Porter-Braised Ox Cheek with Horseradish Mash
Two pairs of grass-fed ox cheek, browned in beef dripping and braised for three and a half hours in porter, bay and thyme until they surrender to a spoon, with a hot, creamy mash sharpened by fresh horseradish.
By the last week of October the clocks have gone back, the evenings close in early, and the oven becomes the warmest place in the house. This is the dish for it. Ox cheek is the hardest-working muscle on the animal, so it asks for time and gives back everything: a sticky, glossy sauce and meat that falls apart at the touch of a spoon. We brown it hard in beef dripping, then let it sink into a bath of dark porter, sweet onion and bay in a low oven while you do very little at all. A pile of buttery mash with a sharp hit of fresh horseradish is all it needs.
The cheek is the muscle that does the chewing. An ox spends its day grazing, which means this small, dense muscle on either side of the head works for hours, and a muscle that works hard is packed with collagen and flavour. Raw, it looks like a rather unpromising lump, dark red and wrapped in a silvery sheath of connective tissue. Cooked slowly, that collagen melts into gelatine and the whole thing turns glossy, rich and almost sticky on the lips.
When you buy, look for cheeks that are deep, even red with a firm, springy feel and no grey patches or sour smell. A little silverskin is natural and good, because it turns to gelatine in the pot, but any thick, hard sinew can be trimmed away with a sharp knife. Size matters too: a pair of cheeks should be roughly the same size so they braise evenly, and you want chunky, fist-sized pieces rather than thin scraps. Our cheeks come from grass-fed British cattle, and the slower-grown, pasture-raised beef has a deeper, more mineral flavour that stands up to a dark braise.
Allow one cheek per person as a generous main course, which is why we sell them by the pair and why this recipe uses two pairs for four people. Each cheek weighs roughly 400g raw and loses about a third of its weight during cooking, so do not be tempted to buy less. If you want to prepare them a day ahead, they only improve for it.
- 2 pairs Grass Fed Ox Cheek (4 cheeks, about 1.6kg), trimmed of any hard sinew
- 2 tsp flaky sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp plain flour, for dusting
- 3 tbsp beef dripping
- 2 large onions, thickly sliced
- 2 carrots, cut into 2cm chunks
- 2 celery sticks, cut into 2cm chunks
- 4 garlic cloves, left whole and bruised
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 500ml porter or stout (not a hoppy beer)
- 400ml good beef stock
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp redcurrant jelly
- 3 bay leaves
- 6 sprigs of thyme
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1kg Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and cut into even chunks
- 100g good butter, cubed
- 120ml whole milk, warmed
- 3 tbsp freshly grated horseradish (or 2 tbsp from a jar, drained, in a pinch)
- Flaky sea salt and white pepper
- Small handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- 1 small garlic clove, grated very finely
- 20g butter, to glaze the sauce
- Trim and season. Take the cheeks from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Trim off any hard, white sinew with a sharp knife but leave the thin silvery membrane, which will melt. Pat completely dry with kitchen paper, season all over with the salt and pepper, then dust lightly with the flour and shake off the excess. The flour helps the browning and thickens the sauce later.
- Heat the oven. Set the oven to 140°C (120°C fan), with a shelf low down. Choose a heavy, lidded casserole into which the four cheeks fit snugly in a single layer; a tight fit keeps them submerged in sauce and stops it evaporating.
- Brown the cheeks hard. Melt 2 tbsp of the beef dripping in the casserole over a medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the cheeks two at a time and leave them alone for 4 to 5 minutes a side, until they are a deep, mahogany brown all over. Do not crowd the pan or they will stew and turn grey. Lift out onto a plate and pour off any burnt fat, leaving the sticky brown residue.
- Soften the vegetables. Add the last spoon of dripping, then the onions, carrots and celery with a good pinch of salt. Cook over a medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, scraping up the browned bits, until the onions are soft and golden at the edges. Stir in the garlic and tomato purée and cook for 2 minutes until the purée darkens to a brick red.
- Deglaze with porter. Pour in the porter and let it bubble hard for 5 minutes to cook off the raw edge and reduce by about a third. Add the stock, Worcestershire sauce, redcurrant jelly, bay, thyme and peppercorns, and bring to a simmer.
- Return the cheeks and braise. Nestle the cheeks back in, along with any juices from the plate. The liquid should come about three-quarters of the way up the meat. Cover with a sheet of baking paper pressed onto the surface, then the lid. Slide into the oven and cook for 3½ hours.
- Turn and check. After 2 hours, turn the cheeks over gently and make sure they are still mostly submerged. They are ready when a spoon pushes through the thickest part with almost no resistance, and the meat has started to pull apart in long, glossy strands. If there is any firmness left, give them another 30 minutes.
- Make the mash. Around 40 minutes before the end, put the potatoes into cold, salted water, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until a knife slides through with no resistance. Drain well and leave in the colander to steam dry for 3 minutes. Pass through a ricer or mash until smooth, beat in the butter, then the warm milk a little at a time. Fold in the horseradish and season with salt and white pepper.
