These slow cooked Beef Cheeks are braised in a beautiful red wine sauce until they are so meltingly tender, you can eat it with a spoon! The braising liquid in this Beef Cheeks recipe is infused with incredible flavour and when pureed, transforms into a thick, luscious gravy-like sauce.
Perfectly accompanied with creamy mashed potatoes, this is a very easy dish that is suited to an elegant dinner party or a hearty midweek meal. Make this in your slow cooker, pressure cooker or on the stove!
Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks
This is a magnificent dish that takes a budget cut of beef and transforms it with little effort into a dish that you’ll find on the menu of fine dining restaurants.
Except it’s 80% cheaper. 🙂 I had lunch at an upscale bistro on the weekend where Beef Cheeks were on the menu for $35 a serving!
Little known fact: Beef cheeks are the KING of all slow cooking cuts of beef!
What are beef cheeks?
Beef Cheeks are the cheek muscle of cows and they are a very tough cut of meat that needs to be cooked long and slow to make it tender. It absorbs the flavours of braising liquid well and when you cut into it, it is stringy, almost like pulled pork.
But unlike beef chuck (used for Beef Stew and Pot Roast), Brisket and even Beef Short Ribs which have patches of really juicy sections and also some that can (sometimes) be a bit dry, not a single part of the beef cheek is dry. Every mouthful is juicy and luscious and even just typing up this post is making my mouth water!
And THAT is what makes them so special!!
What you need for this Beef Cheeks recipe
We’re making a fine dining quality dish here, but it just calls for a trip to your local grocery store! Here’s what you need:
Beef Cheeks
5 years ago, they were cheaper and weren’t always available in the large supermarkets here in Australia. But nowadays, thanks to shows like Masterchef and My Kitchen Rules, the price has been driven up but on the plus side, they are now regulars at mainstream stores like Coles and Woolies!
If you can’t find Beef Cheeks, other slow cooking beef cuts will work fine – Beef Short Ribs would be an ideal substitute. Cut them into 250g/8oz chunks so the same cooking times and liquid quantities in this recipe will apply.
This is a magnificent dish that takes a budget cut of beef and transforms it with little effort into a fine dining restaurant dish!
Red Wine for cooking
My Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks recipe is made with a classic Italian red wine braising liquid. The deep, warm, complex flavours of red wine are perfect for using as the stock base for slow cooked beef dishes.
Go to your local liquor outlet and look for end of bin specials and pick up a bottle of a full bodied red wine like Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon.
A pet peeve of mine are recipes that tell you that you must use good quality drinking wine for slow cooking recipes. I do not believe that at all for slow cooked dishes – and the New York Times agrees.
For quick sauces, yes, absolutely. But not for a braising liquid. I bet not even the greatest food critic in the world would be able to tell if it was a discounted $5 end of bin special or a $40 reserve Cab Sav. (Seriously. Who would make a slow cooked beef recipe using a $40 bottle of wine??).
You won’t use the whole bottle. If the wine is not to your standard for drinking, measure out cups and pour them into ziplock bags and freeze them. Handy to have when you need wine for other recipes!
How to make this Beef Cheeks Recipe
Though it does take time to slow cook, it’s an incredibly straightforward recipe:
Brown beef cheeks aggressively – this is key for flavour!
Saute garlic, onion, carrots and celery – our soffrito, the flavour base for the sauce;
Add braising liquid ingredients;
Slow cook the beef cheeks until they are fall apart tender – stove 2.5 hrs, oven 3.5 hrs, slow cooker 8 hrs, pressure cooker / Instant Pot 1 hr;
Puree sauce to thicken into a gravy-like consistency;
Serve beef cheeks with sauce over creamy mashed potato (go all out with Paris Mash!) or for a low carb option, Mashed Cauliflower.
Don’t let the length of the recipe directions fool you, this really is a simple recipe. It’s just long because I’ve provided directions for 3 different cooking methods.
This Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks is a recipe that is elegant enough for a dinner party and if made using a slow cooker, easy enough for mid week.
The other great thing about these Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks is that the leftovers freeze 100% perfectly, OR can be transformed into two other incredible dishes that I’ve shared:
Beef Cheek Ragu Pasta – the rich braising liquid was made for tossing through pasta!
