Braised Beef Cheek w/ celeriac remoulade & pinot pickled shallot salad

 

I love offal: sweetbreads, liver, brains, tongue and cheek. With a little care and understanding these gnarly and morbid-sounding cuts can be transformed into something delicious. Cheeks, my personal favourite, should be braised low & slow till the meat falls apart, and the fat melts away. 

This is a cracking dish of Kyle's, it works for me on so many levels, but it’s the juxtaposition of serving a secondary cut that has taken hours to break down through long and slow cooking, then pairing it up with a really fresh sharp salad. Perfect Yin and Yang! - AB

Serves 6.

 

Step 1. Pinot Pickled Shallot

Ingredients...

600g             shallots
1 1/2             cups pinot noir
1/2                cup red wine vinegar
2                   tablespoons sugar
1                   bay leaf
1                   cinnamon stick
1                   star anise
3                  sprigs thyme

Method...

Slice the shallots on an mandoline or with a sharp knife to 3mm thick. Separate the rings into a small mixing bowl. Bring all the ingredients except the shallots to the boil in a saucepan. Take off the heat, add the shallots, then cover and allow to sit for an hour. Cool, then refrigerate until required. Keeps for 1 month. 

 

Method...

Step 2. Braised Beef Cheek

Ingredients...

 

- 3                              Beef Cheek

-                                 Flakey Sea Salt and Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

-                                 Canola Oil

-1                               Onions (large diced)

-1                               Carrots (large dice)

-1                               Celery Stick (large dice)

-2 Tbl                         Thyme

-2 clove                      Garlic

-2                                Bay Leaf

-2 Tbsp                      Tomato Paste

-1 cup                         Port or Red Wine

-1 L                             Chicken Stock

  

Method…

 

Preheat oven to 150 degrees.

 

Using a sharp knife, trim the silver skin and excess fat from your beef cheeks. Season liberally, with salt and pepper.

Preheat a cast iron casserole dish over medium/high heat. Add a splash of oil, and then brown your beef cheeks on all sides. Remove cheeks from the dish, and set aside. Add a dash more oil, and caramelize your vegetables, garlic and herbs for 10 minutes until golden. Stir through the tomato paste and cook for a couple of minutes. Deglaze with port and chicken stock, add your cheeks back into the casserole dish, then bring liquids up to a boil. Cover with a snug fitting lid, and place in the oven to slow cook for 3 hours. Your beef cheeks are ready when you can easily insert a butter knife through their centre.

Allow the beef cheeks to cool completely in the braising liquid, before removing from liquid and refrigerating. Strain the braising liquid through a fine sieve into a separate container and refrigerate.

 

Step 3. Celeriac Remoulade

Ingredients… 

- 2 med                       Celeriac (peeled)

- 2                               Lemons (juiced)

- 1 Tbsp                      Horseradish Cream

- 1 Cup                       Mayonnaise (see page xx)

- 1/3 Cup                    Italian Parsley (chopped)

-                                 Flakey Sea Salt and Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

 

Method…

 

Using a mandolin slicer or a sharp knife, thinly slice celeriac into matchstick thin strips. Place in a mixing bowl and coat with lemon juice to prevent browning. Stir horseradish cream, mayonnaise and parsley through the celeriac, season well with salt and pepper, and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate until required.

  

Step 4. Cooking and Serving

Ingredients…

-                                   Braising Liquid

-                                   Braised Beef Cheek

 -1 Cup                        Watercress

-1/4 Cup                    Italian Parsley (torn)

-1 Cup                       Gherkins (cut into thick matchsticks)

-1/2 Cup                    Pinot Pickled Shallots

-                                   Celeriac Remoulade

-                                   Lemon Oregano Oil

-                                   Flakey Sea Salt and Freshly Cracked Black Pepper 

Method…

 

Place your braising liquid in a large saucepan, and place on medium heat. Bring up to a simmer, and reduce for 20 or 30 minutes, or until sauce thickens and coats the back of the spoon. Cut beef cheeks in half , turn sauce down to low, then place the beef cheeks into the sauce to heat through for 10 minutes. Spoon sauce over the meat occasionally, to create a thick gloss on cheeks. Remove from heat and hold.

 

Take a medium sized mixing bowl, and toss together the watercress, parsley, gherkin sticks and pickled shallots.

 

Place a generous mound of celeriac remoulade on your serving plates, then nestle the glazed beef cheek into it. Top with the watercress and pickled shallot salad,  a slug of lemon oregano oil,  and a pinch more seasoning.