As the nights become colder, our bodies crave warmth and comfort. Try these melt-in-your mouth slow cooked beef cheeks served on buttery mashed potato for the ultimate Winter warmer meal.

This Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks recipe uses our favourite Australian stock by family owned & run, San Elk. This extremely versatile Beef Stock was featured inside the '2019 Winter Feast' Discovery Box.

Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks

Ingredients:

• 1.5kg beef cheeks (4 large or 6 small cheeks)
• 1 TB plain flour
• 3 TB olive oil
• 1 brown onion, diced
• 1 celery stalk, roughly diced
• 1 large carrot, roughly diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 5 fresh thyme stems
• 3 fresh bay leaves
• 1 cup San Elk beef stock
• 2 cups full bodied red wine

Method:

Cut off any bits of fat on the cheeks. Season the flour with salt and pepper and dust over beef cheeks.

Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a large heavy-based casserole dish with a lid over a high heat. In batches, sear the beef cheeks on each side until nicely browned. Remove beef cheeks onto a plate, and cover loosely with foil to keep warm.

Turn down the heat to medium and heat the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add garlic, onion and carrots. Sauté for 3 minutes until the onion is becoming transparent, then add the celery and sauté for a further 3 minutes. Pour the wine and stir, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the casserole dish. Bring to simmer for 1 minute.

Return beef cheeks and add remaining ingredients. Put the lid on and cook on the stove top over medium- low heat for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or in the oven at 160C for 3 to 3 1/2 hours until the cheeks are very tender. Turn at least once during cooking.

Remove the beef cheeks from the pot and remove the thyme stems and bay leaves. Using a handheld stick blender, puree the braising liquid into a smooth sauce. Bring the sauce to simmer over medium heat and simmer until it turns darker in colour and reduces by about a quarter into a gravy consistency. Season with salt and pepper to your taste.

Remove from heat, return the beef cheeks to the sauce, and cover to keep warm until ready to serve with buttery mashed potatoes and green beans.

Serves 4-6

As seen in our exclusive 'Winter Feast' 2019 mini zine, tucked inside the Discovery Box: