3o hours to cook something? Don’t be ridiculous! Who has time for that? …….Is that what is running through your head? Well, let me be clear on this. This takes no effort at all. A lot of marinating and a lot of slow cooking make these unsung heroes a work of art in my book. Rich and rewarding and almost by accident (they were marinating for 6 hours when a couple of drinks with the neighbours turned into many that resulted in 24 hour marinating beef cheeks) this succulent and simple dish was simply divine. Don’t you love spontaneity!
Prep time: 24 hours and 25 minutes Cooking time: 6 hours $$ Medium Budget
Serves 6
2 tbs of olive oil
800gm of beef cheeks (ask your butcher to order them for you)
700ml of good red wine (don’t bother with anything that you won’t drink)
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 brown onions, diced
6 sprigs of rosemary, removed from stems and chopped
12 thyme sprigs, removed from stems and roughly chopped
2 tbs of tomato paste
1 cup of beef stock
1/4 cup of vino cotto*
1 x 400gm tin of chopped tomatoes
2 tbs of finely chopped flat leaf parsley
500gm of pappardelle, cooked to packet instructions
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
Freshly grated parmesan cheese to serve
Place the beef cheeks in a bowl and cover them with red wine. Cover with plastic wrap and pop them in the fridge and forget about them for 12 hours then give them a turn. Forget for another 12 hours.
Remove the beef cheeks from the fridge and bowl and pat dry with paper towel. Reserve the red wine from the marinade for later use. Heat a heavy based, oven proof casserole dish* on the stove and add the oil. Brown the cheeks on both sides until golden and caramelised. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Pre heat the oven to 140°C. In the same pan, add a little more oil if necessary and lightly fry the onion until soft before adding the garlic and herbs. Fry for a further minute or so and then deglaze the pan with the wine and vino cotto. Pour in the stock and tomato paste, stir well and return the cheeks to the pan. Cover the cheeks with a piece of baking paper, making sure to tuck it in and place a tight fitting lid on. Bake in the oven for 6 hours, turning the cheeks every couple of hours and making sure the pan doesn’t dry out. If it does add a little water.
After 6 hours, remove the pan from the oven and pop it on the stove top. With two forks, gently shred the cheek meat and then add the tin tomatoes. Bring back to the boil and reduce heat to a simmer, stir well and add a little more water if necessary. Sprinkle over the parsley and then add the cooked pappardelle. Toss well to combine and serve at the table with the grated parmesan, a green salad and some crusty bread……..oh and lets not forget…..a really good bottle of red!
* Vino Cotto is a condiment made from the must of grapes. You can buy it at specialty food chops such as The Essential Ingredient. If you don’t have a casserole that can go on the stove, prepare in a frypan and then transfer.
Full marks
Thanks! I love that one too…. Cheers Em
Hi Em, I have this in the oven right now, and can’t wait! In your recipe, it doesn’t state when to add the tomato paste, and tinned tomatoes. I added it just after deglazing. I hope mine looks as good as yours!
Was it ok? Thanks for the tip and I just edited the recipe to include the tomato paste…..thanks for the heads up! Cheers Em x
Oooppps! Just foumd the instructions for the tin of tomatoes!!
Hopefully it’ll still taste good
I’m loving cooking this recipe. Can’t wait till I serve it.
Let me know your thoughts after you have eaten it!
It was fantastic and sharing with friends this simple but tasty recipe. Thank u
Made this over the weekend and if was fantastic, thanks.
Thanks Michelle 🙂
I cooked this last night – amazing recipe, thank you!
Thanks Ben!
Why does this take so long to cook? I cook beef cheeks a la Italianata on the stove and it takes no more than 3 hours. They are rich and gelatinous and easily flaked.
it’s a bit tongue in cheek Roy. If you read the recipe you will see that it takes only a few hours to cook but 24 hours to marinate. That is because I ended up staying at friends drinking wine instead of coming home and cooking them like I should have!
What if I can’t get vino cotto?
Hi Karen, sorry I have been away and haven’t had access to my computer. If you can’t get vino cotto just use a good balsamic vinegar or even a dash of port. I am sure it won’t make that much difference to the recipe if you leave it out. Cheers Em
Thank you
Hi Em,
At what stage do you add the red wine marinade back into the ragu mixture. We will be marinating the beef cheeks today and cooking them for guests tomorrow. The recipe looks and sound delicious.
Cheers Jenny
Hi Jenny,
You add the red wine back to the pan to deglaze it with the vino cotto. 3rd paragraph of the recipe. Cheers Em 😊
Thanks for the quick reply Em.
It would help if we read the recipe properly!
Cheers Jenny
Great recipe Em. Thanks….. We all enjoyed it at our lunch catch up with friends. Cheers Jenny
Cheers Jenny, Thanks for letting me know!
🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 Delicious! Made for Mother’s Day dinner! Can’t wait to make again!
Oh good! Glad you loved the recipe Anna x