- Reduce the sauce. Lift the cheeks onto a warm plate and cover with foil. Strain the sauce into a wide pan, pressing the vegetables to extract their juice, and discard the solids. Skim off any fat that floats on top, then boil hard for 8 to 10 minutes until the sauce has reduced by about a third and coats the back of a spoon. Whisk in the 20g of butter off the heat for gloss, and taste for seasoning.
- Finish and serve. Mix the parsley, lemon zest and grated garlic together for the gremolata. Spoon the mash onto warm plates, set a cheek on top, ladle over the sauce and scatter with the gremolata. Serve at once.
Ox cheek is almost pure muscle fibre bound by collagen, and collagen is a tough protein until it is held between about 70°C and 90°C for a long time. At that temperature it slowly unwinds and dissolves into gelatine, which is what gives a braise its silky body and sticky, lip-coating sauce. A low oven at 140°C keeps the liquid below a simmer, so the fibres do not tighten and squeeze out their moisture while the collagen melts.
The hard browning at the start matters just as much. The Maillard reaction creates hundreds of new flavour compounds, and it only happens on a dry, hot surface, which is why the cheeks must be patted dry, floured lightly and left alone in the fat. Beef dripping is the right choice here, because it has a high smoke point and tastes of the same animal.
Porter is a quiet hero. Its roasted malt gives bitterness, depth and a faint chocolate note, while the residual sugars caramelise during the long reduction. The redcurrant jelly and Worcestershire balance the bitterness, and the horseradish in the mash brings a clean, sharp heat that cuts through the richness of all that gelatine.
If ox cheek is unavailable, use 1.2kg of beef shin cut into thick rounds, or chuck steak in 5cm chunks, and cook for the same time. Both are rich in collagen and give a similar result, though the texture will be slightly less uniform. Short ribs also work beautifully; allow an extra 30 minutes.
For the liquid, a good red wine such as a Rioja or Côtes du Rhône can replace the porter, and a spoonful of balsamic helps lift it. A dark ale or stout works equally well in place of porter. Swap thyme for rosemary or juniper berries if you like a more wintry, resinous note.
Not a fan of horseradish? Use a spoonful of English mustard in the mash, or swap it for celeriac and potato mash. Vegetarian guests can have the mash with roasted mushrooms and a sauce made with mushroom stock and the same porter.
This is a dish that is better the next day. Braise the cheeks as described, cool, then refrigerate in their sauce overnight. Lift off the solid layer of fat that sets on top, then reheat gently, covered, in a 160°C (140°C fan) oven for 30 to 40 minutes until hot through, and reduce the sauce on the hob.
Leftovers keep for 3 days in the fridge in a sealed container, submerged in sauce. The braise freezes very well for up to three months; defrost overnight in the fridge. Keep the mash fresh, as potato goes grainy once frozen.
- Under-browning the meat. Pale cheeks make a pale, flat sauce. Take the time to build a dark crust in batches, and make sure the meat is properly dry first.
- Cooking at too high a temperature. If the liquid is boiling rather than barely trembling, the muscle fibres tighten and the meat comes out stringy and dry. Keep the oven at 140°C and check with a thermometer if your oven runs hot.
- Taking them out too early. If a cheek still holds its shape firmly when you press it, the collagen has not finished melting. It needs more time, not more heat. Put it back and check again in 30 minutes.
Chill the braise overnight if you can. The fat sets into a solid disc on top, which lifts off in one piece, and the sauce can be reduced to perfect gloss the next day without any greasy skimming.
Wine: a robust red with some grip and spice, such as a Syrah from the northern Rhône, or a ripe Rioja Reserva. Beer: the rest of the porter, or a rich brown ale. Non-alcoholic: a cold, dry ginger beer with a squeeze of lime, or a dark cherry and sparkling water.
Buttered cavolo nero or kale, wilted with garlic, is the right green companion, and braised red cabbage with apple adds sweetness and acidity. Honey-roast parsnips or roasted carrots with thyme sit well alongside the mash. Put a dish of extra grated horseradish and a jar of English mustard on the table, and serve thick slices of crusty bread to mop up the sauce. For afters, a baked apple or a slice of sticky ginger parkin suits the season.
How long does ox cheek take to cook?
In a 140°C (120°C fan) oven, ox cheek needs about 3½ hours, and sometimes up to 4 hours, to become tender. It is ready when a spoon pushes through the thickest part with almost no resistance.
Do you need to brown ox cheek before braising?
Yes. Browning the cheeks in hot beef dripping creates deep roasted flavour that you cannot get from simmering alone, and it gives the sauce its rich colour. Pat the meat dry and brown it in batches for the best crust.
What is ox cheek similar to?
Ox cheek is similar to beef shin or short rib: all are hard-working, collagen-rich cuts that suit slow braising. Ox cheek has a finer grain and a more uniform, melting texture than shin, and is free of the large bone.
Can you cook ox cheek in a slow cooker?
Yes. Brown the cheeks and make the sauce on the hob, then transfer everything to the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 to 9 hours. Reduce the sauce in a pan at the end, as a slow cooker will not thicken it.
Can you freeze braised ox cheek?
Yes, braised ox cheek freezes well in its sauce for up to three months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat gently in a covered pan or a 160°C (140°C fan) oven until piping hot.
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