|
||
|
PETITCHEF |
Add your blog-site | Add your recipes | Receive daily menu | Contact us | |
Oven Braised Beef Cheeks
Last April, I was lucky enough to attend. and write about, the Pebble Beach Food and Wine as a guest commenter for FoodBuzz. Erik Villar of Calistoga Ranch provided samples of slow braised Kobe beef cheeks tucked into puff pastry cups. I'd been on the look-out for beef cheeks ever since.
 While you couldn't exactly call beef cheeks an attractive cut, you can see just how gloriously gelatinous the end product will be. Braising is the only way to go. Slow Braised Beef Cheeks 1.5 to 2 pounds beef cheek, available at some gourmet butcher shops and ethnic grocery stores 1 quart mild flavored stock - I used a plain turkey base salt, pepper 1 Tablespoon fat for browning, use your favorite - I used duckCombine equal parts of salt and pepper, rub into beef cheeks. In a heavy covered, deep skillet or Dutch oven, lightly brown beef cheeks on all sides.  Drain off fat. Add stock, cover tightly and slip into a pre-heated, 300°F oven. In 4 to 4-1/2 hours, check pot, add more stock if necessary, cook for another 1 to 1-1/2 hour. All liquid should have been absorbed by the beef which will be glossy, beautiful, dark brown and completely tender.  At this point, cool the beef cheeks, shred, pick through for any remaining globs of fat (discard) and refrigerate, tightly covered, for 12 to 24 hours.  The cooked beef will become a gelatinous mass and will be ready to use, either in one recipe or more, depending on your needs. I decided to make three appetizers.  Ginger Beef Steam Buns I used the Chinese Steam Bun recipe from AllRecipes.com. 1 recipe Chinese steam bun 1-1/2 cup chilled cooked beef cheek, diced 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger 1 teaspoon minced candied ginger 1 tablespoon seasoned soy sauce Melt diced beef over moderate heat, add gingers and soy sauce, stir until well blended and heated through. Cool to handle. Add one heaping tablespoonful of meat mixture to the center of each dough ball, seal and place seam side down on a parchment square, then into bamboo steamer, leaving 2 inches around each bun. Set aside to rise until doubled, bring a pan of water to a boil, place steamer basket over and steam for 10-12 minutes. Here are the the buns ready to go into steamer:  And here they are steamed  Italian Beef Cheeks in Pastry 1-1/2 cup cooked, minced beef cheek 1 cup diced plum tomatoes 1/2 cup finely diced Cipollini onions 1 large clove garlic, minced 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 teaspoon fresh oregano, minced salt and pepper to taste 1 recipe pastry dough of choice Heat oil to shimmer, add onions and garlic, cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add beef, saute for 10 minutes, season with salt, pepper and oregano, cook until liquids are reduced and mixture is very thick, 5-10 minutes more. Cool to handle. Prepare and roll out dough, cut into desired shapes to make pouches large enough to hold a heaping tablespoon of filling. Pinch closed and bake at 375°F until golden, about 10-12 minutes, depending on size.   Steamed Beef Cheek and Green Onion Packets 1-1/2 cup cold braised beef cheek, minced 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion 1 clove garlic, minced 2 tablespoons chopped enoki stems or any other mild mushroom 1 teaspoon seasoned soy sauce 1/2 package won ton wrappers Combine beef, onion and soy sauce. Fold about 1 tablespoon of mixture into the center of each won ton wrapper, using a little water, moisten edges to seal packet. Place in a steamer, in a single layer, and steam over boiling water for 5 minutes, until the wrappers are somewhat translucent the hot. Serve with dipping sauce Dipping sauce: 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1 tablespoon mashed ginger 1 teaspoon honeyHeat soy sauce and ginger, cook for 2 minutes. Strain into a bowl, discard ginger, stir in honey.     The beef cheek dim sum-ish appetizers were served with rice and stir fried veggies, with a nice warm sake. I think the amount of work involved was worth the results. The braising is really almost hands off and assembly of the appetizers was fast and easy. I will most definitely be using beef cheeks in the future, with mushrooms in ravioli and certainly in pastry again. The flavor was exceptional and the contrast between the flaky crunch of the pastry and the silky decadence of the beef cheek was remarkable.  related searches : Oven
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Related recipes
(1 vote)
Recipes
Questions answers