I happened across some beef cheeks when in the butchers late last week. We looked around for a recipe knowing that the key with these things is the long cooking time so thought we better pick a Sunday or as it turned out a long weekend Monday. At about 12.30 I said "I better go and get the cheeks on for dinner" seemed like a good excuse to get out of some weeding at the time.
Prep time was around 45 mins, cooking time was a good four hours and then say half an hour for reducing the sauce. Pretty much a six hour project in all. Must be some of the better invested time I have spent in the kitchen. These cheeks were so tender it knocked our socks off. The Pedro Ximenz sauce was amazing, I have included a photo of the brand and style of Pedro as there are a multitude of them. We scored this bottle at Dan Murphy's for $18.
The cheeks just fell apart and were full of flavour and the sauce added a rich, almost sultana type of sweetish flavour. We prepared some cauliflower cream and steamed beans which were a great match.
We drank a French Bordeaux with this dish. Whilst not a perfect match it was more than acceptable. I have included a photo of this one as well, not sure where we found it. We have another bottle so I guess there will be some more cheeks soon.
This dish is highly recommended for a winters evening!
