Slow-Cooked Ox Cheek, Crispy Chips & Salad

Calories: 1237 kcal (or 808kcal smaller portion)

Macros: 86g Protein, 64g Carb & 72g Fat

DESCRIPTION:

Have you have tried Ox Cheek? If you haven’t you are missing out big time! Wow… just wow. Think rich, deep, intense and meaty, whilst melting in your mouth with incredible succulence. Ox Cheek brings a balance of soft meat and rendered down nutrient dense fat, usually served in a little gravy for a truly pleasurable experience. As it’s so rich and soft, coupling this meat with some crispy and salty oven-cooked beef dripping chips and a delicately light salad offers texture balance and excitement for your taste buds. Add some extra depth by scooping a little Taramasalata on to your plate. This is… #foodheaven 😋

Now, a word of warning – this meal needs a little planning. The Ox Cheek starts incredibly tough. You need to render and tenderise this meat by slow cooking it, over 7 hours at 140 degrees. You can pretty much leave it alone, covered up, with just a couple stirs to prevent the outside crisping. Once cooked, it will tear apart with no effort. Yum!

For a smaller portion, drop to 250 Ox Cheek, 200g Potato and 20g Tara. This would save you 429 calories, without compromising on the flavours whatsoever.

Ox Cheek Slow Cook Time: 7h, 140 degrees, covered

Finishing Cook Time: 30mins

INGREDIENTS:

• Ox Cheek – 390g (1x Cheek)
• Water – 300ml
• Gluten Free Gravy granules – 1x tablespoon
• White Potatoes – 250g
• Beef Dripping – 10g
• Taramasalata – 60g
• Baby Plum Heirloom Tomatoes – 7x
• Cucumber – 50g
• Mixed Leaf Salad – ¼ x bag
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil – 1x teaspoon
• Rock Salt – ½ – 1 teaspoon (to taste)

NUTRIENT BENEFITS:

• Grass-fed Beef (Ox Cheek) is one of the most nutritious and complete foods you can eat, and is a great source of protein, Creatine and Carnosine, both very supportive to having developing and maintaining a lean physique and brain function. It is loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and various other nutrients that can have profound effects on health, such as Niacin, B12, B6, Iron, Zinc and Selenium. Grass-fed beef is even more nutritious than grain-fed, containing plenty of heart healthy Omega-3s, the fatty acid CLA, along with more Vitamins A and E.
• Taramasalata is made primarily from fish roe (taramas), usually from carp, cod, or mullet, and includes onion, olive oil, lemon, and pepper. So, you get all the health benefits of lemon, olive oil and onions, on top of the incredibly health benefits of marine Omega 3 fatty acids that is concentrated in fish eggs. It’s also high in vitamin D. The only word of caution is that this condiment is high in calories, so eat moderation.
• White Potatoes are an excellent source for vitamins C and B6, a good source for fibre and manganese, and have more potassium than bananas. However, potatoes have a high glycemic index value, they can cause blood sugar and insulin levels to rapidly rise. Consume in moderation, and don’t cook in seed oils.
• Beef Dripping / Tallow is a great fat to use for cooking, and should replace the inflammatory seed oils that are common place. It has healthy saturated fats our bodies rely on, Choline, Vitamin D, Vitamin E and Selenium, as well as Cholesterol. These fats don’t oxidise and turn inflammatory under cooking temperatures, and help with the transport of vitamins.
• Olive Oil is loaded with antioxidants that help protect the heart and blood cells from damage, and can also aid in weight loss and pain relief.
• Tomatoes are the major dietary source of the antioxidant lycopene. They are also a great source of vitamin C, potassium, folate and vitamin K. However, due to lectins present in their seeds and skin, some inflammatory response and sensitivities can occur with digesting tomatoes. Cooking and High pressure cooking, as well as removing the seeds can eliminate the lectins and make them more digestible.