.
- Pour the wine into the slow cooker, then all the remaining ingredients, starting with a pinch of salt and pepper (add more to taste later).
- Cook in the slow cooker on Low for 8 hours or High for 6 hours for 250g/8oz size beef cheeks or Low for 10 - 12 hours or High for 8 hours for 350g/12oz beef cheeks.
- Open the slow cooker and remove the beef cheeks. Discard the thyme stems and bay leaves.
- Use a handheld stick blender to puree the braising liquid into a smooth Sauce - it will change from a dark brown to a lighter brown colour.
- Transfer liquid into saucepan, simmer on stove on medium high until the Sauce turns a darker brown colour and reduces by about 1/4 to 1/3, to a gravy consistency - about 10 minutes.
- Do a taste test and adjust the seasoning (salt and pepper) to your taste.
- Remove from heat, return beef cheeks to the Sauce, cover and keep warm until ready to serve.
Pressure Cooker Directions
- Follow the Slow Cooker directions but cook on high in your pressure cooker for 1 hour on high for small cheeks (around 250g/8oz each).
Stovetop and Oven Directions
- Pour the wine into the pot / casserole dish (with the onion mixture) and stir to scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pot. Bring wine to simmer for 1 minute.
- Add remaining ingredients, starting with a pinch of salt and pepper (add more to taste later), the place lid on.
- Stove: Simmer on medium low for 2 to 2 1/2 hours until the cheeks are very tender, turn at least once during cooking.
- Oven: 160C/320F for 3 to 3 1/2 hours .
- Remove the beef cheeks from sauce. Discard the thyme stems and bay leaves.
- Use a handheld stick blender to puree the braising liquid into a smooth Sauce - it will change from a dark brown to a lighter brown colour.
- Bring the Sauce to simmer over medium heat and simmer until it turns a darker brown colour and reduces by about 1/4 to 1/3, to a gravy consistency - about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Do a taste test and adjust the seasoning (salt and pepper) to your taste.
- Remove from heat, return beef cheeks to the Sauce, cover and keep warm until ready to serve.
To Serve
- Serve beef cheeks on Paris Mash (ultimate creamy mashed potato!) or Creamy Mashed Cauliflower, drizzled with a generous amount of Sauce. Garnish with finely chopped parsley if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published August 2014. Updated August 2019 with new photos, new process photos, new video, new writing. No change to recipe. I wouldn’t dare touch it, readers love it as it is!
Life of Dozer
His bib was soaked by the time the beef cheeks were in the pot…..
I am always on the hunt for a good beef cheek recipe, and will be trying this one next. Do you cook the beef cheeks whole, or should they be cut into smaller bite sized pieces?
Hi! Thank you for the recipe! If I cook one day ahead and serve it the next day, do I just put it in the fridge? And how should I reheat it so the beef cheek will still be as tender? Thanks!
Cooked this a couple of times using the slow cooker. A winner. My guests were so wowed and impressed by the taste and how tender the meat was. As good as, if not better than what they serve in the restaurants. I didn’t need to alter anything in the recipe. Followed it to the tee.
Yumm.. amazing!
Hi Nagi! What can I replace the stick blender with if I don’t have one?
Hi Beverly, you can transfer the liquid to a blender – just make sure it’s cool enough before blending! N x
Question, the image at the beginning has chicken broth and then later beef stock. Which is best?
Hi Elizabeth, that should be beef broth – thanks for picking that up! N x
Made these last night in the slow cooker…A-Mazing! Served with cauliflower mash yum! Do looking forward to the ragu with leftovers tonight.
And the leftovers are even better Melissa! N x
Awesome, high praise Nagi.
Thanks Fay!
Fabulous! Thank you. I love that you don’t need to use flour to create a thick sauce at the end. Using the stick blender is genius!
Hi do you have to take all the fat of the cheeks it’s still a bit vein on them I am nackerd taking the fat off fingers are killing me lol
Hi Margaret, no – you want to leave some of that fat on to make the cheeks super tender!
Hi! I’m curious if we use both the stove top AND oven or 1 or the other?? Thank you💜
Hi Olyve, if using the oven, you’ll need to follow the directions and start it on the stove – N x
Hi Nagi, can I substitute the wine for beer? I had a delicious beef cheeks in beer sauce in a restaurant.
I just followed the slow cooker receipie. The cheeks were so tender and delicious. My daughter, son in law and I liked them very much. I used a $6 bottle of Cab Sav wine.
Would beef shins work in this recipe
What is the best way to cook? Oven or Slow Cooker?
Hi Paul, you can use either method – the directions are there for both – N x
Hi Nagi,
Absolutely love love love your recipes and the detailed descriptions you give in you recipes. I’ve learned so much since finding your website. I’m cooking 15kgs of bolar blade this weekend. It’s going to come in two 7.5 kg pieces. Plan on cutting it into 250g pieces and following your recipe for the beef cheeks which I cooked before and loved. I just converted your recipe to 70 people and it’s quite hilarious, 5 litres of wine hehe. Hope I can pull it off!!! Tha k you so much for the time and effort you put in X
WOAH!!! Love to know how you go, keep me updated (you may need more wine if you’re cooking that much meat… to drink of course!)
This is always a winner in our house! served in a giant yorkshire, yum!
Perfect Helen!
Any tips for making this recipe with 1.5lbs of beef cheeks?
Hi Amber, click on the servings and drag down to 3 serves – that will help you with the remaining ingredient quantities – N x
Winner in my house, my partner licked the plate. Looks like it again!!😋
Woot! That’s awesome Mel!