Why beef cheeks are the whole story here
The direct answer is simple: Evan LeRoy is using beef cheeks to show how LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue gets two different finished dishes from the same cut. The main muscle becomes sliced beef cheeks. The trim becomes barbacoa. Both start the same way, both get smoked, and both finish in tallow until the texture lands where he wants it. That is the central lesson of the video, and it is why this cook feels bigger than a backyard demo. It is a window into how the restaurant thinks about flavor, texture, and value at the same time.
LeRoy frames beef cheeks as the cut that made the restaurant famous, and he treats that not as a slogan but as a working idea. The meat is not pretty when it comes out of the package. It arrives scrappy, uneven, and hard to read at first glance. But that rough exterior is part of the appeal. Beef cheeks are loaded with connective tissue, and that connective tissue is exactly what gives the finished meat its sticky, tender quality.
How trimming separates the main muscle from the scraps
The first real work in the video is trimming, and the trimming does most of the thinking for you if you pay attention. LeRoy breaks the cheek down by finding the main muscle and separating it from the fat, gristle, and loose pieces that will become barbacoa. He is careful to point out that a sharp knife matters here because the cheek is difficult to cut cleanly even when the blade is doing its job.
That difficulty is not presented as a flaw. It is the sign that the cut has the structure he wants. He talks through the connective tissue, the silver skin, and the parts that look too chewy to keep. The point is not to remove every ugly-looking bit. The point is to isolate the portion he wants to slice later and send everything else into the second dish. In other words, nothing gets wasted just because it is irregular.
That approach gives the cook its shape. The viewer is not watching a fancy knife demo. He is watching a practical breakdown that turns one raw package into a restaurant system: one pile for sliced cheeks, one pile for barbacoa.
Seasoning, smoke, and the point of the first cook
Once the cheeks are trimmed, LeRoy seasons them with what he calls a Dalmatian rub: two parts black pepper to one part kosher salt, applied generously so the meat is completely coated. He uses the same seasoning on brisket and burgers at the restaurant, which tells you a lot about the flavor profile he is after. It is direct, beef-forward, and built to support the smoke rather than hide it.
The cheeks and barbacoa then go on the pit at roughly 250 to 275 degrees. LeRoy watches for visual cues rather than chasing a rigid clock. He wants the surface to darken, the rub to adhere, and the meat to start pushing moisture. That first stage is about smoke and bark, not final tenderness. It takes roughly four hours before the meat is ready for the next move.
He also makes clear that the barbacoa trim is not just thrown on because it would be a shame to discard it. It is there because the texture works. The smaller, scrappier pieces still have enough collagen and internal moisture to benefit from the same smoke-and-confit treatment, only they are meant to end up loose and pulled instead of cleanly sliced.
Why tallow confit changes the texture
After the first smoke, LeRoy adds tallow and tightly covers both pans. That move changes the cook from building smoke flavor to building tenderness. He says the goal is to push the meat past 200 degrees for the cheeks and higher than 212 for the barbacoa so the collagen can convert into gelatin. In plain terms, he wants the cheeks to become slice-tender and the barbacoa to become soft enough to pick apart.
The tallow matters because it keeps the meat from drying out while the covered finish does the heavy lifting. In the restaurant, LeRoy says they would usually use rendered beef tallow from their own trim. In this backyard version, he keeps things simple and uses bought tallow so the process is more approachable. That choice fits the whole video. He is showing a method that works in a home setup without pretending the restaurant version is identical.
This is also where the two versions of the same cut become visibly different. The cheeks stay intact and hold their shape. The barbacoa breaks down more completely. Both are tender, but they are tender in different ways.
What finished beef cheeks and barbacoa look and taste like
After resting, the cheeks are sliceable, glossy, and floppy in a way that tells you they are done without collapsing into shreds. LeRoy cuts across them in finger-width pieces and notes that the grain spiders out, which means the cut is forgiving. You do not have to obsess over exact direction the way you might with a brisket slice. The texture is what matters.
His tasting note is plain and useful: beefy, peppery, smoky, sticky, fatty, and delicious. That is the kind of description that tells you the method is working before you ever make the recipe yourself. The cheeks are supposed to feel rich and a little decadent, but still recognizable as slices of barbecue.
The barbacoa gets a different treatment. He pours off excess fat, picks through the meat, and keeps the pieces that look worth eating. He even says the confit might have benefited from a slightly earlier pull, which is one of the more useful moments in the video. It tells you he is not selling perfection. He is showing judgment. The finished barbacoa still looks tender, with just a bit more structure than he expected, and he is comfortable naming that difference instead of smoothing it over.
How Evan LeRoy serves them as tacos
The final plate is simple and very much in line with the way the video has been built. LeRoy heats tortillas, uses both corn and flour, and tops the tacos with onion, cilantro, salsa, and a squeeze of lime. He calls for “con todo,” which is the right attitude for a taco built on rich beef. The cheeks land in one taco and the barbacoa in another.
That contrast matters. The cheek taco reads like a Sunday morning breakfast taco with more structure. The barbacoa taco reads more like a late-night taco truck order. LeRoy does not over-explain the difference because he does not need to. The texture tells the story.
He closes by pointing back to the recipe as part of his new cookbook, but the stronger takeaway is broader than the book plug. This video shows why beef cheeks barbecue has become such an important part of the LeRoy and Lewis identity. It is flexible, resourceful, and specific. It turns one hard-to-read cut into two different finishes and then serves them in the most practical way possible: tacos.
That is the value of the cook. Not just that it tastes good, but that the method makes sense from start to finish.
Watch the original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhRAq2d57ng
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