Steven Goff has operated many restaurants in the Asheville area—most recently Tastee Diner—with a firm commitment to local sourcing and reducing food waste. He is one of the featured chefs at the upcoming Good Fields: An Appalachian Food and Farms Festival, on June 24 at Shipley Farms in Vilas, NC.
Shipley Farms is a multigenerational farm out of Boone that’s well over 100 years old, run by a family fully committed to their community as well as sustainable agriculture! At this point I have worked with them for so long that we are literally family now. That’s the kind of amazingness that comes out of purchasing local!
I love showcasing lesser-utilized cuts of meat, and this particular recipe provides me with not only an amazing meal but two amazing byproducts (beef fat and glaze). When I’m working with animal products it’s extremely important to me that we honor the life that was given by making good use of every inch of the creature. On top of that, a lot of the less-utilized cuts of meat come from the harder working parts of the animal. The parts that work harder are imparted much more flavor! This also a perfect crockpot recipe.
When you source locally not only are you keeping capital within your local community but you’re supporting actual families, farms, and businesses, versus faceless corporate big box companies that could care less about our local community. On top of that the food is always fresher and tastier and we leave a much smaller carbon footprint on our planet!
Ingredients
- 10 pounds beef cheeks (some people like to clean the fat off of them; I don’t because I can use it later)
- 3 onions, diced
- 5 ribs celery, chopped
- 5 carrots, sliced
- 1/2 head garlic, cut in half
- 3 quarts beef stock (homemade is best)
Directions
- In a large pan, sear all beef cheeks until crispy and golden. (You can sear them harder than you think you should, as this creates the Maillard reaction which equals free flavor!)
- After golden, remove cheeks to the side and cook down veggies in the beef fat.
- Deglaze (pour stock into hot pan).
- Return cheeks to the pan and top up with stock.
- Place in 300-degree oven and cook for approximately 5 hours. (Sometimes the oven or meat may differ so you may need to go down or up on time, usually up.)
- If you’re feeling extra chef-y, strain the liquid off and reduce to 1-2 cups and use as a glaze or use on steaks later.
- If you have time, let the cheeks rest overnight in the liquid, as that will deepen flavors. If not, pull it out and enjoy!
- I trim the beef fat after cooking because I can use the cooked fat. It’s good to use like salt pork or bacon and start a sauté, or I purée it and fold it into salted butter to spread on toast. (Try it you, won’t regret it.)