Once you learn how to cook beef cheeks, you’ll have an elevated meal for a dinner party that will have your guests raving!
When cooked properly, beef cheeks are an inexpensive cut of meat that is incredibly tender, juicy, and flavorful.
Why Beef Cheeks are Incredible
Beef cheek meat is a hidden gem at the local butcher shop, because it’s an inexpensive cut of meat that melts in your mouth when it’s cooked low and slow.
The cheek muscle seems like a tough cut since it comes from one of the most used muscles in the cow, but it has a fair amount of connective tissue and when it breaks down from slow cooking, you’ll have extremely tender meat.
In the summer months we love to make our Smoked Beef Cheeks Recipe. It gives you a taste similar to brisket but with a much shorter cook time and you can bypass the expensive cuts of brisket for a much more affordable cut. We also love that smoked beef cheeks take only 4-5 hours, compared to 16-20 hours when you smoke a brisket.
On a gloomy day or in the colder months, this beef cheek recipe tastes like an elevated version of a pot roast or beef stew.
This dish feels like it should be served at an expensive restaurant but it is actually a really budget cut of meat!
Where to Buy Beef Cheeks
Beef cheeks are a low demand cut of beef, so not every grocery store will carry them. Check with your local butcher shop to see if they have it on hand. If not, they might be able to special order them for you.
Keep in mind that cooking beef cheeks takes time, which means the meat usually shrinks to half the size compared to when it’s raw.
However, one beef cheek is enough to feed one hungry person when it comes to serving size.
How to Cook Beef Cheeks in an Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker
The best way to get beef cheeks to be tender, is to cook them low and slow.
To cut down on cooking time, leverage a pressure cooker to aid in the cooking process to make this delicious meal in so much less time.
The pressure cooker speeds up the overall cooking time but also ensures that the meat is fall-apart tender.
How to Braise Beef Cheeks in the Oven or Slow Cooker
If you do not have a pressure cooker or an instant pot, you can braise your beef cheeks in the oven in a dutch oven pot.
You could also use a slow cooker to cook the beef cheek dish on low heat until tender. You’ll have a comforting meal full of flavor after a day of cooking.
In the recipe card below, you will follow all the steps for the instant pot cooking process, but will need to account for additional cook time to ensure the meat is tender if you cook it in a slow cooker or the oven.
The meat is done when it easily pulls apart with a fork.
Side Dishes to Serve with Braised Beef Cheeks
One of the benefits of our beef cheeks recipe is the braising liquid (which is made with beef stock, red wine, and onions) creates a delicious sauce that keeps the meat extra juicy and pairs well with many side dishes.
Any side dish that works well with beef short ribs, will also pair well with slow braised beef cheeks.
We love to serve these slow cooked beef cheeks on top of creamy mashed potatoes with a nice spoonful of that red wine sauce.
Another option would be to add the beef on top of some cheesy polenta.
If you’re looking for a low carb option, you could even reach for cauliflower rice.
Perfectly Cooked Beef Cheek Recipe
Serves: 2
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 90 Minutes
Additional Time: 20 Minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp coarse salt
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 2 Tbsp of olive oil
- 2 beef cheek filets
- 2 celery sticks, diced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 cups beef broth (package)
- 1 1/2 cup red wine (we used Cabernet Sauvignon)
- ½ pint of baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- 6 thyme sprigs, destemmed
- Additional sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Directions:
- Pat the beef cheek dry with a paper towel, season all sides thoroughly with the course salt and black pepper, and then cover the beef cheek in plastic wrap and place in the fridge. We like to do this step overnight to have the salt act as a dry brine to tenderize the meat, but it is not necessary.
- When you’re ready to cook your beef cheeks, heat up 2 Tbsp of olive oil in your pot on medium-high heat and sear all sides of the beef cheek on the hot pan, about 1-2 minutes per side.
- Remove the meat and add in the onions and celery, using a spatula to scrape up the brown bits.
