Beef and oysters is a classic British dish. We braise the beef cheek in beer and honey, so it gives bitter and sweet flavours. The secret of the dish is the marinade: you need to make sure you marinate in a good quality beer, and then cook the beef in the pressure cooker very gently. You’ll end up with an unctuous and tender piece of cheek. There’s an emulsion of oysters, so you get a great umami hit, and then the dish is finished with some sea vegetables, and onions marinated in pickling juice.
Beef marinade
2 bottles of Roaring Meg beer
2 sprigs of thyme
2 sprigs of rosemary
10 juniper berries, crushed
8 cloves of garlic, crushed
50g honey
500ml Aspall’s organic apple cyder vinegar
Beef cheek
3kg beef cheek, silver skin and sinew removed, cut into 10 portions
500ml brown chicken stock
500ml white chicken stock
Pickled shallots
1 large shallot, thinly sliced on a mandoline
50ml pickling juice
Sea vegetables
20g sea purslane
20g rock samphire
20g stone crop
Oyster emulsion
2 egg yolks
2 oysters
Squeeze of lemon juice
200ml parsley oil
Fine salt to taste
To serve
100 wild garlic flowers
Method
Beef Marinade
Mix all the ingredients together and store in a container until needed.
Beef cheek
Place the beef cheek in the marinade for 24 hours, drain and strain the liquid and pour it into a pressure cooker. Reduce to a glossy syrup without the lid on. Add the brown and white chicken stock and bring up to the boil. Take off the heat. Heat a pan and sauté the beef cheek until brown all over. Add this to the pressure cooker along with any pan juices. Bring up to full pressure and then turn down the heat a little and cook for 45 minutes. Take off the heat and leave to cool in the pan; the cheek will be reheated in this later.
Pickled shallots
Place the shallots in a sous vide bag and cover with some of the pickling juice. Compress on full and leave in the bag until needed.
Sea vegetables
Blanch the sea vegetables in boiling salted water. Refresh in ice-cold water. Strain through a colander and store in an airtight container until needed.
Oyster emulsion
Place the egg yolks, oysters and lemon juice in a blender and blend on its lowest speed. Once emulsified slowly add the oil until it forms a mayonnaise-like consistency. Pass the emulsion and check the seasoning. Store in an airtight container until needed.
Sat Bains is shortlisted for the AA Chef of the Year Award 2016. Voted for by chefs all around the UK, this year’s winner will be announced at theAA Hospitality Awardson 26th September.
Find out more about the culinary career of Sat Bains