Cook once, eat thrice!! – Nagi x
Try these on the side
Paris Mash (ultimate creamy mashed potato!) or Creamy Mashed Cauliflower
Crisp salad with tangy Balsamic Dressing or French Vinaigrette
Watch how to make it
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Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil , separated
- 1.5 kg/3lb beef cheeks , (4 large or 6 small beef cheeks)
- 1 onion (white, brown or yellow), roughly diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 celery stalk , roughly diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 carrot , roughly diced (about 3/4 cup)
- 4 garlic cloves , minced
- 6 stems of fresh thyme or 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
- 4 dried bay leaves (or 3 fresh bay leaves)
- 1 cup (250 ml) beef stock (broth)
- 2 cups (500 ml) red wine (full bodied eg. cabernet sauvignon or merlot)
- 2 – 3 tsp salt , separated
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Prepare the beef cheeks: cut off any large, fatty membrane. Pat dry then use 1 tsp of salt and black pepper to season the beef all over.
- Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large heavy based pot over high heat. Sear half the beef cheeks on each side until nicely browned. Remove beef cheeks onto a plate, repeat with remaining cheeks.
- Turn down the heat to medium high and heat the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add garlic and onion. Sauté for 3 minutes until onion is becoming translucent.
- Add the celery and carrot,s sauté for a further 3 minutes.
- Follow directions for your chosen cooking method below.
Slow Cooker Directions
- Pour the onion mixture into the slow cooker and place the beef cheeks on top.
- Pour the wine into the pot and return to heat. Turn the heat up to high, bring to simmer and let it simmer for 1 minute (to cook out the wine a bit). Scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan so it mixes in with the wine.
- Pour the wine into the slow cooker, then all the remaining ingredients, starting with a pinch of salt and pepper (add more to taste later).
- Cook in the slow cooker on Low for 8 hours or High for 6 hours for 250g/8oz size beef cheeks or Low for 10 – 12 hours or High for 8 hours for 350g/12oz beef cheeks.
- Open the slow cooker and remove the beef cheeks. Discard the thyme stems and bay leaves.
- Use a handheld stick blender to puree the braising liquid into a smooth Sauce – it will change from a dark brown to a lighter brown colour.
- Transfer liquid into saucepan, simmer on stove on medium high until the Sauce turns a darker brown colour and reduces by about 1/4 to 1/3, to a gravy consistency – about 10 minutes.
- Do a taste test and adjust the seasoning (salt and pepper) to your taste.
- Remove from heat, return beef cheeks to the Sauce, cover and keep warm until ready to serve.
Pressure Cooker Directions
- Follow the Slow Cooker directions but cook on high in your pressure cooker for 1 hour on high for small cheeks (around 250g/8oz each).
Stovetop and Oven Directions
- Pour the wine into the pot / casserole dish (with the onion mixture) and stir to scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pot. Bring wine to simmer for 1 minute.
- Add remaining ingredients, starting with a pinch of salt and pepper (add more to taste later), the place lid on.
- Stove: Simmer on medium low for 2 to 2 1/2 hours until the cheeks are very tender, turn at least once during cooking.
- Oven: 160C/320F for 3 to 3 1/2 hours .
- Remove the beef cheeks from sauce. Discard the thyme stems and bay leaves.
- Use a handheld stick blender to puree the braising liquid into a smooth Sauce – it will change from a dark brown to a lighter brown colour.
- Bring the Sauce to simmer over medium heat and simmer until it turns a darker brown colour and reduces by about 1/4 to 1/3, to a gravy consistency – about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Do a taste test and adjust the seasoning (salt and pepper) to your taste.
- Remove from heat, return beef cheeks to the Sauce, cover and keep warm until ready to serve.
To Serve
- Serve beef cheeks on Paris Mash (ultimate creamy mashed potato!) or Creamy Mashed Cauliflower, drizzled with a generous amount of Sauce. Garnish with finely chopped parsley if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published August 2014. Updated August 2019 with new photos, new process photos, new video, new writing. No change to recipe. I wouldn’t dare touch it, readers love it as it is!
Life of Dozer
His bib was soaked by the time the beef cheeks were in the pot…..
