Beef cheek, or ox cheek as it is commonly referred to, is a cut I’ve previously overlooked, not because of lack of  appeal but mainly as it’s not one I see regularly on butchery counters, or at my local farmers market.  After all, it’s not like buying steak as each  cow only yields two cheeks. Now that I’ve started cooking my way through Christopher Totter’s ,  The Whole Cow book, I’ve discovered that’s it’s not difficult to source these lesser cuts once you start talking to your butchers.

“Also known as ox cheeks, these are well worth seeking out for their rich, meaty flavour and tender gelatinous texture”

Not a dish to be hurried but a great meal for a busy weekend as most of the work is done in the oven

With a cooking time of 3 1/2 – 4 hours, this is not a dish to be hurried, and you will be rewarded with a rich, unctuous and comforting dish. Christopher’s recipe is served with orange gremolata, which I felt added a really citrussy and refreshing kick to the dish. The three beef cheeks fed six and I served with new potatoes and broccoli.

The orange gremolata added a refreshing flavour to the finished dish.

This was a real winner in our house and it’s a great dish for a busy weekend. Cook the day before and follow the tip (see below)  to wrap in cling film and chill overnight, before serving next day.  It’s a recipe I will certainly be cooking again and having grown to love cheaper cuts such as shin of beef in recent years, I’m looking forward to experimenting with beef cheeks in the near future.

A handy tip from Geoffrey Smeddle, chef and owner of the Peat Inn near St Andrews. Allow the cheeks to cool and then roll tightly in cling film and leave in the fridge to firm up. This will give a neat, even shape for slicing.

My thanks to the very talented chef and author Christopher Trotter for allowing me to reprint the recipe from The Whole Cow.  

The Whole Cow by Christopher Trotter is priced at £25. ISBN 978-1-86205-989-4

Another week, another food scandal and does it come as any great surprise that the lamb in your takeaway might not what it says on the label. I’d say not really, it’s another scandal in the country’s food industry that’s been plagued by fraud.  60 Samples of lamb dishes obtained from takeaways in London and Birmingham revealed 24 mixed with other meat, 7 of which contained only beef. And, the shocking thing is that the price for this cheap adulterated food is anything but cheap when passed on to the customer. Looking at the  menu for a Glasgow takeaway restaurant, it can cost anything from £4 for a donner kebab, with customers paying up to more than £8 for a mixed kebab. Given this latest scandal, perhaps the label of mixed kebab is more appropriate and obviously you can charge more for that! Multiply that by two or three and it’s an expensive family meal.

Regardless of what action the Government’s Food Standards Agency  plan, as they once again insist they are cracking down on food fraud, there is a more powerful solution. The consumer, the customer, the one who is paying for this seemingly growing fraudulent industry. Why we are prepared to pay for this, never mind eat it is beyond me, but what we can do is become part of a change. Last week I heard Philip Lymberry CEO of Compassion in World Farming comment during the ‘Politics in Food session in Glasgow,  that ‘food chain is under constant attack and we need to meet it with resistance’. The more small changes we all make is what will help that change.  He also said, ‘The revolution in food will come through evolutionery steps’.  

If  being part of that revolution appeals, there’s an easy place to start, cook your own food with fresh ingredients. Food that you can identify and know where it comes from. Not that difficult but everytime I champion this I receive numerous comments, not about being unable to cook but that people don’t have time to cook. Well, sticking my neck out again, that doesn’t wash with me. A healthy meal, especially a kebab can be cooked quicker than the time it will take to organise a takeaway. And on the cooking,  believe me it’s not rocket science, if you can’t cook, it’s possible to learn, even on a very tight budget.

To help you out, I’m sharing the kebab recipe I started making when my sons left home for university and thought that happiness was a donner kebab. It’s quick and easy to make and if time is a problem the meat can be left marinating in the fridge overnight.

A healthy home cooked kebab that beats any takeaway

This version is much healthier than any takeaway and can be made with any meat although I usually use lamb leg steaks, and serve on a large round pitta with salad, red onion, tomatoes, raita and a chili sauce.

Lamb kebab. Approx 6 lamb leg steak,  4 tsp Harissa paste- I use Belazu Rose Harissa, 2 tbsp oil – I tend to use rapeseed although olive will be fine.

Place the lamb steaks in a plastic bag , mix the Harissa and oil together and add to the lamb, mix well and leave to marinade either overnight or for a few hours.
When ready to cook, heat a griddle or grill and cook steak for approx 4 minutes each side or to your liking. When cooked serve on pita bread with the accompaniments.

An easy meal for all the family

Accompaniments.

Pitta bread…the large round pitta bread from Warburtons are ideal as you can lay kebab on top and fold.
Chopped tomatoes
Sliced red onion
Shredded lettuce

Chili sauce. 250ml Natural yogurt, 100 ml tomato ketchup, 1 tsp chili powder, 1tsp mint sauce. Add ingredients to bowl and mix together.

