Chef Isabel
Cachopo Asturiano
Cachopo is Asturian comfort food with no mystery: two thin veal fillets, jamon, melting cheese, a firm seal, and enough oil to fry it golden without leaking.
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Carrilleras al Vino Tinto Castellanas
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Carrilleras al vino tinto are Castilla y Leon's kind of patience: beef cheeks, red wine, and a slow sofrito cooked down until the sauce turns glossy and the meat gives to a spoon.
Main Dishes
Spanish
Special Occasion
Dinner Party
Comfort Food
25 min
Active Time
2 hr 30 min cook•2 hr 55 min total
Yield4 servings
Carrilleras al vino tinto are Castilian, the kind of dish Castilla y Leon understands well: a humble cut, good red wine, and enough time to turn toughness into silk. The cheek is not a steak pretending to be tender. It is a working muscle full of collagen, and that is exactly why it gives you such a deep, glossy sauce when you cook it low and long.
The method that decides it is the sofrito, the slow onion base. Cook the onion, carrot, leek, and garlic until they are dark gold and sweet before the wine ever goes in. Rush that part and the sauce tastes sharp and thin, no matter how long the meat braises. Brown the cheeks properly too, but don't confuse color with haste. This dish rewards the cook who lets each step finish.
Use a dry Spanish red if you can, Ribera del Duero, Toro, or Rioja will all do the work. If you're far from Spain, use any honest dry red you would drink at the table, not a sweet bottle and not cooking wine. Beef cheeks are worth asking a butcher for; pork cheeks work too, but they cook faster and taste softer. No hace falta haber pisado España. Follow the heat, follow the timing, and it comes out. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
In the Margin beside this one I write the same warning every time: do not boil it hard. A gentle braise melts the cheek. A hard boil tightens it before it has a chance to surrender.
Carrilleras belong to the Spanish habit of casqueria, the careful use of cuts once considered modest but prized by cooks who knew how to handle them. In Castilla y Leon, where strong red wines from Ribera del Duero and Toro sit naturally beside beef, lamb, and slow stews, cheek meat found its place in the home pot and the inn kitchen alike. The dish is now cooked across Spain, but the Castilian version keeps its character in the dark wine sauce, the patient sofrito, and the meat cooked until it yields without a knife.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
beef cheeks
Quantity
1kg
trimmed of silverskin
fine salt
Quantity
10g
plain flour
Quantity
2 tablespoons
for dusting
olive oil
Quantity
4 tablespoons
onion
Quantity
250g
finely chopped
carrot
Quantity
150g
finely chopped
leek
Quantity
120g
finely chopped
garlic
Quantity
4 cloves
finely chopped
tomato paste
Quantity
1 tablespoon
dry red wine
Quantity
500ml
beef stock or water
Quantity
300ml
bay leaf
Quantity
1
thyme
Quantity
1 sprig
black peppercorns
Quantity
6
sweet pimenton de la Vera
Quantity
1 teaspoon
salt
Quantity
to taste
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| beef cheekstrimmed of silverskin | 1kg |
| fine salt | 10g |
| plain flourfor dusting | 2 tablespoons |
| olive oil | 4 tablespoons |
| onionfinely chopped | 250g |
| carrotfinely chopped | 150g |
| leekfinely chopped | 120g |
| garlicfinely chopped | 4 cloves |
| tomato paste | 1 tablespoon |
| dry red wine | 500ml |
| beef stock or water | 300ml |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| thyme | 1 sprig |
| black peppercorns | 6 |
| sweet pimenton de la Vera | 1 teaspoon |
| salt | to taste |
| black pepper | to taste |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy casserole or Dutch oven, 26-28cm
- •Wooden spoon
- •Stick blender or countertop blender
- •Tongs
Instructions
- 1
Trim and salt
Trim away the tough silverskin from the beef cheeks, or ask the butcher to do it. Cut very large cheeks in half so the pieces are roughly even. Salt them with the 10g fine salt and let them sit while you chop the vegetables. Pésalo, no lo adivines; the cheek is thick meat and needs seasoning all the way through.
- 2
Brown the cheeks
Pat the cheeks dry, dust them lightly with flour, and shake off the excess. Heat the olive oil in a heavy casserole over medium-high heat and brown the cheeks well on all sides, about 8 to 10 minutes total. Take your time here. The dark bits left in the pot are the beginning of the sauce, not dirt to be washed away.
Brown in two batches if the pot is crowded. Crowding makes the meat steam in its own juices, and you lose the deep flavor before the braise even starts. - 3
Cook the sofrito
Lower the heat to medium-low and add the onion, carrot, leek, and garlic to the same pot with a pinch of salt. Cook slowly for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring now and then, until the vegetables collapse, turn dark gold, and smell sweet. This sofrito, the slow onion base, is what gives the sauce its body. Rush it and the wine stays sharp.
- 4
Reduce the wine
Stir in the tomato paste and cook it for 2 minutes until it darkens slightly. Add the pimenton off the hottest part of the heat and stir just until fragrant, then pour in the red wine. Scrape the bottom of the pot clean with a wooden spoon and simmer the wine for 8 to 10 minutes, until the harsh alcohol smell is gone and the liquid has reduced by about a third.
- 5
Braise low
Return the cheeks to the pot with any juices, add the beef stock or water, bay leaf, thyme, and peppercorns, and bring the liquid just to a gentle bubble. Cover with the lid slightly ajar and cook on low heat for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, turning the meat once or twice, until a spoon presses into it with no fight. Do not let it boil hard. A cheek needs patience, not punishment.
- 6
Finish the sauce
Lift the cheeks to a warm plate and discard the bay leaf and thyme stem. Blend the sauce until smooth, then simmer it uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon and shines. Taste for salt and black pepper. Return the cheeks to the sauce and let them sit there 10 minutes before serving, so the meat drinks back a little of what it gave.
- 7
Serve plainly
Serve the carrilleras with the sauce spooned over, alongside mashed potato, fried potatoes, or a simple puree of root vegetables. The meat should pull apart with a spoon and the sauce should be dark, glossy, and thick enough to cling. Tal como se hace alli: no decoration needed, just bread for the plate.
Chef Tips
- •Ask the butcher for beef cheeks, carrilleras de ternera, and have the silverskin trimmed. If you can only find pork cheeks, use 900g and start checking after 1 hour 30 minutes; they are smaller and softer, and the sauce will be a little gentler.
- •Use a dry red wine with body but not sweetness. Ribera del Duero, Toro, Rioja, or a plain local dry red all work. Cooking wine is usually salty and flat, and it will give you a sauce to match.
- •The sauce should taste deep, not winey. If it tastes sharp after braising, the wine was not reduced enough at the start; simmer the blended sauce uncovered a little longer and taste again.
- •This is better the next day. Chill the cheeks in their sauce, then reheat them gently over low heat with a splash of water if the sauce has set too thick.
Advance Preparation
- •Trim and salt the beef cheeks up to 12 hours ahead, then keep them covered in the refrigerator and pat them dry before browning.
- •Cook the whole dish 1 day ahead and chill the cheeks in the sauce. Reheat gently, covered, over low heat until the meat is hot all the way through.
- •The finished carrilleras keep 3 days refrigerated. They also freeze well for up to 2 months, though the sauce may need a slow whisk as it reheats.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 375g)
Calories
645 calories
Total Fat
35 g
Saturated Fat
10 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
21 g
Cholesterol
250 mg
Sodium
1500 mg
Total Carbohydrates
22 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
7 g
Protein
57 g
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