Beef cheeks, also known as barbacoa meat or cachete de res, have become a popular cut of meat for making authentic barbacoa and other Mexican dishes. This deliciously tender and flavorful cut can be hard to find, but it’s worth seeking out. Here’s where you can buy beef cheeks:
Check Mexican Markets and Carnicerias
Your best bet for finding beef cheeks is to check at local Mexican markets, carnicerias (butcher shops), or tiendas (small grocery stores). These specialty stores are most likely to carry more unique cuts like beef cheek meat. Since it’s commonly used in traditional Mexican cooking, you’ll have the most luck locating it in stores catering to a Hispanic customer base.
Some national chains like Kroger also carry it in areas with a large Hispanic population. I found beef cheek meat at my local Kroger in 1.3 to 3.8 lb packages for $3.99/lb. It was nicely pre-cut into large chunks perfect for making shredded barbacoa.
Order Online
If you don’t live near any Mexican markets, order beef cheeks online. Many online meat purveyors are now offering beef cheek meat.
One good option is Rumba Meats, which has high-quality pre-cut beef cheek meat available. The beef cheeks come pre-seasoned with a proprietary blend of spices designed specifically for making authentic barbacoa. Rumba Meats also provides recipes and how-to tips for cooking beef cheeks on their website.
Other online stores, like Crowd Cow, offer beef cheeks as well. You can often buy them in bulk quantities of 5 lbs or more online to get the best price per pound.
Talk to Your Local Butcher
Don’t see beef cheeks at your regular grocery store? Talk to the butcher counter Many traditional butcher shops and meat markets can special order beef cheeks for you even if they don’t normally carry them,
Explain that you’re looking for beef cheek meat to make authentic barbacoa. They can likely source whole beef heads and extract the cheek meat for you. Plan ahead, as specialty cuts may take a few days to obtain.
What to Look For
When buying beef cheeks, look for meat that is:
- Uniformly red in color without brown or gray spots
- Well marbled with creamy white fat
- Firm and moist but not soggy
- Cut into large chunks rather than thin strips
High-quality beef cheek meat will have a smooth, tender texture and robust beefy flavor when cooked low and slow.
Why Cook Beef Cheeks?
So why go through the trouble of tracking down beef cheeks? This cut turns tender and succulent when braised or slow cooked for hours. That makes it perfect for dishes like authentic barbacoa or birria.
The fat and collagen in beef cheeks breaks down into rich, gelatinous liquid as it cooks. This yields incredibly moist, fall-apart tender shreds of beef.
Beef cheek barbacoa makes insanely delicious tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, soups, and more. The mouthwatering shreds of meat have a deep, beefy flavor with just the right amount of fat.
What you need for this Beef Cheeks recipe
We’re making a fine dining quality dish here, but it just calls for a trip to your local grocery store! Here’s what you need:
5 years ago, they were cheaper and weren’t always available in the large supermarkets here in Australia. But nowadays, thanks to shows like Masterchef and My Kitchen Rules, the price has been driven up but on the plus side, they are now regulars at mainstream stores like Coles and Woolies!
If you can’t find Beef Cheeks, other slow cooking beef cuts will work fine – Beef Short Ribs would be an ideal substitute. Cut them into 250g/8oz chunks so the same cooking times and liquid quantities in this recipe will apply.
This is a magnificent dish that takes a budget cut of beef and transforms it with little effort into a fine dining restaurant dish!
How to make this Beef Cheeks Recipe
Though it does take time to slow cook, it’s an incredibly straightforward recipe:
- Brown beef cheeks aggressively – this is key for flavour!
- Saute garlic, onion, carrots and celery – our soffrito, the flavour base for the sauce;
- Add braising liquid ingredients;
- Slow cook the beef cheeks until they are fall apart tender – stove 2.5 hrs, oven 3.5 hrs, slow cooker 8 hrs, pressure cooker / Instant Pot 1 hr;
- Puree sauce to thicken into a gravy-like consistency;
- Serve beef cheeks with sauce over creamy mashed potato (go all out with Paris Mash!) or for a low carb option, Mashed Cauliflower.
Don’t let the length of the recipe directions fool you, this really is a simple recipe. It’s just long because I’ve provided directions for 3 different cooking methods.
This Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks is a recipe that is elegant enough for a dinner party and if made using a slow cooker, easy enough for mid week.
The other great thing about these Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks is that the leftovers freeze 100% perfectly, OR can be transformed into two other incredible dishes that I’ve shared:
- Beef Cheek Ragu Pasta – the rich braising liquid was made for tossing through pasta!
- Beef, Mushroom and Vegetable Pie
Cook once, eat thrice!! – Nagi x
Better Than Brisket? Beef Cheeks! | Chuds BBQ
FAQ
What are beef cheeks called at the grocery store?
Also known as barbacoa meat, beef cheek meat is great in tacos, quesadillas, burritos and other delicious dishes. What is beef cheek meat? Beef cheeks come from the face of the cow, next to the jaw muscle. Our cheek meat produces a wonderful, melt-in-your-mouth bite packed with traditional flavor.
Does Walmart sell beef cheek?
Our cheek meat is USDA inspected with consistent quality for an optimal eating experience. Includes one package of Beef Cheek Meat.
Are beef cheeks expensive?
Are Beef Cheeks expensive? Beef Cheeks used to be one of the cheaper cuts & referred to as an Offal cut by the wholesalers. Recently modern chefs are using cuts like this in todays recipes, the demand & price have increased. We offer these at a reasonable price because we make them as a wholesale meat cut.
How to get beef cheeks?
Since this is a specialty cut, ordering it ahead of time is going to be your best bet. Or, when you purchase a whole steer, ask for the beef cheeks! There are obviously only two cheeks per animal so this is why it is considered a “specialty cut” and most grocery stores don’t have it sitting on the shelves.
Should I buy beef cheeks?
Nevertheless, before you buy beef cheeks, you must speak with your butcher. Beef cheeks contain a sizeable portion of sinews. The butcher needs to remove this sinew to create a cleaner cut. For this reason, we recommend taking a trip to your local butcher shop to buy beef cheeks. You can talk to your butcher about beef cheek size.
Where do beef cheeks come from?
Beef cheeks come from the face of the cow, next to the jaw muscle. Our cheek meat produces a wonderful, melt-in-your-mouth bite packed with traditional flavor. Perfect for the slow cooker, as the best beef cheeks are cooked low and slow for maximum tenderness and flavor.
What is a beef cheek?
The cut of meat called beef cheek is named as such because it comes from the facial cheek muscle of a cow. It is a tough and lean cut of meat. Therefore, it is important to cook beef cheeks by braising or slow-cooking to achieve a tender result.
Where can I buy beef cheek steak online?
Abra is a new kind of online butcher that offers high-quality, sustainably sourced meat and seafood. You can buy beef cheeks from them and have them delivered right to your door. Abra offers free shipping on orders over $35. How Do You Make A Beef Cheek Stew?
How much does beef cheeks cost?
Expect to pay approximately $14 per lb. for Beef Cheeks in most outlets (if you can find them). If, on the other hand, you happen upon a nice French or Italian Bistro, Beef Cheeks will most likely be on the menu where you can expect to pay approximately $40 plus for a braised Beef Cheek dish with polenta or mashed potatoes.
Can I buy beef cheeks on Amazon?
Yes, Amazon sells beef cheeks, but the quality can be inconsistent. To ensure you receive good-quality beef cheeks, choose a reputable seller and consider looking for Prime members who can deliver the cheeks to you for free within two days. Alternatively, ButcherBox is a subscription service that delivers high-quality meat to your door.