Sous Vide Beef Cheeks with Mushroom Gravy

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Sous Vide Beef Cheeks are tender, meaty and melt-in-your-mouth delicious! They’re slow cooked in a sous vide water bath to achieve a braised-like texture and served with a rich mushroom gravy. Just add some noodles or garlic mashed potatoes and dinner is served!

Beef cheeks might be a specialty cut of beef, but they’re usually budget friendly, so this recipe is perfect for date night or dinner parties!

The beef cheeks are slow cooked for 48 hours, which transforms this tough cut of meat into a tender and juicy dish, and better than any fine dining restaurant!

Sous vide cooking is our go-to method for tough cuts of meat, so once you try these beef cheeks, be sure to check out these sous vide oxtails, sous vide lamb shanks and sous vide short ribs - and for ultra meaty, beefy flavor, this sous vide beef tongue.

Check out the sous vide beef cheeks story!

What is Sous Vide?

Sous vide is basically a method of cooking using what is called an immersion circulator. This immersion circulator circulates water in a temperature controlled water bath at a certain temperature to perfectly cook your food every time.

Because the temperature doesn't change, and it keeps your meat (or dessert, veggies, etc.) at the same temperature, your risk of overcooking becomes very minimal.

To learn even more about sous vide cooking, head over and read "what is sous vide cooking."

What is the Water Displacement Method?

The displacement method is where you slowly submerge a ziplock bag in water pushing the air out of the top of the bag (the bag should be slightly open at the top to allow air to escape).

Use a clip (I use binder clips) to clip the bag to the side to keep it from floating and getting air and/or water inside.

Tools Used

• Anova Precision Sous Vide Cooker
• 12 quart container
• Vacuum sealer
• Vacuum seal bags

More sous vide beef recipes

• Sous Vide Pastrami
• Sous Vide Pot Roast
• Sous Vide Picanha
• Sous Vide Brisket
• Sous Vide Sirloin

What are beef cheeks?

Beef cheeks are simply the cheek muscle from a cow. It’s a well worked muscle, so it’s tough and benefits from slow cooking methods, which yield tender, meaty and juicy results.

If you like beef cheeks, you'll also LOVE this beef heart recipe!

Why this recipe works

1. As mentioned, beef cheeks are a tough cut of beef since they’re a highly used muscle, so they’re well suited to sous vide cooking. After 48 hours in a sous vide water bath, the beef turns out tender and juicy.
2. While it’s a long cooking time, most of it is hands off and requires little active time. The sous vide does most of the work for you which gives you time to prepare other dishes or just relax!
3. Beef cheeks are more budget friendly than some other cuts of meat, but they’re not commonly served at home either. This makes them ideal for special occasions and dinner parties!

Ingredients

Below is an overview of some of the ingredients for this recipe. Please refer to the recipe card at the end of the post for the full list of ingredients and quantities.

You’ll need 1 pound of beef cheeks for this recipe. If you can’t find them at your local grocery store, check your local butcher shop.

The beef is rubbed with a mix of salt, fresh thyme, black pepper, bay leaf, nutmeg, coriander, cinnamon and dijon mustard.

If you don’t have fresh thyme, you can substitute dried thyme or try fresh oregano.

For the best flavor, you’ll want to toast and grind your coriander. To do this, heat a skillet on medium heat and add the coriander, tossing every few minutes or so until fragrant. Remove from heat and grind with a mortar and pestle.

I love the flavor of dijon mustard with the spices in this recipe. Just keep in mind that some brands of dijon mustard are saltier than others, so you may wish to cut back a little on the salt in the recipe.

The seasoned beef cheeks are cooked with a ¼ cup of brandy. If you don’t have brandy, you can use red wine or sherry. For a non-alcoholic substitute, try using white grape juice or beef stock.

The mushroom gravy is simple to make using the reserved bag juices, mushrooms and heavy cream. I used white mushrooms but you can also use cremini mushrooms if you prefer.

Step by step instructions

Heat a sous vide water bath to 155F degrees.

Combine the salt, spices, bay leaf and thyme in a bowl and toss to mix together.

Rub the spice mixture over the beef cheeks with the dijon mustard.

Place the beef cheeks with any remaining spice mixture and the brandy in the bag.

Vacuum seal the bag and cook in the water bath for 48 hours.

Remove from the water bath and take the beef cheeks out of the bag, reserving the liquid. Pat dry.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add the mushrooms.

Cook until lightly browned and starting to lose their liquid.

Add the reserved liquid from the bag and simmer for 2-3 minutes, until the mushrooms are softened and cooked through.

Add the cream and simmer for 3-5 minutes to thicken slightly. Set aside and keep warm.

Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat.

Add the avocado oil and then the beef cheeks. Sear for 60 seconds on each side, until a golden crust forms.

Remove, slice and serve over egg noodles with mushroom gravy.

Expert tips

1. For maximum flavor, make sure the beef cheeks are well coated in the spice mixture, mustard and brandy before sealing the bag.
2. For even cooking, make sure the beef cheeks are sealed in the bag in a single layer.
3. Beef cheeks can weigh anywhere from 8-12 ounces. If your cheeks are large, you can cut them into manageable pieces.
4. For the best crust, make sure your skillet is hot and remove excess moisture from the beef cheeks by patting them dry when they come out of the water bath. 
5. Be careful not to sear them for any longer than 60 seconds per side as they may over cook and dry out a little.
6. Removing the air from the bag is an important step that should not be skipped to avoid bacteria entering the bag.
7. For long cooking times, you’ll want to keep an eye on the water level of the water bath.  For safety and even cooking, the beef cheeks should be fully submerged in water.
8. Cover your water bath with foil to help prevent evaporation. If the water levels go down, just add more water to the bath.
9. The bag may float in the water bath as the beef cheeks cook. To prevent floating, I like to use a sous vide sinker weight to weigh down the bag
10. If air gets in the bag, you can just open it, let the air out and seal it again.

Common questions

Storage and reheating instructions

The cooked beef cheeks and mushroom gravy can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

You can also freeze the beef and gravy in a freezer safe bag or container for up to 3 months.

To reheat, warm in the microwave or over low heat on the stove top with the gravy until heated through. 

If you don’t have any gravy left, make sure to add a little beef stock when reheating to prevent the beef cheeks from drying out.

Serving options for beef cheeks

We love beef cheeks shredded and served with egg noodles, but there are so many delicious serving options:

• Truffle Mashed Potatoes
• Instant Pot Jasmine or Basmati Rice
• Instant Pot Carrots
• Air Fryer Broccoli
• Sous Vide Brussels Sprouts

Did you make this recipe? Leave a comment below and let me know how it turned out!