Braised Ox Cheek Bourguignon
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1.2kg Ox cheek
- 100g Seasoned flour (plain flour, salt & pepper)
- 2.4ltr Veal or beef stock
- 600g Carrots
- 600g Onions
- 200g Tomato trimmings (skin & seeds)
- 100ml Madeira wine
- 300ml Red wine
- 1 Bouquet garni (rosemary, thyme, peppercorns & parsley stalks, tied in a leek parcel)
- 50g Whole garlic bulbs (cut in half across)
- 200ml Tomato juice
- 1 Knob Butter - unsalted
- 100g English parsley (chopped)
Method
Dry the meat on kitchen towel, dust with flour, shake off any excess. In a thick-bottomed pan brown the ox cheek in hot oil until dark golden. Drain and set aside.
In the same pan, heat a little more oil and brown the carrots and onions well, drain.
Wipe the pan dry, return the carrots, onion and ox cheek to the pan, add the red wine, reduce to a syrup consistency, then add the Madeira, reduce by half its volume.
Cover with the stock, add tomato juice, tomato trimmings, bouquet garni and garlic. Bring to the boil, cover with a cartouche (a disc of baking paper covering and directly on top of the braising liquid) and place in a low oven (140 oC) for 2 hours.
Remove pot from the oven, allow to cool until just warm, remove the meat into a clean deep pan, cover and set aside in a warm place, strain the braising liquor into another pan, squeezing as much juice as possible from the vegetables (discard the vegetables), check the consistency & seasoning of the braising liquor (if it needs to be thickened, gradually add a little corn flour whilst over the heat, when ready pour over the meat). Add the bourguignon garnish & a knob of butter, bring back to the boil and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes until everything is hot.
Finish with the sauce and chopped parsley.
Bourguignon Garnish
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 150g Pancetta lardons – cooked variety
- 200g Silverskin onions (or baby onions)
- 200g Small button mushrooms (prep & wash)
Method
Sauté the lardons & onions until nicely browned, drain, set aside.
Sauté the mushrooms until nicely browned, drain, add to the lardons & onions.
Carrot, Swede & Thyme Butter Puree
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 500g Carrots (peeled & roughly chopped)
- 250g Swede (peeled & roughly chopped)
- 50g Butter - unsalted (diced)
- 5g Thyme (picked)
- To taste Salt
- To taste Milled black pepper
Method
Place the carrot & swede in a pot, just cover with cold water, add good pinch of salt, bring to a rapid boil, cook until tender.
Drain the vegetables, keeping the cooking liquor, pass the vegetable through a Moulin (potato ricer) back into the pot whilst still hot.
Add the thyme & butter, mix well over the heat. If the mix appears too dry, add some of the retained cooking liquor to adjust (discard what you don’t need), check seasoning, serve.
