Braised Beef Jowls

The cheek is a piece of 'poor' meat that thanks to the slow cooking will melt in the mouth. We pair it with Roggio del Filare, Rosso Piceno Superiore Doc from Velenosi winery. 

The term "cheek" refers to the muscle located between the snout and throat. A lean meat, rich in fiber, which must be cooked carefully and slowly not to result hard.

This recipe needs to be started the day before serving. 

Ingredients for 6 people:

2 beef jowls of around 600g each, 750ml of structured red wine, 1 clove of garlic, 2 carrots, 2 stalks of green celery, 2 Laurel leaves, Fresh herb mix (laurel, rosemary and sage), 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, 50g butter, flour, 1 teaspoon of cornstarch, peppercorns, juniper berries, salt. 

Directions:

Clean and dice the vegetables. Trim the jowls removing any excess fat and tie the meat with kitchen twine to maintain its form. Marinate the meat in the wine with the vegetables, laurel leaves, garlic, some peppercorns and the juniper berries in a covered container inside the refrigerator for a night.

The next day take the meat out of the container and filter the wine for later use and separate the vegetables from the peppercorns, juniper and laurel.

Dry the meat carefully with paper towels and flour it, shaking off any excess flour.

Heat the oil and butter in a pan, preferably cast-iron, and then sear the meat on all sides to seal it. Salt. Add the wine marinade and then the vegetables and fresh herbs. Cover the pan well with a lid and cook slowly, adding broth or water when necessary, for three hours or, if you have a cooking thermometer, until the meat reaches 90°C in the middle.

Once the meat is soft, place it in a platter, cover with foil and let cool.

Blend the remains from the pan and put it in a small pan. Dissolve the corn starch in a little cold water and add to the pan. Heat on a medium flame until it thickens into gravy.

Once the meat is cold remove and the twine and slice it. Serve topped with the hot gravy and with polenta or mashed potatoes.

The dish can be prepared the day before.

Wine to pair:

(edited by: Stefania Vinciguerra)

Intense and concentrated ruby red color. Clear aromas of wild cherry, black cherry, then kirsch, hints of cocoa and vanilla. Warm and wrapping taste, thick tannins, not aggressive, reat savory on the palate. Balanced body and rich finish.

Production area: winery’s own vineyards located in the Municipalities of Offida and Ascoli Piceno, located at 200 meters above-sea-level. Mainly clay soil, tending to limestone

Grape varieties: Montepulciano 70%, Sangiovese 30%. Guyot trellising system with 5000 plants per hectare with a yield of approximately 6,5 tons of grape per hectare.

Wine-making: grapes are handpicked in mid-October, early in the morning or late in the afternoon, and placed in small boxes kept in cold cells before being taken to the winery. After destemming, grapes are channelled into 100hl steel fermenting vats, equipped with a programmable pump over system (to achieve best colour extraction results and softness of the wine) and temperature control system. Maceration on skins lasts about 28 days. After fermentation the wine is drawn off into new barriques from selected French cooperages and left aging for about 18 months.

Serving temperature: 18°C.

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