Sunday-Best Ox Cheek Braised in Red Wine with Horseradish Pommes Purée

⏱ 270 min · Serves 4

Ox cheek is the great bargain of butchery: four hours in the oven with red wine, thyme and a little orange peel turns it into something you can cut with a spoon, coated in a glossy, deeply savoury sauce. Underneath sits a silky, buttery pommes purée sharpened with fresh horseradish — the kind of plate that quietly outclasses most restaurant mains.

Per serving: 935 kcal · 63.0g protein · 56.0g carbs · 48.0g fat

Ingredients

• 4 ox cheeks (about 1.2kg total), trimmed of hard sinew
• 2 tbsp plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp beef dripping or vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 celery sticks, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 750ml bottle of full-bodied red wine (Syrah or Malbec)
• 500ml good beef stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 thyme sprigs
• 1 strip of orange peel
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 tbsp redcurrant jelly
• 1kg floury potatoes (Maris Piper or Desirée), peeled and cut into even chunks
• 150ml whole milk
• 100ml double cream
• 120g cold unsalted butter, diced
• 2–3 tbsp freshly grated horseradish (or 2 tbsp hot horseradish sauce)
• Sea salt and black pepper
• Small handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped, to finish

Method

1. Heat the oven to 150C/130C fan. Pat the ox cheeks very dry and dust all over with the seasoned flour.
2. Heat the dripping in a large casserole over medium-high heat and brown the cheeks hard on both sides, 4–5 minutes a side, in batches. Set aside on a plate.
3. Lower the heat, add the onion, carrots and celery and cook 10 minutes until golden at the edges. Stir in the garlic and tomato purée and cook 2 minutes more.
4. Pour in the wine, scraping the base, bring to a boil and let it bubble for 8–10 minutes to lose its raw edge and reduce by about a third.
5. Return the cheeks with any resting juices, add the stock, bay, thyme, orange peel and peppercorns. The liquid should almost cover the meat. Bring to a gentle simmer, lid on, and transfer to the oven.
6. Braise for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, turning the cheeks once at the halfway point, until a spoon slides through the meat with no resistance.
7. Lift the cheeks onto a warm plate and cover. Strain the liquid into a wide pan, pressing the vegetables to extract flavour, then discard them. Skim off the fat and boil the sauce hard for 12–15 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon. Whisk in the redcurrant jelly, taste and season. Return the cheeks to the sauce to glaze and keep warm.
8. Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in well-salted water until completely tender, 18–20 minutes. Drain and steam-dry in the pan for 2 minutes, then pass through a ricer or mouli back into the pan.
9. Warm the milk and cream together. Over low heat, beat the cold butter into the potato a few cubes at a time, then work in the hot milk and cream until glossy and spoonable. Fold in the horseradish and season generously.
10. Spoon the purée into warm bowls, make a dip with the back of the spoon, sit an ox cheek on top and spoon over plenty of sauce. Scatter with parsley and serve with buttered greens.