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–+ servings
Beef Cheek Ragu
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Beef Cheek Ragu

This recipe needs overnight marinating and a day of cooking, but the time is worth it
Recipe Category: Italian, Meat
Makes enough for: 4 people
All Rights Reserved: An original recipe from Lavender and Lime

Ingredients

for the marinade

  • 500 g beef cheeks
  • 500 mls red wine
  • 15 mls red or black fruit jam
  • 3 sprigs thyme
  • 2 sprigs rosemary
  • 2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
  • 1 shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1 carrot, peeled and thickly sliced
  • 1 baby leek, trimmed and thickly sliced
  • 1 quill cinnamon

for the beef cheeks

  • 10 mls fructose
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
  • 30 mls olive oil
  • 500 mls rich beef stock

for the ragu

  • 15 mls olive oil
  • 1 shallot, peeled, trimmed and finely diced
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 1 carrot, peeled and finely grated
  • 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
  • 2.5 mls dried thyme
  • 1.25 mls fructose

Method

for the marinade

  • Place the beef cheeks, wine, jam, thyme, rosemary, garlic, shallot, carrot, leek and cinnamon into a large ziploc bag
  • Rub the marinade into the beef cheeks and place into the fridge overnight
  • Remove the bag from the fridge and remove the beef cheeks, placing them onto a wire rack over a container
  • Leave to come to come up room temperature
  • Strain the marinade through a chinoi, into a sauce pan
  • Tip the vegetables into a roasting pan and set aside

for the beef cheeks

  • Add the fructose to the marinade and stir to combine
  • Place onto a medium temperature and leave to simmer until reduced by half, then set aside
  • When the beef is nearly at room temperature, preheat the oven to 200° Celsius
  • Place the vegetables into the oven and cook for 15 minutes
  • While you do that, pat the beef cheeks dry and season generously
  • Place the oil into a large frying pan and heat over a medium to high temperature
  • Brown the beef cheeks and set aside
  • Remove the vegetables from the oven and reduce the temperature to 150° Celsius
  • Place the browned beef cheeks in a single layer over the vegetables
  • Pour in the reduced marinade and beef stock so that it covers the meat
  • Cover with tin foil so that the foil touches the meat
  • Place into the oven and cook for 3 hours
  • Remove from the oven and leave covered to cool slightly
  • Remove the meat, strain the liquid and set aside and discard the vegetables

for the ragu

  • Place the oil into a large, lidded frying pan and heat over a medium temperature
  • Add the shallot and reduce the temperature slightly
  • Sauté until soft then add the garlic
  • Cook until fragrant then add the carrot, chopped tomatoes, thyme and fructose
  • Stir to combine then season generously
  • Increase the temperature and cook until the liquid has evaporated
  • Skim the fat off the beef cheek liquid
  • Add the liquid and the beef cheeks to the frying pan and gently stir to combine
  • Place the lid onto the frying pan, reduce the temperature slightly and leave to simmer for an hour
  • Remove the lid, break the meat up using a wooden spoon and leave to reduce until the sauce is thick
  • Serve with pappardelle or any long pasta of your choice