Braised beef cheeks

It’s the first month of autumn and, as the weather cools down, it’s time to bring out your trusty slow cooker and prepare some warming comfort food.

Talented Chef Matt Conquest shares a braised beef cheeks recipe infused with incredible flavours heightened by the process of slow cooking.

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 2 whole beef cheeks or 1 large beef cheek cut into half
• 2 carrots
• 1 small sweet potato
• 4 small shallots/golden onions

Dry ingredients:

• 2 tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp ground cumin

Paste:

• 1 tbsp gravy mix or corn flour

Method

1. Turn on your slow cooker to the low setting. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Trim off any excess fat or sinew around the beef and place it into the slow cooker. Sprinkle both sides of the beef cheeks with dry spices.
3. Cut the carrots and sweet potato while leaving the onions whole. Place all the vegetables into the slow cooker alongside the beef cheeks and sprinkle some dry spices onto them.
4. Add half a cup of water to the pot, cover with the lid, and cook on the low setting for 8 hours.
5. After 8 hours, add 1 tbsp of water to the gravy mix or corn flour to make a paste. Pour and mix the paste onto the beef cheeks and vegetables.
6. Turn the slow cooker setting to high and cook for 30 minutes or until the sauce thickens.