BEEF CHEEK TACOS

Low 'n Slow, Beef Cheeks cooked for a long time, with a kiss of hickory smoke, served with pickled red onions and sliced avocado are wrapped in a soft taco shell, create a simply delicious Mexican taco dish. Served with smokey, spicy and sweet roasted corn salad (esquites). Although they take a long time, Beef Cheeks are fairy simple to cook. 225°F (110°C) for around 8 hours, we're looking for the internal temperature of the meat to reach between 195°F (90°C) - 205°F (95°C) and if a toothpick is inserted, it slides in and out with almost no resistance, commonly referred to as "probing like butter".

Overview

Method
Hot Smoking
Cooking Time
7-8 Hours
Serves
4
Suggested Wood
Hickory
Ability
Begginer

Ingredients

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 x 500g Beef Cheeks
  • 8-10 Corn Tacos/ Wraps
  • ProQ Beefy BBQ Rub
  • 2 Tsp Smoked Paprika
  • 250ml Beef Stock
  • 1 Red Onion
  • 2 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar
  • 1 Ripe Avocado
  • Fresh Coriander
  • 3 Limes

Method

METHOD

STEP 1

Trim as much fat as possible, from the outside of the cheeks and remove any silver skin. Cover all sides with ProQ Beefy Rub (you could substitute this with a 40/60 mix of salt and pepper). Finish off with a light sprinkling of smoky Paprika and allow to rest at room temperature for 1 hour.

STEP 2

Peel, halve and finely slice the red onion. Place in a small dish, add the White Wine Vinegar, a squeeze of Lime juice and Sea Salt and give it a stir. Set aside in the fridge.

STEP 3

Set up your BBQ Smoker for low and slow, we recommend using the minion method with the water pan in an 2/3 full of water. Once your BBQ has reached temperature place the Beef Cheeks on the grill, put the lid on and pop a chunk of Hickory wood through the lower door, onto the charcoal.

STEP 4

Once the internal temperature of the cheeks reaches around 160°F (70°C) – 170°F (75°C) They will seem to sit there and not increase temp for quite some time… This is known as “The Stall”. It’s nothing to worry about and is completely normal and at this stage we recommend that you place the beef cheeks in a shallow dish, pour in the beef stock and cover with foil, before placing them back on the smoker.

STEP 5

When the internal temperature of the cheeks reaches 195°F (90°C) – 205°F (95°C) check doneness by probing the meat with a toothpick, once  it slides in and out with almost no resistance the cheeks are done and can be put aside to rest for an hour.

STEP 6

Use 2 forks to shred the Beef Cheeks, assemble your tacos and enjoy!

CONFIGURATION

Hot Smoking - Low & Slow

More Info