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Beef cheeks are the tender, fall-apart and flavoursome cut of meat that makes the hearts of those in the know beat a little faster when spotted in dishes on restaurant menus.
Despite being a cheaper cut of beef, this is the off-cut that promises to deliver on both flavour and texture, when long and slow cooking is in order. It's easy to see why it has fallen into fashion with Michelin-starred chefs, so why not try elevating your home menu with it too?
Step away from the sirloin and try out some simple recipes inspired by Michelin-starred chefs, like pan-searing and slow-cooking beef cheeks in red wine and serving with Joel Robuchon's mashed potatoes for a heart warming, show-stopping dinner.
Take a look at the recipes below.
How to cook beef cheeks
Angela Hartnett's slow-cooked beef cheeks and creamy polenta
British chef Angela Hartnett, from Italian restaurant Murano in London, encourages home cooks to champion beef cheeks in this dish for a dinner party with maximum wow-factor and minimum effort. Two hours' cooking, and you'll be able to cut the cheeks with a spoon, she promises. Alongside it, she serves a rich and coarse polenta.
Mark Moriarty's braised beef cheek
Next up, Irish chef Mark Moriarty and S.Pellegrino Young Chef winner celebrates fresh Irish ingredients with this dish of elegant, warm and hearty deliciousness in his recipe.
Braised beef cheeks with parmesan polenta and gremolata
Thomas Straker has spent the last decade working in some of London’s top restaurants, like Blumenthal's Dinner, and is now on a mission to share his dishes with home cooks. Here he is with his take on braised beef cheeks. Get the full recipe.
Braised Irish beef cheek, anchovy, pickled walnuts
Adam Bennett cooks cheeks for a couple of hours in red wine and Madeira until tender and full of flavour - the unusual addition of pickled walnuts and anchovies to the sauce adds a real depth of flavour.
Gordon Ramsay's slow braised beef cheeks
Ramsay shows how to give beef cheeks some love to come out like a dream in this Italian-inspired dinner with slow-braised beef cheeks with pappardelle.
And now, for something really different try the unusual combination of escargots with beef cheeks, as prepared by chef Romain Avril in our 'Secrets of French Cuisine' series:
