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Beef cheek ragu served with pasta
Rich and flavorful beef cheek ragu over pasta

Beef cheek ragu

Author: Flavelo
Recipes Main Courses
Beef cheek is the king of 'working muscles'. As the animal chews throughout its life, this cut is full of collagen. If cooked quickly, it would be inedibly tough, but with hours of slow cooking, this abundance of collagen turns into gelatin. The result? A ragu so thick, sticky, and rich in flavour that no other thickener is needed.
🕒 Prep Time 20 mins
🍳 Cook Time 4 hrs
⌛ Total Time 4 hrs 20 mins
🍽️ Servings 4 servings
🔥 Calories 2200 kcal
🌍 Cuisine Italian

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

  • Heavy cast iron pot (Dutch Oven): to retain heat.

Instructions

1 ✓

Pat the meat dry, salt, and pepper. Sear in hot oil until dark brown crust forms on all sides, then remove.

Tip: Wet meat doesn't sear, it steams. A dry surface and high heat are essential for the Maillard reaction (flavour enhancement).
2 ✓

In the same pot, fry the finely chopped vegetables (onion, carrot, celery - mirepoix) until soft.

Tip: Mirepoix is the flavour base; the sugar content of the vegetables caramelises here.
3 ✓

Stir in the tomato purée, fry for 1-2 minutes, then pour in the wine and scrape the bottom of the pot.

Tip: Frying the purée removes the 'tinned taste'. The acidity of the wine helps dissolve the burnt bits (deglazing).
4 ✓

Return the meat, add the tomatoes, stock, and spices. Cover and cook on the lowest possible heat for 3-4 hours.

Tip: Temperature is key: collagen starts turning into gelatin around 70-80°C. Boiling dries out the meat.
5 ✓

When the meat is tender, remove, shred with two forks, then mix back into the sauce.

Tip: Gelatinous meat fibres slide apart easily. Mix with the sauce for maximum flavour experience.

Recipe FAQ

Why isn't the meat falling apart?
Because it hasn't cooked enough. Collagen transformation (hydrolysis) is time and temperature dependent. Be patient!

Ingredients

  • 800 g Beef cheeks (cleaned)
  • 1 pc Onion
  • 2 pcs Carrots
  • 2 stalks Celery
  • 3 cloves Garlic
  • 5 g Tomato purée
  • 250 ml Red wine (dry)
  • 500 ml Beef stock
  • 400 g Chopped tinned tomatoes
  • 30 ml Olive oil
  • 2 pcs Bay leaves
  • 5 g Fresh rosemary
  • 10 g Salt
  • 5 g Black pepper