Smoked Beef Cheeks with Stout Glaze

Name: Geräucherte Rinderbacken Stout-Glasur
Total time: 10 h
Cuisine: Deutsche Küche
Ingredients: 18 g Grobes Meersalz; 12 g Brauner Zucker; 8 g Geräuchertes Paprikapulver; 7 g Schwarzer Pfeffer grob gemahlen; 5 g Knoblauchgranulat; 4 g Kakaopulver ungesüßt; 80 ml Stout-Bier (z.B. Guinness) für Glasur

GlazeRindHot SmokingMedium10-12 Std.92-95 °C120-130 °CEiche + Kirsche

Beef cheeks are rubbed with a bold spice mixture and rested overnight before being slowly hot-smoked. The stout glaze caramelizes during the final minutes on the smoker, lending the meat a deep, malty note. The collagen in the cheeks melts during the long cook into a silky texture – a classic low-and-slow result.

Ingredients(for 1 kg)

Coarse sea salt18 g

Brown sugar12 g

Smoked paprika8 g

Coarsely ground black pepper7 g

Garlic granules5 g

Unsweetened cocoa powder4 g

Stout beer (e.g. Guinness) for glaze80 ml

Instructions

Preparation

30 min + 12-24 hours resting

Trim the beef cheeks and pat dry. Mix all dry ingredients (salt, sugar, paprika, pepper, garlic, cocoa) into a rub and massage evenly into the meat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.

Smoking

9-11 hours

Set the smoker to 120-130 °C and add oak and cherry wood. Place the beef cheeks fat-side up on the grate and smoke until an internal temperature of 88 °C is reached. After 4 hours, spritz the meat with a little stout if needed to keep the bark moist.

Applying the glaze

30-45 minutes

Reduce the stout in a small saucepan to one third until syrupy. Once the internal temperature reaches 88 °C, brush the glaze onto the cheeks every 15 minutes until a glossy crust forms and the target internal temperature of 92-95 °C is reached.

Resting and Serving

30-45 minutes

Wrap the beef cheeks in butcher paper or foil and rest for at least 30 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute. Then slice thickly against the grain and serve.

Pro Tip

Apply the glaze only once the internal temperature reaches about 88 °C and reapply every 15 minutes – this creates a lacquered crust without burning the sugar.

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