Braised Ox Cheeks

Braised Ox Cheeks are a cheep cut of meat that when slow cooked over a long period allows the meat to break down and become very tender. Serve this with a creamy mash and winter greens or with suet dumplings.

Braised Ox Cheeks Ingredients:-
1KG Beef or Ox Cheeks trimmed of skin and fat and cut into large chunks
2 Celery sticks diced
1 Onion – medium – sliced
1 Leek, quartered and cut into chunks
3 Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
2 Carrots - large halved and cut into chunks
4/5 tablespoons of plain Flour to dust the Ox cheeks
Salt & Pepper
½ bottle red Wine – use Wine that you would drink
1 ltr Chicken Stock or you can use a stock cube with water
Thyme
300gm sliced or Button Mushrooms

Method:-
Trim the Ox cheeks and cut into cubes. Use a sharp knife as the Ox Cheeks will be quite tough to cut.
Take 4/5 tablespoons of plain Flour and season with salt and pepper and then add 1/2 a teaspoon of dried Thyme( if you can’t get fresh Thyme). Dip the Ox cheeks into the flour and pat off excess flour.
Save any excess flour.
Fry the Ox Cheeks until brown sealing in any juices. Do this in several batches so as not to fill the frying pan. Filling the Frying pan will cause a broiling effect and not a frying effect that we want.
Place the meat into a large oven proof Casserole dish.
In the same frying pan, fry off the Onion, Leek, Carrot, Celery and Garlic until they soften. Add in the saved excess flour and fry a little more before adding the vegetables to the Casserole dish. The cooked out flour will thicken the casserole. Poor the Wine into the frying pan and deglaze the pan. Bring the Wine to a boil and reduce by half then add to the Casserole dish. Add in two sprigs of fresh Thyme. Top the Casserole dish up with the Litre of chicken Stock and put into a pre heated oven and cook for 2 ½ to 3 hours at 150 degrees centigrade.
In the last half an hour remove the lid to allow sauce to thicken and toss in 300 grams of sliced or Button Mushrooms.
If you want a really thick sauce use a few tablespoons of cornflour and add a little water to make a paste. Add to the casserole and allow to cook and thicken the stock. Serve with a creamy mashed potato and steamed winter greens.