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Hubby’s Beef Cheek Ragu

Hubby’s Beef Cheek Ragu

Summer is almost here which means the slow cooker is just about ready to go away for a while. Other than the occasional Thai Red or Green curry, it will spend the next few months hibernating. Knowing that, my hubby asked to cook last weekend as he wanted to make one last batch of his fabulous Beef Cheek Ragu. It’s an amazing ragu. So rich and unctuous, intensely flavoured yet so simple to make. It is the ultimate in slow food. Half an hour of preparation work then  the ingredients work their magic with a little slow heat. Even better – I didn’t have to do a thing except eat it!

Now if you are giving this Beef Cheek Ragu a try, please don’t cut out any of the ingredients! They are all essential and make it the amazing dish that it is. I promise you will never taste the anchovies but they add to the overall richness and flavour profile of the dish. Similarly, star anise and cinnamon may seem strange additions to a Ragu but trust me – they work! And the vinegar at the end really helps balance everything out.

It’s also an excellent dish to make a giant batch of and freeze the leftovers for another day!

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6-8
30 minutes + 8 hours cook
Hubby’s Beef Cheek Ragu

Ingredients

Olive oil
1kg beef cheeks
4 rashers of bacon, diced
1 onion
1 medium carrot
2 stalks of celery
4 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
2 whole star anise
1 stick of cinnamon
2 cups red wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons dried porcini mushrooms
3-4 anchovies in oil
1 beef stock cube or 1 teaspoon powdered beef stock (sat reduced if possible)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Cooked pappardelle and parmesan, to serve

Instructions

1
Heat a little oil in a large frying pan. Season the beef cheeks with a little sat and pepper then sear on all sides to get a lovely brown colour all over. Remove the beef cheeks and place into the pot of a slow cooker.
2
Place the onion, carrot, celery and garlic into a food processor and blitz to finely chop. You can do this by hand, but it is much faster with the food processor!
3
Add the bacon to the frying pan and cook for a couple of minutes, until begin to change colour. Add in the chopped vegetables and cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring often.
4
Add the tomato paste and cook for another minute, stirring often. Then add the wine to the pan and stir well, ensuring any brown bits from the side or bottom of the pan have been mixed in. Transfer the vegetable and wine mix to the slow cooker.
5
Add the beef stock cube, anchovies, dried porcini mushrooms, star anise, cinnamon and bay leaves to the slow cooker. Stir to combine all the ingredients, place the lid on then cook for at least 8 hours.
6
Remove the lid from the slow cooked for the last 2 hours of cooking to allow the sauce to reduce and thicken.
7
Once the beef cheeks are cooked, remove the star anise, bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Then break apart the beef cheeks using a couple of forks get the shredded meat texture. Just before serving stir through the vinegar which will cut through the richness of the sauce.
8
Serve over freshly cooked pappardelle and with freshly grated Parmesan to taste.
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