Did two cheeks in the pressure cooker on a week night, the smell had our mouths watering. Whilst the meat didnt have much flavour it was so tender and that gravy is divine, would have been great as a sort of pulled beef roll I think. Leftover gravy is in the freezer ready to go on some other week night when plain meat and veg needs a lift and am going to try is as a stew with carrots, potatoes and peas with dumplings once winter is here. And yes a pie. Yum. Thanks really enjoying your recipes.
Thank you Alma! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! PS The meat didn’t have much flavour??? Odd! Beef cheeks is a secondary cut and it’s full of flavour!!
Yes i was a bit surprised too, bit like gravy beef, maybe all the flavour went into that luscious gravy. Soooo tender however.
Hi Nagi, Thank you so much for your receipe !!! My family loved it !! I’m glad I read the notes about the sugar as I reduced the delicious sauce as i think it did need it. I can’t wait to cook more !!
That’s wonderful Kirsten! I am so glad you and your family enjoyed this!!!
I’ve used your recipe now for the third time tonight. Has proven to be a reliable go-to recipe for a relaxed Sunday dinner. What a delicious, hearty, & complex yet balanced recipe. I love the slow-cooker modification. All the prep is done by noon. & at 6 pm, dinner is ready. Wonderful! Thank you!
Thank you Lisa, I’m so glad you love this so much! Thank you for letting me know!
Had no trouble finding beef cheeks in Woolworths! Yay! Made this as a valentines day dinner. Got up bright and early to put these bad boys on.. 12 hours later, they were so bloody amazing. Even though it was just the two of us, I put all 6 on so we could have the ragu tonight! Thanks so much for this recipe.
I must admit, I added a tsp of sugar to the reducing sauce to balance out the savoury flavour and loved it even more!
Well that’s perfect!! 🙂 I do that too sometimes.
YAY! I’m so glad you tried this Lucinda!! Isn’t it awesome that we can get beef cheeks at Woolworths now?? What a Valentine’s Day meal!!!
Hi nagi,
My crock pot is pretty shallow. Does it matter if the sauce nearly covers the beef cuts?
Looking like a fab dish for everyone. Well done.
Doni
Hi Doni! Yup, that’s fine 🙂 Slow cookers don’t let any moisture out so the exposed parts cook in it’s own steam!
I have a deep pot for the oven did this recipe fantastic tender buietful
Wonderful! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it Alex!! 🙂
I often cook from online recipes, but this is the first time I’ve ever felt compelled to post a comment. These beef cheeks were incredible. Wonderful depth of flavour, melt-in-your-mouth, and the mash was so creamy. At the first bite, my husband said, “This is one of the best things you’ve ever cooked”, and I cook a lot.
Thanks Nagi! Here’s what I love about your recipes and your website:
– They are designed for the homecook. Steps are easy to follow, very detailed, and written with the everyday cook in mind.
– Not overly complicated, not pretentious, yet produces restaurant quality food.
– You provide several different cooking methods.
– Often when I want to make a dish, I will look at multiple different recipes for that dish online, and combine them based on what I think will produce the best result. It looks like you sometimes do this too, so you’ve already done the work for me!
Thank you so much for your recipes. These beef cheeks are going into my permanent recipe folder. Can’t wait to try more.
Gosh Rebecca, thank you! That is a high praise and I’m so touched that you took the time to leave such a thoughtful message for me 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!! It’s one of my favorites!!!
Thank you for sharing this incredible recipe. I made the cheeks and served them on pappardelle. It was beyond divine, absolute heaven.
This recipe is a keeper!
So glad you loved it Ali!! Thank you for letting me know!! N x
Hi
Does the braising liquid need to cover the beef cheeks fully? I had 4 wagyu beef cheeks (2kg) and is using the pressure cooker as I am short of time unfortunately.
Hi there CM! Nope, it’s find if it sticks out a bit, the steam effectively cooks it just like it’s submerged under liquid 🙂 Pressure cooker works great with this!:)
Thank you. Just cooked it a few hours ago. The kids love it. Have to say that 1 hour seems sufficient. I added another 1/2 hour and the beef cheek is almost literally falling apart.
But it’s great. I always love beef cheeks. Did a confit with it previously.
