Beef Cheek Debris

This raw beef cheek meat. While it is not offal, it is considered variety meat. It actually comes from a cow's face and is the basically the muscle used to chew I think. A hot idea in some New Orleans restaurant is pig or hog cheek meat. This meat contains a lot of collagen and certain amount of fat. If braised properly it is the richest and beefiest piece of meat you will ever put in your mouth. I discovered it about 4 or 5 years ago. I get it when I can and it being so rich I cook it only a couple times a year. At this point in time you can find it at Kroger's on Hwy 14 or 12Th Street or most Wal-Marts. It is in with the heart, tongue and tripe. I usually do it "osso bucco" style with red wine and tomatoes. A recipe on the package sent me in another direction. I did not follow the recipe per se but it gave me ideas.

I sauteed a Texas Sweet that I had and layered it with some dehydrated trinity with garlic on top in my large slow cooker

I seasoned the meat well with a Creole mixture and floured it. Then I seared it to generate more flavor

I deglazed the pan with some homemade blackberry wine I had in the frig. Evaporated most of the alcohol off and put it over the meat

I then poured some beef stock until the meat was covered and cooked it overnight in the slow cooker
This the meat out of the crock

This is the onion mixture stained from the juices

This is the juices.
Again I took a different tact on the sauce. I usually stick blend the vegetables into the juice to create the sauce. This time I used a dry roux to thicken the juices. When thicken I put back in the onions and stuff. The meat was so tender I could shred it with my hands. After shredding I put that in the gravy and onions and reduced until it was thick. Now I have a sort of debris. I will use this to make flour burritos, stuff in pita bread, make po boys etc

However for supper last night I served it over cous cous with lima beans on the side. It did not disappoint. Rich and full of beefy goodness. I look forward to consuming it the rest of the week