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Ox Cheeks Stewed with Wine & Beer

This dish started as a boeuf bourguignon but has evolved into something a bit different. Simply, boeuf bourguignon is a beef and red wine stew. Purists believe that it should be made with a whole bottle of wine, use no stock and that the stewing veg should remain in the sauce. Needless to say, it’s delicious like this, but I’ve refined it by adding ox cheeks, which contain a mammoth amount of tooth-sucking gelatine and make for sticky, soft, falling-apart meat and a glossy sauce. I also add stock (for an even glossier and stickier sauce) and use a heady mix of wine, beer and spices to really bring it to life. I strain out the veg and I’ve ditched the classic bourguignon accompaniments as this is now a new dish with its own identity.

A note about the wine: Burgundy is famous for being home to some of the best vineyards and wines in the world. I love a glass of red wine and if I have the dosh always go for a good Burgundy over any other. I find Burgundy wines much lighter and more refined in flavour than other red wines.

SERVES 4

Preparation time 40 minutes

Cooking time 5 hours

3 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil or ghee

2 ox cheeks each weighing about 900g, cut in half

2 onions, roughly chopped

2 carrots, roughly chopped

1 leek, roughly chopped

1 head of garlic, cut in half horizontally

1 tbsp tomato purée

2 tsp plain flour

500ml full-bodied red wine

300ml decent ale (as dark as you like for flavour)

500ml fresh good-quality beef or veal stock

handful of celery leaves

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs of rosemary

4–5 sprigs of thyme

4–5 parsley stems

½ star anise

3 cloves

2 tbsp butter, ice-cold and cut into cubes

1 tbsp chopped parsley

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 160˚C/140˚C fan/gas mark 3. Heat a frying pan until really hot and pour in a tablespoon of oil. Season the ox cheeks all over and then fry them for 2–3 minutes on each side to caramelise the outside. Remove from the pan and set aside. Deglaze the pan with water or wine, scraping away at the base to pick up all the meaty residue. Pour the liquid into a cup and save for later.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a medium lidded casserole and add the onions, carrots and leek. Fry them over a medium heat for 5–8 minutes. For the last minute ramp up the heat and make space in the pan for the halved garlic bulb. Fry until the cut faces are golden, then remove from the pan and set aside with the ox cheeks. Keep the veggies moving around the pan while frying the garlic.

Now add the tomato purée and fry the vegetables until they are caramelised. Add the flour and coat the vegetables then cook for 1 minute. Pour over the wine, beer, stock and reserved glazing liquid and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat to a simmer and add the ox cheeks and garlic halves. Add the celery leaves, herbs and spices and then pop the lid on and put in the oven for 3 hours 30 minutes until the meat has become springy because the gelatine has softened and the sinew is starting to melt away.

Remove the cheeks from the stew, being careful not to let them break up, and lay them on a plate. Place a sieve over a large bowl and pour the liquor from the casserole into the sieve, pressing down on the vegetables to squeeze out all the juices. It’s the liquid you want, so throw away the braising veg; it will be fairly watery now with a hint of beefy flavour. Wash out the casserole and pour the liquid back into it. You are going to reduce the sauce to make the flavour really punchy. Put the casserole back on the hob, bring the liquid to the boil and simmer over a low heat. What you’re looking for is a rich reduced sauce that has thickened to an almost syrupy consistency and is full of meaty flavour.

Whisk in the butter over a low heat, until the sauce becomes super-shiny. Now you can return the cheeks to the pan. Stir through the parsley and then season to taste.