Sat, 20 May 2017
Beef Cheeks with Creamed Polenta
Beef Cheeks
Ingredients:
4 Each Beef Cheeks (Trimmed & cut in half)
3 cups Onions (Finely Chopped)
2 cups Carrots (Finely Chopped)
2 cups Celery (Finely Chopped)
1/2 head Garlic (crushed)
2tbs Tomato Paste
6 Cloves
1tsp Ground Cumin
1tsp Ground Coriander
4 Bay Leaves
6 Sprigs Thyme
1.25 litre Veal Stock
2 Beef Stock Cubes
50ml Balsamic Vinegar
250ml Red Wine
25ml Worchester Sauce
25ml Soy Sauce
2 sachet Roast Beef Gravy Powder (Schwartz)
1tbsp Bisto
375ml Water
Olive Oil for searing and sautéing
Seasoning
Equipment:
Wide Cast Iron pot with oven proof lid
Cutting board
Utensils
Method:
1.)Preheat the oven to 200oC.
2.)Heat a cast iron pot on stove top until smoking hot
3.)Season Beef cheeks, well drizzle with oil and gently place into pot. Sear & brown well.
4.)Remove Cheeks and set aside to rest.
5.)Add some oil to pot, add onion & sweat until glassy. Add about a cup of water at this stage to help sweat & soften onions.
6.)Add carrots & celery and sweat until soft. Add spices & bay leaves and sweat.
7.)Add tomato paste, stir and deglaze with wine, balsamic, Worchester sauce & soy sauce. Stir and simmer.
8.)Add thyme, veal stock and stock cubes. Bring to a boil and turn down the heat.
9.)Add the beef cheeks back into the sauce, cover with a lid and return to a simmer.
10.)Cover & place the pot in the oven. Leave for 15 minutes and then turn down to 150⁰C and bake for 2-3hrs.
11.)After 1 hour, stir to prevent catching and burning, return to oven.
12.)After 2 hours check if a butter knife pierces easily through the meat. When it does, mix the remaining water with the bisto and gravy powder to thicken the sauce. If the sauce is a little thin or too much, you can reduce it on the stove top before thickening and returning to the oven for the last 1/2 hour cooking.
13.)Return the beef cheeks to the oven and bake for another 1/2 hour until the sauce is cooked out.
Polenta
Ingredients:
1.25 cups Polenta Grain (Ready to Use or presoaked)
1.5 cups Water
2 cup Milk
1/2 cup Cream
125g Butter
100g Parmesan Cheese
Salt
125g Sundried Tomato Chopped
50g Chives Chopped
Equipment:
Thick Bottomed Pot
Wooden Spoon
Strong Whisk
Spatula
Method:
1.)Bring water and milk to a rolling boil. Add a good bit of salt, as the polenta will absorb a lot of the salt.
2.)Add polenta, whisking to distribute grains.
3.)Change to wooden spoon and stir as polenta thickens. Turn down heat and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4.)Add cream and butter. Check seasoning. Add grated parmesan and cook for a further few minutes
5.)Cook out the polenta and stop at the stage you like the consistency to be, i.e. thick or medium.
6.)Allow to stand with lid on to complete cooking.
7.)When ready to serve, reheat if not hot, add sundried tomatoes and chives, serve.
Watch how it's made in the videos below:
