Smoked Beef Cheeks with Coffee Cure
Beef cheeks are cured in an aromatic coffee brine and then slowly hot-smoked until the connective tissue fully breaks down. The combination of coffee, raw cane sugar, and allspice gives the meat a deep, complex flavor. The result is buttery soft, juicy, and infused with an intense smoky note.
Ingredients(for 1 kg)
Instructions
Curing
12 hours in the refrigeratorMix all cure ingredients thoroughly. Trim the beef cheeks of any large sinew but leave the fat cap intact. Rub the mixture evenly on all sides, vacuum seal, and cure at 4 °C for 12 hours.
Preparation
1-2 hoursRemove the cheeks from the film, rinse under cold water, and pat thoroughly dry. Place on a rack and let air-dry at room temperature for 1-2 hours until the surface is slightly tacky (pellicle). Preheat the smoker to 120-135 °C.
Smoking
8-10 hoursPlace the cheeks fat side up in the smoker. Smoke with oak and cherry wood until a core temperature of 92-95 °C is reached. Apply smoke continuously for the first 3 hours, then maintain temperature only.
Resting
1-2 hoursOnce the target core temperature is reached, wrap the cheeks in butcher paper and rest in a cooler or an oven set to 70 °C for 1-2 hours. Only then slice and serve.
Pro Tip
Once the core temperature has reached 92 °C, wrap the cheeks in butcher paper and let them rest for another 1-2 hours – this makes them even more tender and allows the juices to redistribute evenly.
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