Braised beef cheeks with quinces

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 4 beef cheeks, trimmed
• 1 bottle of dry red wine
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 garlic cloves
• 4 shallots
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 700 ml beef stock
• 1 cinnamon stick(s)
• 3 carnations
• 50 g honey
• 1 shot of port wine
• 1 orange(s), untreated, zest
• 2 quinces, peeled, diced
• salt and pepper
• some cornstarch, if necessary
• some water, cold, maybe

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 12 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 4 hours; Total time approx. 16 hours 30 minutes

Marinate the beef cheeks overnight in red wine with the bay leaves, halved shallots, and crushed garlic cloves. The next day, sear the beef cheeks on all sides in olive oil. Remove from the pan and reduce the marinade by 1/3. Return the cheeks to the stock and braise, covered, with the cinnamon stick, cloves, honey, and beef stock in an oven preheated to 150°C for two and a half hours. After this time, the cheeks should begin to soften. Remove from the casserole dish. Remove the cinnamon stick and cloves, puree the sauce with a hand blender, and pass it through a sieve. If the sauce is too runny, add starch dissolved in water to the sauce until the desired consistency is reached. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and a dash of port wine. Return the beef cheeks to the sauce with the quince pieces and orange zest and braise in the oven for another hour, until both the meat and the quince pieces are tender. Serve with any kind of purée.