Braised Beef Cheeks with Root Vegetables and Mushrooms

Tender braised beef cheeks with root vegetables and mushrooms in a savory apple and tomato sauce. A warming dish for cold days that almost cooks itself in the oven.

By yumbelo · 4 servings · 210 minutes

Ingredients

• 1000 g Beef cheeks, ready to cook
• Salt
• Black pepper
• 2 tbsp Cooking oil
• 2 tbsp Wheat flour
• 2 pc Onions
• 2 pc Garlic cloves
• 300 g Carrots
• 200 g Celeriac
• 100 g Parsley root
• 250 g Button mushrooms
• 2 tbsp Tomato paste
• 2 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
• 300 ml Cloudy apple juice
• 500 ml Beef stock
• 2 pc Bay leaves
• 6 pc Juniper berries
• 1 bunch Thyme
• 1 bunch Flat-leaf parsley

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160 °C, conventional heat. Pat the beef cheeks dry, season with salt and pepper and coat them in the flour.
2. Heat the oil in a large casserole or braising pot until very hot and sear the cheeks on all sides in two to three batches until evenly browned. Remove and set aside.
3. Peel the onions and roughly dice them. Peel the carrots, celeriac and parsley root and cut into rough chunks. Clean the mushrooms and quarter them.
4. In the remaining fat, fry the onions, root vegetables and mushrooms for about 5 minutes until they take on color. Finely chop the garlic, add it and toast briefly.
5. Stir in the tomato paste and toast for 2 minutes, then deglaze with the vinegar and let it reduce.
6. Add the apple juice, stock, bay leaf, juniper and thyme. Return the cheeks to the pot; the liquid should cover them about halfway.
7. Cover the pot and braise in the oven for about 3 hours, until the meat gives way easily when pierced. Turn once after about 2 hours.
8. Remove the cheeks and keep warm. Pour the sauce through a sieve into a pot, pressing the vegetables lightly. Let the sauce reduce uncovered for about 10 minutes until it is thick and glossy, and season with salt, pepper and a little vinegar.
9. Finely chop the parsley. Arrange the cheeks in the sauce, sprinkle with parsley and serve hot.