Ingredients
For the ox cheeks
4 ox cheeks
750ml/1 pint 7fl oz port
3 litres/5 pints 5fl oz red wine
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 onions, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 tsp black peppercorns
sprig fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
sprig fresh rosemary
dash olive oil
2 litres/3 pints 10fl oz veal or beef stock
2 litres/3 pints 10fl oz chicken stock
For the smoked potato purée
2 handfuls oak wood chips
1 litre/1 pint 15fl oz milk
1kg/2lb 3¼oz ratte potatoes
250g/8¾oz unsalted butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp hickory essence (available in some supermarkets and online)
For the Dexter beef fillet
600g/1lb 5oz Dexter beef fillet (or other good quality rare breed beef fillet), trimmed, wrapped tightly in cling film to form a sausage shape
55g/2oz butter
4 baby artichokes, blanched
100g/3½oz brioche breadcrumbs
4 slices beef marrow, soaked in water overnight, drained well
small bunch fresh flatleaf parsley, chopped
Method
1. For the ox cheeks, place the ox cheeks, port, red wine, chopped vegetables, peppercorns and herbs into a large non-reactive bowl. Cover with cling film and leave to marinate in the fridge overnight.
2. Remove the ox cheeks from the marinade and pat dry on kitchen paper. Pour the marinade through a colander into a bowl to strain the chopped vegetables. Reserve the vegetables and the marinade liquor.
3. Heat a dash of olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, add the marinated ox cheeks and fry until golden-brown all over. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add the chopped vegetables to the pan and gently fry for 3-4 minutes. Add the marinade liquor and boil over a high heat until the volume of liquid has reduced by half.
4. Return the browned ox cheeks to the pan. Add both the stocks to the pan, bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for three-and-a-half hours, or until meltingly tender. Turn off the heat and allow the ox cheeks to cool in the stock Once cooled, remove the ox cheeks from the cooking liquor and place the ox cheeks into individual commercial vacuum pack bags.
5. Pass the cooking liquor through a sieve lined with a muslin cloth into a small saucepan. Boil over a high heat until reduced to a sauce consistency. Pour a small amount of the reduced liquor into each of the bags containing the ox cheeks and seal the bags. Keep the remaining sauce warm.
6. For the smoked potato purée, line a large heavy-based lidded pan with aluminium foil. Layer the oak wood chips on top of the foil. Place a small, shallow pan or other heatproof container on top of the wood chips (the smaller pan or container must fit comfortably in the larger pan and there should be a small gap between its rim and the lid of the larger pan. This is to enable the smoke to reach the contents of the small pan or container). Pour the milk into the small pan or container and cover the large pan with a lid. Place on the stove over a medium heat to smoke for 10-15 minutes, making sure the milk doesn't boil over. (NB: smoking generates a great deal of smoke. Be certain to work in a well-ventilated area.)
7. Meanwhile, cook the ratte potatoes, in their skins, in boiling salted water until tender. Drain, peel and pass through a drum sieve or potato ricer. Carefully remove the pan of milk from the smoking pan and pour into the potatoes. Add the butter, milk, salt, freshly ground black pepper and hickory essence and beat until the potatoes are smooth and fluffy.
8. For the Dexter beef fillet, unwrap the beef from the cling film, melt half of the butter in a frying pan, add the beef fillet and fry until golden-brown all over and cooked to your liking (use a meat thermometer to check the meat is cooked properly). Remove from the heat and leave the beef to rest on a warm plate for 3-4 minutes.
9. Add the artichokes to the pan and fry until golden-brown, then remove from the heat and keep warm.
10. Melt the rest of the butter in the frying pan, add the breadcrumbs, marrow and parsley and fry until golden-brown and the marrow is cooked through. Set aside and keep warm.
11. Place the vacuum packed ox cheeks in a pan of simmering water and gently warm through.
12. To serve, slice the beef fillet and divide equally among each of four serving plates. Halve the artichokes and place next to the fillet. Spoon the smoked potato purée alongside. Remove the ox cheeks from the bags, slice in half and place alongside the smoked potato purée. Drizzle over the sauce, garnish with the marrow and parsley breadcrumbs and serve.