Raita. 250ml Natural yoghurt, half a cucumber-chopped, 1 tbsp chopped fresh mint, half Tsp ground roasted cumin seeds, pinch of cayenne pepper, Salt and pepper. Add ingredients to  a bowl and mix together.

I felt quite adventurous with the next recipe in my ‘nose to tail’ project, cooking every dish in Chef and author Christopher Trotter’s ‘The Whole Cow’ book‘. I decided to make corned beef, a dish I’ve never cooked, but the recipe looked quite straightforward and my local butcher, Drew, shared some of his tips, as well as providing me with a nice looking piece of brisket.

My early memories of corned beef are those square tins with the key and  dinner of what we called corned beef hash, really a mash as it was simply chopped corned beef mixed with mashed potatoes. In some places that’s called Stovies as I discovered when I was in Fife recently. This dish had fried onions and corned beef mixed through the mashed potatoes.

There’s an interesting chapter on preserved beef in the The Whole Cow and it gives an insight into the history of preserving meat – ” Salt acts as a preservative by drawing out the moisture: this stops  bacteria and moulds from growing because they need water to survive. There are two main methods of salting: rubbing with dry salt or soaking in brine, either of which may take a few days or several weeks”.

“Corned beef and the modern English term ‘salt beef’ are interchangeable, ‘corn’ being an old English word for any grain, including grains of salt. The classic recipe uses brisket or silverside (outside or bottom round), kept in a nice spiced brine for up to two weeks, the resulting meat is usually simmered with onions, carrots and bay leaves, until tender enough to cut with a fork. It’s the basis for the traditional English ‘boiled beef and carrots’, North America’s New England boiled dinner and the Irish- American corned beef and cabbage”.

The first stage was to brine the meat and the recipe advises soaking for at least 2 days or up to 7. As it was my first attempt, I decided to go around halfway and brined for almost 4 days. The brining was a simple process, make the salt cure, allow to cool and soak the meat for 2 days.

Brine. 2 litres cold water, 300g coarse sea salt, 200g coarse brown or granulated sugar, 2 bay leaves, 3 juniper berries, 1/2 tsp saltpetre (optional)

Put all the ingredients into a large pan and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the salt and sugar, then leave until cold. Put the meat  in a deep non reactive bowl and pour over the cold brine. Leave for at least 2 days, or up to 7

The brine can be used for many other types of meat and Christopher  also uses it for ox tongue, pork belly and breast of veal.

Cooking the corned beef was also a simple process, involving a few extra ingredients. 2 carrots, 1 onion studded with 8 cloves, base of a head of celery, 1 head of garlic, cut in half horizontally, bay leaf, thyme and rosemary.

Soak the brined beef in fresh cold water for about 2 hours. Put into a deep pan, cover with cold water, slowly bring to the boil and skim off the grey scum. Add the rest of the ingredients and reduce to a gentle simmer, partially cover and cook for 3 hours or until tender. Leave the cooked meat in it’s cooking liquid to cool slightly and then remove from the pan.

I was delighted with my effort. The beef was tender with subtle lingering  flavours of the herbs and spices. Christopher suggests slicing and serving hot with boiled potatoes and mustard or thinly slice for a sandwich, on rye bead with pickles and/or mustard.

The cooked corned beef can also be used to make Potted beef, a Scottish speciality sold in most butcher shops. The recipe in ‘The Whole Cow’ includes prunes, which is Christopher’s own take on the recipe, added after a cooking session with a chef  friend.

Potted Beef.  400g freshly cooked corned beef, with it’s cooking liquid, salt and pepper, 10 stoneless ready to eat prunes, ideally Agen, roughly chopped.

Leave the cooked corned beef in it’s cooking liquid to cool slightly, then remove from the pan. Simmer steadily to reduce the cooking liquid by half and then leave to cool.

Chop the beef into small chunks, mixing fat and lean meat, season with salt ( take care if you have brined for a long time) and black pepper.

Mix the prunes and add a little of the cooled stock, just enough to moisten ( about 4 tbsp) and then cram into an earthenware crock pot or bowl, cover and place in the fridge. It is best left for at least 48 hours and will keep happily for up to a week.

Like the corned beef, the potted beef was devoured by the Gillon boys before I could take a picture of the dish. It was a delicious and they enjoyed it with toast and chutney. The serving suggestion from Christopher is to serve from the dish with toast salad and piccalilli, but any tangy salsa will go well.

About the author. Christopher Trotter is a freelance chef and food writer, restaurant inspector and food consultant. As Fife’s Food Ambassador, he organises bespoke food tours around Scotland as well as running cookery classes. He is the author of several books, including the whole hog, Scottish Heritage Food and Cooking with Carol Wilson and the National Trust for Scotland’s The Scottish Kitchen  Follow hin on twitter – @CTScotfood or Facebook– /CTSCOTFOOD

ARTWORK – Thank you to Alice Strange for permission to reproduce the ‘cow’ artwork. A full selection of her work can be viewed on her website.