Smoked Beef Cheeks.


 
TonyUK

TonyUK

TVWBB Guru
Not a popular cut of meat I know, but I thought I'd give it a bash. First time.

Meat: 2 x +/-1.5lb Beef Cheeks. Trimmed.
Glaze/Rub: Homemade.
Method: Minion.
Fuel: Aussie Heat Beads.
Smoke: Hickory.
IT: 205*.
Cook Time: 7.5hrs.

Let's go.
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The Set Up.
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Smokin'.
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The Pull.
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Bark.
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Your Plate. Thanks for looking. :)
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This was the first time I have done these. After some research on the web I decided to shoot for an IT of 205*. Being a tough cut of meat I decided to go to 210*. I thought about crutching at 165* but decided not to. As this would have effected the bark. The cheeks were pulled at 208* and rested for 40 mins. The pull was good. Although the larger piece was not as easy. There was a nice smoke ring. The taste was beautiful, although slightly dry. On hindsight, the next time I do these I will go along the lines of PSB foregoing a crispy bark.

This is one tasty piece of beef.

The leftovers are currently being made into a smoked beef-cheek soup.

Thanks & hope you had a good weekend. :)
 
First time I've ever heard of them. Looks really good, PSB style might give interesting results.
 
That looks real yummy. Like Rich said haven't heard of that type of meat before but very interesting.
 
Hmmmph! Is the cheek fatty like jowl? Im trying to think why one pulled really well and the other didn't. Was it dry from the start or after it sat for awhile? Did they come from the same cow? Did it stall at all? Sorry, I'm thinking out loud again. I so want to try doing these. Just never seen beef cheek available here. Im going to order a set for this weekend. If you don't mind Tony. I would like to post my results here so everyone can learn. Beef cheek! I love it
 
Todd Phillips said:
Hmmmph! Is the cheek fatty like jowl? Im trying to think why one pulled really well and the other didn't. Was it dry from the start or after it sat for awhile? Did they come from the same cow? Did it stall at all? Sorry, I'm thinking out loud again. I so want to try doing these. Just never seen beef cheek available here. Im going to order a set for this weekend. If you don't mind Tony. I would like to post my results here so everyone can learn. Beef cheek! I love it
Click to expand...

Todd. The cheeks have a big fat cap on one side that needs to be trimmed. The cheeks were not dry from the get-go, they are less firm than regular beef though. Not sure if the cheeks came from the same beast, but can be traced to the same locally-sourced farm. Yes it did stall around 175* for about an hour.

By all means post your results here. A beef-cheek thread. :)
 
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Beef cheek's are great, There plenty popular out here in Cali and have been as far back as i can remember,
 
Nice one Tony - we love doing these too (sometimes also called Ox Cheeks)
fall apart tender after a good long smoke!! - yours look awesome
 
Chris. Yes, we normally call them ox cheeks also, but these came from your regular moo-er. They were actually labelled ox cheeks, & my butcher says that's how they are named as the term ox cheek is better known than beef cheeks. (The same as oxtails, which don't come from oxen any more but regular beef cattle).

I'll definitely do these again, but I will use the PSB method.
 
TonyUK said:
Todd. The cheeks have a big fat cap on one side that needs to be trimmed. The cheeks were not dry from the get-go, they are less firm than regular beef though. Not sure if the cheeks came from the same beast, but can be traced to the same locally-sourced farm. Yes it did stall around 175* for about an hour.

By all means post your results here. A beef-cheek thread. :)
Click to expand...

I put my order in with my local butcher. He ask me three times if I was sure that I wanted beef and not pork. Getting excited! I was thinking of doing one low and slow "comp style" for tenderness. Then the other Hi temp.
 
^^

Good stuff Todd. I've got pork-cheeks in the freezer. The are a lot smaller than beef-cheeks, but just as tasty, (although I've never Q'd them...........yet).

Good luck with your cook Todd, & look forward to seeing your results.
 
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