Beef cheek

Joue de bœuf

What it is

A muscle that worked every waking hour of the animal’s life, woven through with collagen as payment. Braised three hours it performs the great conversion: sinew into gloss, toughness into spoon-soft daube — the cut that taught cooks that time is an ingredient.

In the kitchen

Don’t trim the silverskin obsessively — that gelatine is the future body of your sauce. It is better the next day, and better still the day after.

Goes with

Carrot Onion Bay leaf Orange Clove

Same species

Abura-kasu Amourettes (spinal marrow) Spider steak Bastourma Flank steak Beef

Also used with

Sweet red vermouth Oloroso

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