YAY! So glad you and the kids love it!!
Hi, I’m trying your beef cheeks recipe 2day, but have only got a medium-bodied red wine, does it matter??? Thanks!!!
Hi Bobbie! A medium bodied one will work fine. 🙂 Just not a pinot, it’s too light! N x
Hi Nagi, me and my family just finished eating the “beef cheeks”, only it wasn’t beef cheeks bcoz we couldn’t get them anywhere over here in Wales U.K!!! So I asked my butcher if I could maybe order them in specially, but he said I would need 2 find a speacialist butchers bcoz they’re really rare!!! So instead I asked him to suggest what cut would be the best substitute instead, and he suggested brisket!!! He cut me up 4 beautiful pieces and once cooked following your recipe, absolutely melted in the mouth!!! We had 4 plates being licked around my dining room table ha!!! It was so good!!! Thank you!!!
Hello Bobbie, I am from Wales and just picked up beef cheeks from my butcher no problem. The butcher is called ‘Bucklands’ in Bedwas South Wales. I will be trying this recipe mid week.
Oooh Mandy! I am looking forward to hearing what you think! N x
HURRAH!! I am so glad you enjoyed it! And making it with brisket is just fine! In fact this is very similar to a beef ragu pasta I make using brisket! 🙂 You did exactly what I would have done. Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know you enjoyed it!! N
Hi, have you a waitrose near you? Because I had difficulty sourcing but they sell them, £7.50 a kilo, when they are in at waitrose I buy a lot and freeze them- it still turns out fine: I’ve also made this with pork cheeks which was equally as nice. Carey
I was wondering if I could use a food processor to do the gravy bit at the end as I don’t have a stick mixer I’m doing the beef cheeks in a slow cooker
You absolutely can! Blender, food processor – anything that whizzes things 🙂
Hi Nagi, I’m trying beef cheeks for the first time and I’m inspired by your recipe. I didn’t have beef stock so I’m using chicken stock. Let you know how it turns out.
Looking forward to hearing what you think Lili!!! 🙂
Hi Nagi. The beef cheeks turned up amazing. They were super soft. I served it with brown rice and green beens which my kids doused with the yummy gravy. This recipe is a keeper and I will definitely cook it again. Thank you for sharing it.
I’m SO GLAD!! Thank you for coming back to let me know!!
This is my very first time hearing of beef cheeks. I’m hosting a dinner party and found it while looking for a recipe that would go great with a red wine. I am definitely going to visit my local farmers market for this type of beef.
Hope you find them Tara! This really is incredible, the depth of flavour is amazing!!
Hi Nagi, I was looking for beef cheeks recipe and came across yours. What interests me is that your recipe looks straightforward using easy everyday ingredients. I’m about to make it for the first time for dinner on the Lord’s feast (Sukkot) on Sunday night. I was happy when you said it’s a cheap cut, but when I went today to my local butcher (Toronto, Canada), it costs $12.99 per pound (frozen)! LOL Well, I picked it up anyway, about 4.6lb. It’s for special occasion so I don’t mind. I shall update you ith the result 🙂
Hi Maple! I do hope you love it!! I am pretty surprised they were so expensive, here in Australia, they are a cheap cut, around $8/kg which is about $4/lb!!
Hi Nagi, as promised, here is an update from me. So I cooked this as per your recipe. I added a little bit of everything since the beef cheeks I cooked was 4.6lb (recipe called for 3lb). I didn’t have beef stock so I used 1/2 beef stock pot by Knorr + water as per Knoor recipe. Cooked it only for 3 hours. I checked if it’s tender fork and it’s perfect! It tasted ridiculously delicious! Hubby and I have never eaten such delicious dish. Beef cheeks just melted in the mouth (without it being mushy). First time we have eaten beef cheeks and this cut is deinitely our favorite. Your recipe is a keeper! I’m glad that your recipe doesn’t use mushroom because we don’t eat it. Thank you Nagi!
I’m SO SO GLAD! Thank you very much for coming back to let me know!
Nagi I get beef cheeks from Coles near me but they are expensive $15 a kilo. they are in packs of two. Today is the second time I am doing your recipe. I am sure that they come as good as the first time I cooked them. Everybody love them.
