Beef Cheek 2 Ways for Cafes - Video

Christopher Thé of Hearthe Bakery & Cafe in Stanmore shows us two cafe-ready dishes using beef cheek.

Slow Cooked Beef Cheek, Soft Polenta ‘En Croute’
Prep: 60 minutes   
Cook: 6 hours or overnight
Serves: 10    

BEEF CHEEKS
2kg beef cheeks
30g sea salt
15g brown sugar
1 clove garlic
ground spices or herbs

SOFT POLENTA
500g Instant white polenta
2500g water
100g fine grated parmesan
Sea salt and white pepper

GARNISH
2 x puff pastry teardrop
Cooking liquid, slightly reduced
Mixed leaves and herbs
Olive oil
Lemon juice

Preparation

1. For the beef: Trim exterior sinew / keep trims for stock or jus
Weigh out total weight of trimmed beef cheeks and cure with 2% of the weight of protein. Sprinkle the curing mix evenly for 2-3 hours. For example: for 2kg of protein then 40g of cure is required.

2. For the polenta: Infuse milk and aromats for 30 minutes, pass and reheat to simmer and gradually rain in the semolina and whisk in until incorporated well and thick like polenta. Change over to a wooden spoon and cook out for 5 minutes on a medium heat, stirring continuously. Remove from the heat, season, add parmesan and beat in until all melted through and smooth. Portion.

3. Vacuum seal cheeks in bag with uniform sizes in each bag to ensure even cooking. In a deep metal gastronorm pour hot water and bags of sealed beef cheeks / ensure the cheeks are submerged under the water and not overcrowded. (In the Unox / set at 100 deg c for 15 minutes 80 percent steam then drop down to 83 deg for approx. 6 hours, or until tender.

4. Cut the puff pastry to the required shape, place onto a greaseproof paper lined tray, brush with egg and milk, bake at 180°C fan forced for 8-10 min, or until golden.

5. To serve, warm the polenta with a little milk and beat until smooth. Season.

6. Heat the beef cheeks with a little cooking liquid.

7. Plate as per photograph and serve with dressed mixed leaves.

Beef Cheek “Meal in a Pie”
Prep: 60 minutes   
Cook: 6 hours or overnight
Serves: 10    

Use the same beef cheek and soft polenta recipe as per above.

WARRAGAL GREENS

300g green leafy vegetables like spinach or warrigal greens

BEETROOT SALAD

1 small tin of beetroot
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup chopped parley
1 small tin of cooked lentils
1 tbsp caramelised balsamic
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and cracked black pepper

GARNISH
Tomato relish

PREPARATION

Prepare beef cheek and soft polenta recipe as per above.

For the vegetables: Quickly blanch green leafy vegetables like spinach or Warragal greens and when wilted refresh in an ice bath. Strain, squeeze of excess liquid. Insert a layer on top of the starch into the pastry case.

For the beetroot salad: combine all ingredients, season to taste. Insert at the top of the pastry case.

Layer beef cheek into the bottom of pie pastry case then pipe a layer of polenta about 1 cm thick on top of the meat, followed by a layer of Warragal greens and finish with a layer of beetroot salad.

To seal the lid on the pie. Place the square lid on top of the pastry case, lining up the corners. Pinch together the centres of all four sides one by one.

Whisk an egg with a pinch of salt and brush over the pastry top. Sprinkle with black pepper and bake at 180c for 25 min or until the pastry is golden.

Allow to cool before unfolding and serve with tomato relish.









Notes from Chris:

Stacking ingredients of a pie filling gives it a modern aesthetic and social media appeal when cut in order to reveal its cross section. This “meal in a pastry case” is a great way of elevating a simple dish into a meal worth remembering. It is also much simpler to make, utilising whatever leftover cooked meats found in the kitchen, and eliminates the need to make a gravy which can often explode if unlucky.



At Hearthe we make our own pastry, but if this is impractical store bought pastry is a great option. Just make sure to choose a pastry made with butter, as those made with margarine can leave a waxy mouthfeel and aftertaste.