Recipe: Chef Shack Braised Beef Cheeks

Chef Shack Braised Beef Cheeks

4 lbs. beef cheeks or beef chuck
1 (750 ml) bottle dry red wine, like cabernet
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 cups home made or low sodium chicken stock plus additional if needed
1 large onion, sliced
2 cups of mixed root vegetables, peeled, cut into chunks (like carrots, parsnips,  and turnips)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 branch fresh thyme
1 (2-inch) cinnamon stick
1 piece star anise

1. In a non-reactive bowl, place beef and pour over wine.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Remove beef from wine and pat dry with paper towels.  Reserve marinade.  Season beef with salt and pepper.  Dust beef with flour, tapping to allow excess flour to fall away.
3. In a Dutch oven, heat olive oil.  Brown beef on all sides until deep golden brown.
4. Push beef to one side and add 1 cup of wine to pan, scraping up browned bits  Add remaining ingredients, stirring to dissolve tomato paste.  Add additional chicken stock, if needed, to cover beef.   Bring to a boil.  Turn off heat and top with a sheet of parchment paper cut to fit the inside of the pot.  Braise in the oven for 3 hours or until fork tender.
5. Use two forks to pull into serving pieces.

Serves 8

• Serve with fresh peas and risotto
• If desired, strain the cooking liquid into a 2-quart pot and bring to a boil.  Cook about 15 minutes to reduce until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon to make a pan sauce to serve with the beef. 
• Any extra cooking liquid can be frozen to use later in soups, stews, or chili.
• If desired, use a combination of beef and chicken broth to cover the beef.