The price just keeps going up and up! It used to be SO CHEAP! I find they are cheaper at butchers. I’ve done bulk orders from this place before (in Brookvale, Sydney) because they deliver free for over $50. 🙂 Beef cheeks are $10/kg. Even at this online butcher, they’ve gone up! When I made them about a year ago they were $7.99!!!
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave me a message 🙂
http://www.brookvalemeats.com.au/products.php?product=Beef-Cheeks-%252d-1kg-Pack-%252d-for-curries-and-stews-%28may-be-frozen%29
Wondering how this turned out. I’m thinking of preparing it for a dinner this weekend.
Hi Nagi,
Recently discovered your site and I am in love!! I am an Australian, from Perth, living for a long time now in Uganda, central Africa and as much as your recipes I love your down to earth, good old Aussie attitude and your way of thinking. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I started reading your recipes and commentaries. Cheers to that!
Have already tried several recipes and they were fabulous.
I want to try this beef cheek recipe but where I live beef can only be obtained in 2 forms – a 1kg pack of beef fillet, which is generally very tender, and a 1kg pack of stewing steak, which is not tender at all. I thought your recipe would be good for the stewing steak to make a casserole of sorts.
What changes would you recommend for making this recipe with 1kg of steak pre cut into approx 2.5cm cubes? I will cook it in a slow cooker.
your thoughts much appreciated
Erin x
Hi Erin! WOW how exotic, in Uganda? Gosh, that’s about as different as you can get from Perth!! You know, if you have a butcher in the area it might be worth asking them if they have beef cheeks. Because honestly, they have to do something with that part of the cow, why not sell them (at a ridiculously low price – to you?!) But yes, you are bang on – the stewing steak is perfect for this. I would cut cubes about 3cm because they shrink and any smaller they will cook too fast and so the sauce won’t have quite the depth of flavour. 🙂 It will cook a bit faster than using beef cheeks because the pieces are smaller. Around 30 minutes less in the oven/stove or 2 hours less in the slow cooker. Hope you love it!!
Hello Nagi,
I enjoyed reading your recipe on beef cheeks that a found on msn food and the related comments. I am in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada. I have never come across beef cheeks anywhere.. I also lived in South Africa and never came across them there either.
I think the closest I’ll get is chuck roast meat and I’m sure that should work out.
I look forward to trying some of your other recipes too.
Thanks,
Derick
Hi Derick! You should definitely be able to get beef cheeks at butchers, and they should be very good value! Put it this way – what does the butcher DO with beef cheeks, if they don’t sell them? He he! But yes, you are absolutely right, this will work fabulously with chuck or any other slow cooked beef cut. I do hope you enjoy it!
Hi Nagi,
Greetings from Sweden!!!
This is the first time I have ever signed on to comment on
a recipe. I simply had to comment.
Thank you so much for posting this recipe.
Last week I decided that I wanted to do a few roasts.. So I went to the butcher and bought a kilo and a half of both Brisket and Beef Cheeks,, though I think they were OX cheeks, they were quite large.
I’ve had Beef Cheeks a few times at different restaurants here in Stockholm Sweden, and absolutely fell in LOVE
with them.
So, anyway, I came home from the butcher and started looking for recipes for the Cheeks.
Yours was the best I could find, and BOY, am I glad that I went with this recipe.
The family LOVED IT!!!
I used a bit more wine, like around 3/4 of a bottle of French Cabernet and 2 cups of Ox Fond/ Stock..
Also, around 8 cloves of garlic and 10 sprigs of thyme.
I cooked it for 3 hours on my stove top, covered with a Parchment Cartouche and a glass lid.
It came out absolutely perfect!!!!
at the end, when I was using the hand mixer on the sauce, I added touch of Balsamic vinegar and garnished it with
a few sprigs of thyme on top of the meat after it was plated.
This was an absolute winner. My family was raving about this.
Next time, I am going to try to make it in the oven, and see if it comes out different.
( hopefully, someday I will get a slow cooker. )
anyway, Thank you again for posting this. I will be trying more of your recipes very soon.
Cheers from Sweden~
PS… You mentioned that it is very expensive to make beef stock in Australia.
