What Are Beef Cheeks? (And How To Cook Them!)
Do you have a favorite cut of beef? As a slow cook, I love those slow-cooking cuts of beef. They’re my jam. From a hearty stew to soups and casseroles, these hard-working muscles of the animal really come into their own once they’ve been braised and cooked at a low temperature in a Dutch oven for a few hours. But in the end, you’ll be rewarded for your patience with fall-apart tender meat with a ton of flavor.
It’s all about low and slow (and its melt-in-your-mouth texture) when it comes to cooking beef cheeks (or ox cheeks). So here is a little rundown of what beef cheeks are, and how to cook them!
If you’re new here, you might not know I also run a small online store where I keep many of the tools I cook with every day, along with a few timeless homewares for good, slow living…
What are beef cheeks?
Beef cheek meat is exactly as it sounds: the dense muscle of a cow’s cheek. Because the cheek is constantly being used, it contains a large amount of connective tissue and collagen. While this makes beef cheeks very tough when raw, slow cooking breaks down the collagen and transforms the meat into its famous fall-apart texture and rich beefy flavour.
While it’s a relatively inexpensive cut of meat in comparison to fast-cooking steak cuts, over the last few years, it’s become quite popular with professional chefs and home cooks alike, and is classed as a specialty cut of meat.
To get tender beef cheeks, they need to be braised in either beef stock or another cooking liquid at low heat in a casserole dish for a couple of hours. This is how I think about it… Our cheeks are exercised continuously every day, whether it be from eating or facial expressions. The more that a part of the animal is exercised, the longer the cooking process is to get tender, edible meat. Some of the most popular slow-cook beef cuts are chuck steak, shin, brisket, and silverside.
What do beef cheeks taste like?
If you’ve never eaten beef cheeks before, think of them as one of the richest and most flavourful cuts of beef you can buy.
When slow-cooked, beef cheeks develop a deep beefy flavour similar to brisket or chuck steak, but with an even more tender texture. As the collagen breaks down during cooking, the meat becomes incredibly soft and succulent, like it’s almost melting into the braising liquid.
I first had beef cheeks years ago, when my favorite restaurant in Orange, Lolli Redini, would pop them on their menu every winter with Paris mash and the most beautiful roasted root vegetables. I can’t tell you how many times I had that dish before they closed their doors, and I’ve been cooking with them ever since. It’s this combination of rich flavour and fall-apart texture that has made beef cheeks so popular in both restaurant kitchens and with home cooks.
If you’re looking for a rich winter dinner, try my Slow-Cooked Beef Cheeks in Red Wine, or for something a little different, these Mexican Beef Cheeks are always a favourite.
Beef Cheeks vs Other Slow-Cooking Cuts
If you’ve never cooked beef cheeks before, you might be wondering how they compare to other popular slow-cooking cuts of beef. While chuck steak, brisket, and beef shin are all excellent choices for braising, beef cheeks are in a class of their own when it comes to texture.
What makes beef cheeks different is the amount of collagen they contain. As the collagen breaks down during cooking, it melts into the braising liquid and creates those rich, silky sauces that make slow-cooked dishes oh so comforting.
If you’re already a fan of slow-cooked chuck steak or brisket, think of beef cheeks as the next step up. They’re richer, more luxurious, and perfect for special occasions or long Sunday lunches when you want something a little extra special.
Where do I buy beef cheeks from?
Here’s the good news! A couple of years ago, beef cheeks were a restaurant-only cut of meat. Unless you knew your butcher shop really well, or bought in bulk, they were relatively hard to come across. I now find that most supermarkets stock beef cheeks on the shelves, and they are readily available.
Where do I buy beef cheeks from?
Here’s the good news! A couple of years ago, beef cheeks were a restaurant-only cut of meat. Unless you knew your butcher shop really well, or bought in bulk, they were relatively hard to come across. I now find that most supermarkets stock beef cheeks on the shelves, and they are readily available.
Why are beef cheeks perfect for Dutch oven cooking?
If there was ever a cut of beef made for Dutch oven cooking, it’s beef cheeks.
