After seeing several posts recently about cheeks I did a bit of reading on them. I know they make great tacos but with the rich beef flavor profile and fatty richness I went in a different direction. I decided to pair them up with a nice keto version of smoked gouda grits and a brussel sprout and ramp hash. I have been planning on doing a keto flourless chocolate torte so that made the rotation today too. Just for the hell of it the butcher had some cut short ribs so I popped a few of those in the smoker too along with a chuck for a buddy when he dropped it off.
Ok lets get started. First up trimming the cheeks. Not gonna lie, trimming two 5 lb. bags of cheeks was a pain in the ass that proved to be well worth it later. I really only got 4 nice large cheeks, 4 or 5 nice clean cheeks pieces and then a mish mosh of stuff that I have no idea what it is. I cooked it and it was good LOL. Here are the raw big cheeks trimmed up.
Here they are rubbed up along with the pan of smaller cheeks. I also had a pan of trimming and spare parts of unknown identify, cooked them up too. The rub is a rub I found on here for steaks at some point. I thought the earthy richness of a cocoa espresso rub would go great with these and it didn't disappoint. The rub also has salt, pepper, cayenne , cinnamon and some brown sugar. I usually just do SPOG with the beef but this was a winner on the cheeks. These went in the smoker running my go to B&B Texas Oak lump along with a couple nice big pieces of aged oak and a couple pieces of mesquite. Smoker rolled beautiful blue smoke all day once I hit 275F, loaded it up and got tuned into to 250F ish
While the cheeks and other meats were smoking I moved to some side dishes. First up is a keto smoked gouda grits.
Start by melting the butter in a pan and sauteing the cauliflower and hemp hearts until tender. Add the rest of the ingredients with the exception of the gouda. Simmer for 5 - 10 minutes and add the shredded gouda. I used a mix of aged gouda and smoked gouda. Use enough to get a nice thick creamy consistency. The cauliflower and especially the hemp hearts give you a nice grits texture. This pic is just before the gouda was added.
After the cheese is melted in and texture is dialed in add the paprika to give it a little more of a smokey kick and color. I did these hours ahead of our meal as they will absorb more of the liquid as they cool. They reheat great.
Next side dish is a brussel sprout and ramps hash
Time to get some meat out of the smoker. I smoked the cheeks for about 3 hours at 250F and then boated them in foil pans with Minors beef broth from my water pan. (I run a full pan of it below the meat while smoking) . They went about an hour and half boated uncovered then i covered them for about another hour. They were finished at a higher temp than I thought. I found them to be probe tender at around 210F. At 210F the fat and thick collagen were rendered perfectly making these just a gooey beefr delight! Below are pics of the finished whole small and large cheeks. I did pulled from the small as the literally fell apart., I did some nice slices from the larger cheeks. The chocolate espresso rub gives a nice dark bark. At the end is a shot of of the few plate ribs I did which were just rubbed with SPOG.
Here is a shot of the short rib pieces. They are so tender the shake like jello lol.
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Wife is getting hungry so time to pull it all together. Plated up a burnt end and shredded on top the cheesy "grits" along with the brussel sprout and ramp hash. surrounded it all with a nice hit of the smokey au jus from the pans. This was just decadently rich , smokey rich meat with the creamy cheese grits was astonishing together. The slightly sweet / sour taste of the brussel sprout hash was a perfect flavor contrast. This is an addition to a cookbook someday for sure lol.
The meal was pretty filling so dessert had to come later but I had worked hard on a dessert I have been planning for a few weeks. It is a keto flourless chocolate torte with both a vanilla and chocolate creme anglaise. This thing came out off the hook good. I would bet my years salary no one could identify this as a keto sugar free dessert. This is a dessert I'd pay plenty for in a 5 star restaurant and be very happy with it. My wife loved it but its so rich that she could only eat about half the plate. Even I could not eat a lot of it. If you like rich chocolate decadence this is for you. I will post the recipe for the sauces and torte tomorrow.
Well that's a wrap folks!! This was one of my best meals ever. I am really glad I tried beef cheeks as I will be doing them plenty more often that's for sure. Thanks for looking!!
