Smoked beef cheek stew and using a dud bottle of red wine

Stormbringer

We scored some beef cheeks last weekend, so made some stew with it. I followed this recipe, just with cheeks instead of braising steak. https://thecooksdigest.co.uk/2016/12/16/hearty-winter-beef-stew/

Some of the ingredients cut up:

Mixed and searing in a pan:

This is the wine I used, we were supposed to drink it but it really wasn't good ... but a dud bottle of wine can be perfect for a stew or cooking in general and this really was:

With liquid and everything else added in:

Smoking uncovered in the Egg then I covered it after an hour:

After four hours:

Served with greens:

Thanks for looking! 

johnmitchell

That looks really tasty. A comfort plate of food!!

Foghorn

Yep.  Looks great.

Question though:  If beef cheeks are somewhat of a delicacy, does putting them into a stew (a process usually reserved for cheaper cuts) devalue them?  Or is the stew enhanced by the higher quality meat?

Stormbringer

@johnmitchell thanks, yep definitely comfort food. 

Stormbringer

@Foghorn they might be a delicacy, but they are also very low in price, on this side of the pond at least. They are en par with braising steak when sourced from the right place and so much fuller of flavour. I've done this with ox cheeks in the past too, which were even better value and tastier.