Beef Cheek Burnt Ends

Trim and Cube the Beef Cheeks:

Take the beef cheeks and trim off any excess fat or connective tissue (refer to Beef Cheek Burnt Ends video for trimming tips).Cube the beef cheeks into 1-inch pieces, or to your desired size.

Season the Beef Cheeks:

In a bowl, mix 2 parts of 16 mesh black pepper with 1 part of kosher salt. Season the beef cheeks generously with the pepper and salt mixture, ensuring all pieces are evenly coated.

Smoker:

Fire up your smoker to a temperature of 275-300 degrees Fahrenheit (135-150 degrees Celsius).

Smoke the Beef Cheeks:

Place the seasoned beef cheeks on a wire rack for easy transport. Put the rack with the beef cheeks on the smoker grates and let them smoke for the next 3 hours.

Confit the Beef Cheeks:

Prepare a hotel pan and fill it with beef tallow. Remove the beef cheeks from the smoker and place them in the pan, ensuring they are fully submerged in the tallow. Cover the pan with a lid or aluminum foil.

Continue Cooking:

At this stage, you have two options:

a. Option 1 (Smoker): Pop the covered hotel pan with the beef cheeks back on the smoker at 300 degrees Fahrenheit (150 degrees Celsius) for another couple of hours.

b. Option 2 (Oven): Alternatively, you can place the covered hotel pan with the beef cheeks in your oven set at 200 degrees Fahrenheit (93 degrees Celsius) and leave them to cook overnight.

Cool Down and Finish:

Once the beef cheeks are tender and fully cooked, remove them from the tallow and place them on a paper towel to cool down slightly.

Add Final Touches:

At this stage, you can either finish the beef cheeks with your favorite rub or glaze them with your favorite sauce, if desired.

Dive in!