Because beef cheeks contain so much connective tissue and collagen, they need a long, gentle cooking time to become tender. A Dutch oven is perfect for this because the heavy cast iron holds heat evenly and maintains a steady temperature for hours, allowing the meat to slowly braise without drying out.
As the beef cheeks cook, the collagen melts into the braising liquid, creating those rich, silky sauces that slow-cooked beef dishes are famous for. Combine that with the tight-fitting lid of a Dutch oven, and very little moisture escapes during cooking, helping to keep the meat succulent and full of flavor.
In my kitchen, beef cheeks usually spend three to four hours popped in a cast-iron casserole with red wine, stock, onions, and garlic while the house slowly fills with the smell of dinner. It’s one of those ingredients that rewards time and patience, and one of the reasons I just love cooking in cast iron and Dutch ovens.
What Size Dutch Oven Is Best For Beef Cheeks?
For most beef cheek recipes, I recommend:
- 24cm Dutch oven – ideal for 2-4 beef cheeks
- 26cm Dutch oven – perfect for a family meal
- 28cm Dutch oven – best for batch cooking or entertaining
The key is choosing a pot that’s large enough for the beef cheeks to sit comfortably in a single layer while still allowing enough room for the braising liquid. A 29cm oval Dutch oven is another great option.
If you’re still deciding what size Dutch oven to buy, have a read of my guide to choosing the best Dutch oven size.
Here’s how to prepare and cook beef cheeks in a cast-iron pot
- Firstly, remove any excess fat or sinew – that thin, silver skin that hugs some cuts of meat. This is where a boning knife comes in handy. If you don’t have one, just use a small, sharp knife like a utility knife. Run your knife gently under it and remove the sinew. When buying a budget cut of meat, I generally find that you should give it a quick check and remove any excess fat or sinew. While fat can contribute to the overall flavor and outcome of a dish, sinew does not. It just becomes chewy and tough.
- In a large enamel cast-iron casserole, add a little olive oil, and sear your meat in batches on medium-high heat to render any fat and seal in the flavor. Then set aside.
- Add your onions or leeks and saute on low heat until translucent
- Pop the seared beef cheek meat back into the casserole. Add the braising liquid – beef broth, tomato passata, or wine are a few of my go-to’s
- Add the flavor. This could be ingredients like bay leaves, black garlic, porcini powder, tomato paste, or Worcestershire sauce, just to name a few.
- Bring to a simmer on top of the stove, pop on the lid, then pop the casserole pot into a preheated oven and bake until tender. Most of my beef cheek recipes have a cooking time of approximately 3-4 hours at an oven temperature of 150°/300°F; however, this largely depends on the size of the beef cheeks.
- Season with sea salt and black pepper. Serve with your favorite side dish.
Cooking in a French oven (enameled cast iron)? Read this first!
Most cream enamel, good-quality cast iron are low-heat cooking surfaces. It also needs to have its base well-basted, whether that be with oil, butter, water, stock, or other liquid. If you don’t, you risk giving the pan “thermal shock”.
To cook beef cheeks in a French oven, firstly, ensure there is oil to baste the bottom of the pan. Allow the pan to heat up on low heat for a couple of minutes instead of blasting the pot with high heat. Cast iron retains heat better than any other cooking vessel. By heating it up, you will get the same result without destroying your enamel cookware.
Do I have to use a French / Dutch oven?
Definitely not. Any cooking vessel that allows you to slow-cook a piece of meat in the braising liquid for a few hours will do the trick. A slow cooker, pressure cooker, clay casserole, and Instant Pot are all great options. But as you know, I’m a huge fan of cast iron, so I’m always going to say that a large cast iron Dutch oven is always going to give you the best results. For me, cast iron cooking is the ONLY way to slow-cook meat. The way it cooks the meat while keeping it oh-so tender, and reduces the cooking liquid into silky sauces, is the stuff of magic.
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- Dutch Oven Roast Lamb Shoulder with Herbs de Provence
- Slow-Cooked Beef Lasagne
- Dutch Oven Beef Stroganoff
- Slow-Cooked BBQ Pulled Pork
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Do you cover the pot while it’s cooking in the oven?
Yes you do Barbara 🙂
Absolutely delicious!
Enough for two dinners, one with mash and the other served over pasta.
Sounds perfect Michael! x