Cow cheeks - how would you prepare them?

Sea2Ski

So I am finally getting around to trimming up a pair of cheeks form the cow we slaughtered on Friday. (Yes that is a super cheap knife that sharpens really easily and holds an edge surprisingly well - don’t judge) 

While I have had them out at restaurants, I never prepared them myself. I was thinking of a light dusting of hardcore carnivore, then smoking them with some oak at about 250 dome till they probe like butter.  Once trimmed, each one is about 5-6” round and about 1.5 - 2” thick. So while not small, they are not that big. Think they will need a braise at some point? 
Anyway, once probing like butter, serve on a bed of grits or polenta. I know they are rich, so a little will go a long way.

How would you proceed? 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

They are excellent Sous Vide and seared with like a red wine reduction (red wine, butter, rosemary, thyme or something similar) 

I also had some at a bbq class i took
earlier this year that were smoked 4 hours then cooked confit in beef fat for another 4. They were amazing. Like the best brisket you have ever had. 

SciAggie

@The Cen-Tex Smoker always gives good advice. I have cooked them by smoking them for a couple of hours, then braising them until tender. They were excellent that way. The thing is there is a tremendous amount of collagen rich or connective tissue that needs to render and soften - and that’s what makes them delicious. Just cook them in a way that allows that to happen. 
I can only imagine how they tasted from the confit treatment.

theyolksonyou

@20stone @caliking

CanadianAnvil

Cure like hog gowls  for beef cheek bacon......just to set the standards high and to see if it works

Mattman3969

I was gonna SV then smoke for some killer tacos 

caliking

Pinging at @20stone for his SV beef cheeks protocol. Those turn pretty darn good.

I don't recall what we did with the cheeks when we did cabeza in a pit some time back, but that was a pretty fun cook, if you kept the head. 

gdenby

I've done them a couple of times. 1st time was SV, then seared. Excellent. There was another time I marinaded them for a day of so, and cooked like burger. They shrunk a lot, and some of the connective tissue was still a little chewy. Still, the sandwich was better than average.

20stone

Sea2Ski said:

I was thinking of a light dusting of hardcore carnivore, then smoking them with some oak at about 250 dome till they probe like butter.  Once trimmed, each one is about 5-6” round and about 1.5 - 2” thick. So while not small, they are not that big. Think they will need a braise at some point? 
Anyway, once probing like butter, serve on a bed of grits or polenta. I know they are rich, so a little will go a long way.

caliking said:

Pinging at @20stone for his SV beef cheeks protocol. Those turn pretty darn good.

I don't recall what we did with the cheeks when we did cabeza in a pit some time back, but that was a pretty fun cook, if you kept the head. 

I tried them on the BGE waaaay back at Brisket Camp I.  Too much connective tissues for that approach, at least the way I did them, and SV is waaay better.   As for serving, cheese grits and a squeeze of lime, plus an over easy egg if it's breakfast time will change your life for the better (albeit, shorter).

 Two ways to do this - The easy way, and the crazy, wives are out of town way.
1) The easy way - https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1190013/beef-cheek-barbacoa-redemption/p1

Read through the thread, as there was some tweaking through multiple efforts

2) The other way - https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1208910/idle-hands/p1

You got me thinking I need to go get some cheeks.  Now that I have the Joule, I can do even more (maybe 10 kg).

Let us know how they turn out.

smokingal

I attempted to smoke some Wagyu beef cheeks after a 2 day marinade until they probed like butter, but they just would not give up the ghost - https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1219232/wagyu-beef-cheek-carnitas

I ended up pulling them once they hit 190F and then sous vide them for 24 hours at 170F.  They were insanely tender, rich and delicious.

Sea2Ski

Well, we built a refrigerator. At this point I am not going to build a pit (yet). There are some great ideas here and I appreciate the advice. 

Leaning towards a SV to make sure they get tender.  Maybe a hr or 2 of smoke, then in the SV (170?) for 20 hrs then back on the egg direct for some bark/char?   

I am new new to the SV thing so I am counting on you experienced pros to share your wisdom.

The cheeks are in the freezer for now, I am just trying to come up with a game plan for when I do cook them - which will be in the next couple of weeks, so I have some time. 

smokingal

@Sea2Ski That sounds like a good plan to me.  Keep us posted.

SciAggie

What you have to do with beef cheeks (and brisket for that matter) is turn collagen into gelatin. This is a time and temperature dependent process that happens at temperatures between 160 and 180 degrees. So... SV at 170 degrees works. Braising slowly works. Smoking for some period of time begins the process and adds flavor. From there just choose a cooking environment that promotes the transformation of collagen into gelatin. 

I often wonder if that’s Aaron Franklin’s secret sauce - holding his briskets for so long after taking them off the smoker. Is he just giving the massive amount of fat and collagen in those prime grade briskets longer to convert into gelatin?

jtcBoynton

You do not need to go to 160-180 to get collagen into gelatin.  It will change at much lower temps, just much slower.  You could SV it in the 130s if you want - just give it a couple of days in the bath.  A day and a half in the 150s. Overnight around 170.