Red Wine Beef Cheeks with Horseradish Cream & Saltbush (Slow Cooker)
These beef cheeks are set-and-forget glory; the greatest effort is probably overseeing the saltbush leaves in a frying pan just before serving. They look all kinds of fancy but really aren’t. Saltbush can be a little hard to source, so if you are planning on cooking this dish for a special occasion, toddle off to your local grocer or deli and ask them to order it for you. Its crisp, salty tang makes it worth seeking out. If you can’t find saltbush, simply omit and top with the baby watercress and a generous pinch of salt flakes.
This has to be one of my favourite dishes; the layers and contrasts between the rich meat, the cut-through of the horseradish and the salty tang of the saltbush make it rather spectacular.
Ingredients 15
4 beef cheeks, approx. 250-300 g each, washed, patted dry
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 stalk celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 tbsp tomato paste, concentrated purée
2 bay leaves
250 ml beef stock
500 ml red wine
Horseradish Cream
200 ml pouring cream (single cream)
2 tbsp horseradish, freshly grated
To Serve
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
saltbush leaves
2 tbsp baby watercress
horseradish, freshly grated, to garnish, optional
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Method 7
Wash and pat dry your .
Set the slow cooker to the sauté function. Add the and, once hot, fry the for up to 5 minutes, or until soft and fragrant. Add the , , and and cook for another 1–2 minutes, or until soft. Add the and cook until the vegetable mix is thoroughly coated in the tomato.
Add the (you may need to do this in batches to prevent overcrowding) and cook, turning regularly, to brown a little on all sides. Add the , , and , then close the lid and cook on low for 10–12 hours.
Gently remove the and set aside. Strain the residual braising liquid into a bowl to remove any chunks, then pour the liquid back into the slow cooker. Set to the sauté function and reduce the liquid by at least half – more if you want a thicker, more jus-like sauce. This could take 20–30 minutes.
While the sauce is reducing, make the horseradish cream. Whip the to soft–medium peaks, then gently stir through the freshly grated . (You can do this the day before serving and place in an airtight container in the fridge.)
Place a frying pan over a high heat. Add the and, once shimmering, add the and fry for just 10–20 seconds on each side. Remove with a slotted spoon onto paper towel.
Return the to the reduced sauce briefly to warm through, then plate them up. Pour over the sauce and top with a dollop of horseradish cream garnished with , , and freshly grated horseradish (if using), or serve the cream on the side.
Katrina Meynink's tips
If you were making it for a crowd, you could cook the beef cheeks then reduce the sauce on the day of serving and simply warm the beef again in the sauce right before serving.
