Cooking with Jonny69: Braised Ox Cheek

[Jonny69]

I spotted an ox cheek in Waitrose, reduced on the butcher counter. I've never seen it before or even considered it a cut you can eat but it looked delicious and at 83p for a huge hunkachunk piece of red meat I figured I couldn't go far wrong

It's stewing meat, a slab of very dark coloured thick flesh with a nice marble of fat through it:

This one weighed about 0.5kg and I've taken a picture with a joke plastic dummy hand next to it to give you an idea of the size:

To cook I hunked it up into good size pieces:

Roughly chopped up some onions and carrots:

Coated the meat with flour, about 2 dessert spoons well seasoned with salt and pepper:

Brown the meat over a high heat and set aside. I used lard instead of oil because it adds lots of flavour compared to oil:

Then in some more lard add some colour to the vegetables:

The meat then goes back in the pan, I covered it with Old Speckled Hen ale, added 1/2 a stock cube, a tablespoon of tomato puree and left it to simmer for 3 hours. Before serving check the seasoning and dish it up with creamy mash:

It is absolutely PACKED with flavour and has a fantastic texture. I like oxtail but this tops it in terms of satisfying meaty stew flavour. It's my new favourite cut for stewing anyway

 

[whitecrook]

win. Just the meat,veg, stock cube and ale? if so - simples.

If I couldn't get ox cheek what alternate cut could I use.

 

[JAMAL]

Looks nice! i might con my girlfriend into eating this soon as if i told her what it was she wouldn't touch it

 

[Jonny69]

win. Just the meat,veg, stock cube and ale? if so - simples.

If I couldn't get ox cheek what alternate cut could I use.

I forgot, I put a tablespoon of tomato puree in as well. Any cut of stewing beef, so braising steak, shin of beef, beef skirt, oxtail etc. Just don't use steak because it goes very dry and tough in stew. You need a well used muscly cut with a bit of gristle and fat through it

 

[chrisxuk]

Yet another great cooking thread. Does look very nice

 

[Cybermyk]

Nice, good pictures too

I had a Turkey stew this evening. Still got a drumstick left

 

[teaboy5]

All that work for what looks like a small plate of food.

 

[Rich_L]

Looks tasty Jonny

Always like seeing your efforts with less 'fashionable' cuts, I'm a big fan of them too, very flavourful and IMO much more fun and interesting than generic steak and chips which, no matter how well it's cooked or cut, is still just steak and chips.

 

[HeadlessChicken]

All that work for what looks like a small plate of food.

How wrong you are! Virtually no work, and can easily be multiplied for bigger batches with little more input!

I did almost the exact same dish last night, but with some braising steak. Used some Adnam's bitter, was blooming lovely. I mixed in a little whole grain mustard to the mash to give it a little extra zing.

Thumbs up mate, this is my kind of cooking

 

[MarkDavis]

Nice write up. Looks like a beef stew. Are the cheeks more tender than cuts of stewing beef?

 

[Jonny69]

Always like seeing your efforts with less 'fashionable' cuts, I'm a big fan of them too, very flavourful and IMO much more fun and interesting than generic steak and chips which, no matter how well it's cooked or cut, is still just steak and chips.

I'd probably agree with that, Rich. Stew isn't just stew when you use something interesting, it becomes something a bit different and with cuts as tasty as cheek I'm really surprised nobody uses it. I guess it's the thought of a plate of cow face that puts people off

All that work for what looks like a small plate of food.

Don't worry fella, there was plenty of seconds, thirds and another meal. That was the 'starter' eating bowl for the photo

 

[K.C. Leblanc]

All that work for what looks like a small plate of food.

Considering the size of the piece of meat I suspect he got several portions. Not really much work either. Probably only took 15 minutes.

How much flour did you use Johnny?

 

[Cosimo]

All that work for what looks like a small plate of food.

But it looks and I bet is very tasty.

 

[Jonny69]

Nice write up. Looks like a beef stew. Are the cheeks more tender than cuts of stewing beef?

I think it's much tougher because it's a very used muscle and very dense, but you just cook it longer (like oxtail) and it literally melts in the mouth. If you stew cuts like shin for that long they dry out and fall apart but the cheek holds together and it's got a lovely meaty texture

 

[Jonny69]

Considering the size of the piece of meat I suspect he got several portions. Not really much work either. Probably only took 15 minutes.

How much flour did you use Johnny?

Good point! About 2 dessert spoons.

 

[HeadlessChicken]

Good point! About 2 dessert spoons.

You can always mix a little cornflour and water, & add it just before serving if it isn't quite as thick as you'd like it

 

[Rich_L]

I'd probably agree with that, Rich. Stew isn't just stew when you use something interesting, it becomes something a bit different and with cuts as tasty as cheek I'm really surprised nobody uses it. I guess it's the thought of a plate of cow face that puts people off

You'd like (if you haven't read it already) some of the Gordon Ramsey pub food recipes, I live opposite his pub, the Narrow, and have had some amazing food there - he uses a lot of the less well-known cuts and offal and it's awesome.

i.e. devilled kidneys on toast, braised ox-tail, braised featherblade, stuff like that - nomnomnom

 

[Jonny69]

I got the cookbook for Christmas - yaaay!

 

[Glaucus]

Looks great, still haven't got round to trying it.

 

[p4radox]

That looks really tasty, might have to try and find me some ox cheek.