Ok lets get started. First up trimming the cheeks. Not gonna lie, trimming two 5 lb. bags of cheeks was a pain in the ass that proved to be well worth it later. I really only got 4 nice large cheeks, 4 or 5 nice clean cheeks pieces and then a mish mosh of stuff that I have no idea what it is. I cooked it and it was good LOL. Here are the raw big cheeks trimmed up.
Here they are rubbed up along with the pan of smaller cheeks. I also had a pan of trimming and spare parts of unknown identify, cooked them up too. The rub is a rub I found on here for steaks at some point. I thought the earthy richness of a cocoa espresso rub would go great with these and it didn't disappoint. The rub also has salt, pepper, cayenne , cinnamon and some brown sugar. I usually just do SPOG with the beef but this was a winner on the cheeks. These went in the smoker running my go to B&B Texas Oak lump along with a couple nice big pieces of aged oak and a couple pieces of mesquite. Smoker rolled beautiful blue smoke all day once I hit 275F, loaded it up and got tuned into to 250F ish
While the cheeks and other meats were smoking I moved to some side dishes. First up is a keto smoked gouda grits.
- 18 oz. rice cauliflower
- 3/4 cup of hemp hearts
- 6 TBSP butter
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3/4 cup water
- 3 TBSP cream cheese
- 3.4 tsp smoked paprika
- 6 - 8 oz. smoked gouda
Start by melting the butter in a pan and sauteing the cauliflower and hemp hearts until tender. Add the rest of the ingredients with the exception of the gouda. Simmer for 5 - 10 minutes and add the shredded gouda. I used a mix of aged gouda and smoked gouda. Use enough to get a nice thick creamy consistency. The cauliflower and especially the hemp hearts give you a nice grits texture. This pic is just before the gouda was added.
After the cheese is melted in and texture is dialed in add the paprika to give it a little more of a smokey kick and color. I did these hours ahead of our meal as they will absorb more of the liquid as they cool. They reheat great.
Next side dish is a brussel sprout and ramps hash
- 2 lbs. brussel sprouts
- 1/2 lbs ramps (can substitute shallots or onions)
- 2 1/2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
- 3 TBSP allulose (can use any sugar sub or sugar if not watching carbs)
- 4 TBSP olive oil
- 1 cup water
- 8 TBSP butter
- S&P to taste
Time to get some meat out of the smoker. I smoked the cheeks for about 3 hours at 250F and then boated them in foil pans with Minors beef broth from my water pan. (I run a full pan of it below the meat while smoking) . They went about an hour and half boated uncovered then i covered them for about another hour. They were finished at a higher temp than I thought. I found them to be probe tender at around 210F. At 210F the fat and thick collagen were rendered perfectly making these just a gooey beefr delight! Below are pics of the finished whole small and large cheeks. I did pulled from the small as the literally fell apart., I did some nice slices from the larger cheeks. The chocolate espresso rub gives a nice dark bark. At the end is a shot of of the few plate ribs I did which were just rubbed with SPOG.
Here is a shot of the short rib pieces. They are so tender the shake like jello lol.
Wife is getting hungry so time to pull it all together. Plated up a burnt end and shredded on top the cheesy "grits" along with the brussel sprout and ramp hash. surrounded it all with a nice hit of the smokey au jus from the pans. This was just decadently rich , smokey rich meat with the creamy cheese grits was astonishing together. The slightly sweet / sour taste of the brussel sprout hash was a perfect flavor contrast. This is an addition to a cookbook someday for sure lol.
The meal was pretty filling so dessert had to come later but I had worked hard on a dessert I have been planning for a few weeks. It is a keto flourless chocolate torte with both a vanilla and chocolate creme anglaise. This thing came out off the hook good. I would bet my years salary no one could identify this as a keto sugar free dessert. This is a dessert I'd pay plenty for in a 5 star restaurant and be very happy with it. My wife loved it but its so rich that she could only eat about half the plate. Even I could not eat a lot of it. If you like rich chocolate decadence this is for you. I will post the recipe for the sauces and torte tomorrow.
Well that's a wrap folks!! This was one of my best meals ever. I am really glad I tried beef cheeks as I will be doing them plenty more often that's for sure. Thanks for looking!!