- After the onions are translucent, about 4 minutes, add the roughly chopped garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
- Add the beef broth and the wine to deglaze the pot, scraping off all the brown bits as you deglaze the pan.
- Add in bay leaves.
- Add the beef back into the pot and cook until done.
Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Cook Time: 90 minutes high pressure (we used the meat setting), then manually release the steam.
Dutch Oven Cook Time: 3 ½ hours, covered, at 325 degrees F.
Slow Cooker Cook Time: 8 hours on Low.
- Once the meat is tender, remove them from the liquid. Remove and dispose of the 2 bay leaves then use an immersion blender to blend the sauce. If you do not have an immersion blender you can transfer it to the regular blender or just keep it as a rustic-style sauce.
- Add in the sliced mushrooms and thyme and cook on the instant pot saute setting for 15-20 minutes until the mushrooms are soft and the sauce has reduced. (if you are using a dutch oven, just place the dutch oven on a medium heat burner to reduce the sauce.)
- Place a section of beef cheek on mashed potatoes and ladle the sauce on top.
Perfectly Tender Beef Cheeks Recipe
A simple tutorial on how to cook beef cheeks so they're perfectly tender using a pressure cooker, slow cooker, or in the oven.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp coarse salt
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 2 Tbsp of olive oil
- 2 beef cheek filets
- 2 celery sticks, diced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 cups beef broth (package)
- 1 1/2 cup red wine (we used Cabernet Sauvignon)
- ½ pint of baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- 6 thyme sprigs, destemmed
- Additional sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Pat the beef cheek dry with a paper towel, season all sides thoroughly with the course salt and black pepper, and then cover the beef cheek in plastic wrap and place in the fridge. We like to do this step overnight to have the salt act as a dry brine to tenderize the meat, but it is not necessary.
- When you’re ready to cook your beef cheeks, heat up 2 Tbsp of olive oil in your pot on medium-high heat and sear all sides of the beef cheek on the hot pan, about 1-2 minutes per side.
- Remove the meat and add in the onions and celery, using a spatula to scrape up the brown bits.
- After the onions are translucent, about 4 minutes, add the roughly chopped garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
- Add the beef broth and the wine to deglaze the pot, scraping off all the brown bits as you deglaze the pan.
- Add in bay leaves.
- Add the beef back into the pot and cook until done. Instant pot pressure cooker cook time: 90 minutes high pressure (we used the meat setting), then manually release the steam. Dutch oven cook time: 3 ½ hours, covered, at 325 degrees F. Slow cooker cook time: 8 hours on Low.Slow cooker cook time: 8 hours on Low.
- Once the meat is tender, remove them from the liquid. Remove and dispose of the 2 bay leaves then use an immersion blender to blend the sauce. If you do not have an immersion blender you can transfer it to the regular blender or just keep it as a rustic-style sauce.
- Add in the sliced mushrooms and thyme and cook on the instant pot saute setting for 15-20 minutes until the mushrooms are soft and the sauce has reduced. (if you are using a dutch oven, just place the dutch oven on a medium heat burner to reduce the sauce.)
- Place a section of beef cheek on mashed potatoes and ladle the sauce on top.
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Don’t Miss These Other Beef Recipes:
- Our Korean Marinated Flanken Short Ribs Recipe is perfect in rice bowls or on salads.
- A Sous Vide Chateaubriand gives you perfect filet mignons all in one roast, which is great for holidays.
- Our Smoked Prime Rib Recipe is one of our all time favorite recipes, we use leftovers for sandwiches, salads, tacos, and beef hash!
- Learn the basics of How to Sous Vide Steak and you’ll be amazed at the restaurant quality steaks you can make at home.
- To really wow a loved one, learn How to Cook a Tomahawk Steak for a special surprise dinner or for a special occasion.
- Brazilian Picanha Steak Recipe topped with our Cilantro Chimichurri Recipe will transport you to Rio, it’s delicious and an affordable large cut of meat.
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