Forgotten what a really good old-fashioned beef stew is like? Try this simple slow-cooked recipe. Ox cheeks are now available again, usually conveniently prepared and frozen. Ox cheek has a really good flavour but is more subtle than oxtail. This recipe is also fine using shin of beef. (Serves 3-4)
Method
Slice the ox cheek into 6-8 slices. Gently heat some oil in a cast-iron casserole, lightly brown the meat then set meat aside on a plate. Chop onion coarsely and soften in casserole on a low heat. Slice the carrots thickly (slice diagonally to produce long ovals), add to onions, put on lid and sweat the veg down gently for a few minutes. Add the meat, lentils, pearl barley, bay leaves and red wine then cover with stock. (If to your taste, some mushrooms and a little softened celery could also be added) Put lid on casserole and cook in oven for about four hours (Check and stir two or three times during cooking and top-up liquid as required) 150 Degrees in a fan oven- no hotter. Season towards end of cooking if required ( I have not tried this in a slow-cooker, but expect it would be fine so long as the ingredients are browned/softened as above beforehand) The meat should now be very, very tender.
Serve with root mash (multi-mash). Boil any combination of potatoes, celeriac, parsnips and swede then mash with some butter. (Try a pinch of grated nutmeg in mash sometime)
Tip. When making multi-mash, cook a lot. You can freeze the remainder. This can later be used as it is, used to make a great bubble and squeak with left-over cabbage or sprouts, or used to make a cheese and onion pie.
Comments Add your comment
Wow - what an incredible recipe - definitely something I would order in a pub so I can't wait to try cooking it at home!
by JaimeRose on Wed Dec 9 2009 reply to this comment