sous vide beef cheeks on plate

Braised Sous Vide Beef Cheeks

IntermediateIntermediate

Serve this succulent sous vide beef cheeks recipe and its velvety sauce to someone you love. Trust us, they’ll return the sentiment.

Ingredients

For the Beef Cheeks:

3 lbs beef cheeks
6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 carrots, peeled, and coarsely chopped
4 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
2 C red wine
3 dried bay leaves
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1½ tsp kosher salt
2 C beef stock
2 shallots, sliced
3 cloves garlic, sliced

 

For the Pickled Ramps:

½ lb ramps, trimmed (or substitute spring onions)
1 C white wine vinegar
1 C water
½ C sugar
1 Tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 dried bay leaves, dried

 

For the Artichokes:

4 artichokes
2 C beef stock
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
½ lemon
2 tsp parsley, finely sliced (optional)
Pinch of paprika (optional)

 

For the Sauce:

6 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 C veal stock

Overview

Equipment

  • Sous vide circulator
  • Large sous vide pouch
  • Vacuum sealer
  • Cast iron pan
  • Large saucepan or cocotte

Timing

Prepping time: 1 hour / Cooking time: 1 hour (excludes sous vide cooking time)

Servings

4 servings

Directions

For the Beef Cheeks:

  1. Heat the 4 tablespoons of oil in a cast iron pan over high heat. Sear both sides of cheeks until well browned, 3-4 minutes on each side. Chill for 1 hour.
  2. In the same cast iron pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat, then add carrots, celery, shallots, garlic, and salt. Cook for about 6 minutes or until well browned. After cooking, add wine and beef stock to the pan, simmer until liquid has reduced by a quarter, about 10-15 minutes. Add rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves for the final 5-10 minutes. Set aside to cool for up to 45 minutes or store in the refrigerator.
  3. Once beef cheeks and red wine reduction are completely cooled, place in a large sous vide bag and seal to cook at 181.4°F for 12 hours. After cooking, remove beef cheeks and reserve. Separate and discard the herbs and vegetables, then reserve jus for sauce in a large saucepot or cocotte.

 

For Pickled Ramps:

  1. Place all ingredients except ramps into a small saucepot and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar and salt are dissolved. Set aside to cool.
  2. Once cooled, pour contents in a sous vide bag along with the ramps, seal, and cook for 1 hour at 140°F/60°C.
  3. After cooking, place in an ice bath to chill.

 

For the Artichoke Au Jus:

  1. Clean artichokes, then reserve hearts in a bath of cold water and ½ lemon to prevent discoloration. Place artichoke hair, stems, and leaves into a sous vide bag with beef stock, seal, and cook at 181.4°F/83°C for 12 hours. If needed, be sure to trim and discard the leaves/sharp spines, as they will puncture the sous vide pouch and disrupt cooking results.
  2. Once cooked, strain and reserve liquid. Discard artichoke solids.

 

For Sautéed Artichokes:

  1. Melt butter in a sauté pan over medium-high heat and sauté artichoke hearts. Baste until slightly tender, about 5-7 minutes.
  2. Season to taste with salt and pepper if needed.

 

For Fried Artichokes (optional garnish):

  1. Cut several thin slices from the trimmed artichokes and place in a deep fryer or pan fry with a little bit of oil, up to 3 minutes or until crispy and brown. Place and set aside on either a paper towel or wire rack.
  2. Dust with paprika and sprinkle with parsley.

 

For Sauce:

  1. Pour artichoke jus, veal stock, and red wine/beef cheek jus into a large saucepot or large cocotte over high heat and bring to a boil and reduce by half, about 10-15 minutes. Once reduced, change to low heat and begin to whisk vigorously, adding 1 tablespoon of butter at a time until emulsified. Be sure not to boil the sauce.
  2. Add beef cheeks.

 

To Serve:

  1. Place sautéed artichokes in center of plate. Top with a sous vide beef cheek on top and pour sauce over.
  2. Garnish with fried artichokes, if desired.

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