Braised Beef Cheeks in Red Wine with Creamy Parmesan Polenta

Beef cheeks braise slowly in red wine until they are meltingly tender, and can be prepared a day ahead. They pair well with creamy Parmesan polenta, which you stir fresh just before serving.

By yumbelo · 6 servings · 240 minutes

Ingredients

• 1800 g Beef cheeks
• Salt
• Black pepper
• 40 g Wheat flour
• 4 tbsp Olive oil
• 2 pc Onions
• 3 pc Carrots
• 2 pc Celery stalks
• 3 pc Garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp Tomato paste
• 750 ml Red wine, dry
• 500 ml Beef stock
• 2 pc Bay leaves
• 1 bunch Thyme sprigs
• 2 pc Rosemary sprigs
• 1200 ml Water
• 300 g Coarse polenta
• 80 g Parmesan, freshly grated
• 40 g Butter

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150 °C, top and bottom heat. Pat the beef cheeks dry, season generously with salt and pepper, and dust lightly with flour.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large casserole dish and sear the beef cheeks in batches on all sides for about 3 minutes, until browned. Remove and set aside.
3. Roughly dice the onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Sweat them in the remaining fat for 5 minutes, then add the tomato paste and toast for 2 minutes.
4. Deglaze with the red wine, scraping the fond from the bottom of the pot, and reduce the wine by about half. Add the beef stock, bay leaf, thyme and rosemary.
5. Return the beef cheeks to the casserole; the liquid should come about halfway up them. Cover and braise in the oven for about 2.5 to 3 hours, until the meat can be easily pulled apart with a fork.
6. Remove the beef cheeks. Pass the sauce through a sieve, reduce to about 500 ml, season to taste and return the meat to it. Let cool completely, covered, and refrigerate until the next day.
7. On the day of the celebration, skim the solidified fat off the sauce. Warm the beef cheeks with the sauce, covered, at 160 °C for about 45 minutes, spooning sauce over them now and then.
8. For the polenta, bring the water to a boil with a pinch of salt. Let the polenta trickle in while stirring, then simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
9. Remove the polenta from the heat, stir in the butter and Parmesan, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve the beef cheeks with the sauce spooned over the polenta immediately.