Every blog I've read goes on about the joys of Beef Cheeks. They're apparently the holy grail of beef cooked Sous Vide. The more work a muscle does the more flavour it has, but also the tougher it is.
So after much difficulty I managed to get beef cheeks ordered in at the local butcher. 56 degrees for 30 hours, then brush with olive oil and a one minute sear on the hot bars.
On the plate and it certainly cut nicely. Super tender. I was able to actually cut it with the steak knife held upside down. The blunt side slid through the meat like a knife through butter. Well, no it was a bit harder than that but really, I cut it with the knife upside down. (just to see if I could)
Then, the taste test...
It was horrible. Gristle and chewy. Couldn't swallow the first mouthful.
I spat that out and cut another bit from a different part. I managed to eat it but it wasn't pleasant. The gristle had broken down into gelatin. It was like eating beef jelly. There wasn't much flavour in it either. I managed to get down that 125 gram portion. I tried a bit off another and it was the same. The rest went to the dog who seemed to have a very different opinion. She thought it was delicious.
