To me, eating a good steak feels like an iron infusion, however these days I find slow cooked meats way easier to digest. Beef cheeks are a great way to practice eating ‘nose to tail’. This is a great, healing and simple recipe that you can prepare on the morning, while motivation is high, then enjoy the nurturing smells whilst it cooks away. I freeze any excess ‘sauce’ to use as a nourishing gravy with other meals like Bangers & Mash.

Ingredients

• 4 beef cheeks (grass fed ideally)
• 400ml red wine (preservative free if pos)
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 sprigs of time, or 1 teaspoon dried
• 2 tbsp ghee
• 1 large onion
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1L beef or chicken stock
• 2 bay leaves

Method

Serves 4

Method

1. Marinate the beef

   • Place beef cheeks in a container with the wine, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper.

   • Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours (up to 24 hours for best flavour).

2. Prepare for cooking

   • Preheat oven to 160°C (fan 140°C).

   • Remove beef from the marinade, reserving the liquid.

3. Brown the meat

   • Heat ghee in a frying pan.

   • Brown the beef cheeks one at a time, then transfer to a casserole dish.

4. Cook the base

   • In the same pan, fry the onion in the leftover meat juices until softened.

   • Transfer onion to the casserole dish.

5. Deglaze and combine

   • Add balsamic vinegar to the pan and scrape up any browned bits.

   • Pour in the reserved marinade, bring to the boil, and simmer for 2 minutes to cook off the alcohol.

   • Pour this mixture into the casserole along with the stock and bay leaves.

6. Slow cook

   • Cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 4 hours.

   • Optional: After 2 hours, remove the lid and cook uncovered for the final 2 hours to reduce the sauce and intensify flavour. If you prefer a looser sauce, keep the lid on for the full 4 hours.

7. Serve

   • Serve the beef cheeks with creamy mash (potato or veggie-based) and steamed seasonal greens.