Braised Beef Cheeks with Black Truffle Sauce

Braising is a technique where the liquid almost matters more than the meat. You can transform almost any tough cut of meat into something that's fork tender after a gentle three-hour simmer, but what separates a good braise from something great is the liquid you simmer the meat in.

I stumbled on a massive black truffle the other day at Tsukiji market and although black truffles from the northern hemisphere are past their winter peak, the price was right and I found myself daydreaming of what I'd do with this piece of black gold.

The usual move for me is to shave it over soft scrambled eggs, tamago kake gohan, or risotto, but I also had a pair of wagyu beef cheeks that had been sleeping in the freezer for almost a year. While delicious, these things need a solid three hours of low, slow heat to turn tender, and with summer coming in hot, I didn't want to risk having these sit in the freezer for another six months.

Most braised beef cheeks use red wine as the braising liquid, but between the wine's acidity and the garlic and aromatics that usually come along for the ride, these tend to have an assertive flavor that doesn't need any embellishing. For pungent peak-season truffles that may work, but I knew this bargain truffle didn't stand a chance.

Instead of a braising liquid that competes with the truffle, I built one that clears the floor and props it up with a solid foundation of umami. Sake, soy sauce, and konbu for glutamate. Dried shiitake for GMP (guanosine monophosphate), and the beef itself for IMP (inosine monophosphate). The blend of natural amino acids and nucleotides works together to multiply the umami of any dish. Some sugar caramelized until it's just shy of burnt cuts the richness of the beef and adds depth, without making things too sweet. I know the ingredient list reads a bit Japanese, but the finished dish tastes more French than anything else.

To finish it off I strained the braising liquid, skimmed off most of the fat, and blended in a knob of black truffle, along with some mustard to help emulsify things into a rich glossy truffle sauce. Spooned over the beef and mashed potatoes with more shaved truffle on top it's simply sublime.