Delicious falling apart beef, good value and really tasty comfort food for a cold day.

Its been a while since I posted something new as it is so hard to take a decent photo during the winter. I’m coming home and it’s dark, getting up and its dark and there is no decent light to try and get the shot. Using the flash makes the food look surprised and all orange so I just don’t bother…. (try it and see how surprised your food looks!)

Serves 4-6
4 beef cheeks
4 tbsp olive oil
2 bay leafs
sea salt and pepper
few thyme and rosemary sprigs
1 wine glass ruby port
2 glasses red wine
1 ltr good quality beef stock

Trim any silver off the cheeks and season really well
Heat the oil in pan and fry the cheeks on each side until caramelised
Remove to a plate and set aside
Add the wine and port to a large pot and bring to a bubble
Cook until reduced slightly and the alcohol is burned off
Add the stock the bay leaf, thyme and rosemary and add the cheeks to the liquid
Cover with a cartouche of greaseproof paper, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for about 3-4 hours until really tender and falling apart.
(Feel free to do this in a slow cooker if you have one – about half the time).
When the cheeks are cooked, remove from the liquid and shred apart .
Reduce the liquid until a thick shiny sauce
Season to taste, return the meat to the sauce, bring up to heat and serve with creamy mash