It is also expensive here in Sweden…. so, what I do, is when I buy any beef and I am trimming it,
In my freezer I have a container that I use for the trimmed off pieces beef connective tissue and fat that I would normally discard into the trash.
I am going to make Beef stock with these trimmings once I have enough saved up.
Lastly, for the person who accidentally used too much salt on their beef.
I did this with my brisket the other day.
I then just made a Roux, and then added a lot of cream, and I was able to salvage the
juices from the brisket even though the juice was a bit salty, the roux and cream mixed well
with it to make a wonderful beef sauce.
Oh wow! Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to leave such a detailed message!! I am so glad you enjoyed it, warms me to my soul just thinking about it 🙂 I love your touch of balsamic! That’s a great little touch to cut through the richness of the sauce a bit! N x
I just made this recipe with 4.5kg of beef cheeks. Let’s see how it turns out tomorrow!
Woah! That’s a LOT of beef cheeks! 🙂 Hope you love it! PS It will need to cook longer, not double the time, maybe add another 45 minutes to 1 hour. 🙂
Hi Nagi
What slow cooker do you use?
I have made Beef Cheeks before, but nothing like your recipe, will 100% try this out.
By the way have ordered a Kyocera Red Adjustable Ceramic Slicer with Hand Protector form Amazon. Great tool to have in ones kitchen. Have always done by hand lol.
Loving your site.
June.
I use this Breville fast/slow cooker. It’s a slow cooker, pressure cooker and also has a saute function which is quite handy! http://www.breville.com.au/the-fast-slow-cooker.html
I have to ask – how do you usually make beef cheeks?
Ooh, the ceramic slicer! You will love it, it’s SO handy! I swear, every vegetable is so much yummier when it’s been shredded!! Especially fennel. I use it a lot for fennel – makes a beautiful salad with just a bit of lemon and olive oil (and parmesan!).
So glad you’re enjoying my site June!! N x
Hi Nagi.
I do Beef Cheeks in the slow cooker, as per my butcher told me. In homemade beef stock get my beef bones from them, with onions, carrots and what ever vegetables i have on hand. Sometime I make into a pie (frozen pastry lol.) or casserole out of it. I am learning so much from my butcher, the different cuts of meat.
This is the link for my butchers http://www.thebutcheryltd.com/locations.html
I go to both there shops, brilliant people there.
Hope you had a nice weekend
June
I pretty much always use frozen pastry, there is NO SHAME in that!! 🙂 I love chatting to my butcher about meat cuts too. I have a cheeks recipe I do quite similar with a brown gravy like what you described, no canned tomatoes. And more veggies. 🙂 I think ours are pretty similar! Weekend was fabulous, hope yours was too!
Hi there,
I have the same pressure cooker as yours, the fast slow cooker from breville. What setting and time should i set the PC to? Any variation to the recipe? Less liquid stock? To reduce the liquid at the end, do you use the saute function or transfer to another pot?
Cheers
Hi Jay! 1 hour on high will do it 🙂 I added Pressure Cooker instructions to the recipe, just follow the slow cooker directions but cook in your pressure cooker instead.
And YES absolutely you can do the liquid reduction using the saute function! Isn’t it handy? 🙂 I don’t reference it in recipes because not many slow cookers have them! 🙂
Hi Nagi! This recipe is going to feed my husbands hungry Italian family tomorrow. I’m doubling the amount of meat, how long would you recommend for cooking? I need to have it ready by 1pm 🙂 thank you! X
Hi Charlotte! I’ve doubled the recipe before and the cooking time increased by about 1 hour, not double the time. But to be safe, whichever cooking method you choose, add an extra 1 1/2 hours. But check it every 30 minutes! I hope you love it! N x
Thank You!!!! 🙂
I used the published recipe – except I doubled the celery, and also added some flat leafed parsley from my herb garden. TRULY? The best meal I have eaten in my life – just awesome! I cook every day – for fun and pleasure. But THIS??? Just knocked it out of the park. THANK YOU! Oh, because of my working hours, a 15 HOUR cook! And the wine? In Australia, ALDI do a 2 litre cask of Shiraz – from Brooke James. Totally drinkable on it’s own – Just $8.99 for 2 litres. I just went with the recipe – awesome!