CONFIDENCE IN YOUR CUT

CHEEK, SHIN & HEEL - The Slow Cooks

Cheek is the hard-working, lean facial cheek muscle, housing an abundance of connective tissue, known as collagen.

This cut responds well to moist, slow extended cooking methods. As the collagen breaks down, it produces a tender and flavoursome result. Cheek performs well diced but also holds its shape well when cooked whole.

Shin is prepared from the lower part of either the front or rear leg. Because it comes from a well-exercised muscle, it has little fat and abundant connective tissue.

Bone-in is often cut across the bone into osso-buco whilst boneless shin is prepared from either the shin area or the heel muscle in the silverside. Shin suits moist low, slow cooking to allow the connective tissue to tenderise while enriching with flavour. The resulting meat is tender and rich in flavour.

Beef Heel is a cut from the beef round immediately above the hindshank. The heel is composed of two main muscles, the superficial digital flexor (the banana heel) and the gastrocnemius. The banana heel is full of thick veins of collagen and connected directly to the gramble cord, the cow's achilles heel.

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