Ox cheek cottage pie recipe: Adam Byatt's porter braise

Adam Byatt's ox cheek cottage pie trades mince for a three-hour porter braise, the slow cook that turns a cheap, hard-working cut into something a mash topping can barely contain.

Byatt built the dish at Trinity, his Clapham restaurant, where it helped win a Michelin star in 2016. His newest restaurant, Rosina in Wandsworth, joined the Michelin Guide's October selection for Great Britain and Ireland, decades after this pie first appeared on a menu.

Ingredients

A cheap cut earns a marrow bone the day it's braised long enough to deserve one.

• 1.5 kg ox cheek, trimmed and cut into four pieces
• 3 onions, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced, plus 1 carrot finely diced
• 1/2 leek, finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 star anise
• 5 g black peppercorns
• 1/2 bunch thyme
• 250 ml porter
• 1.5 litres chicken stock
• 2 beef marrow bones, about 10 cm long
• Vegetable oil, salt and black pepper
• 1 kg floury potatoes
• 50 g butter
• 120 ml whole milk
• A few sprigs rosemary, to finish

Method

1. Cook the sliced onions very slowly in oil, unsalted, for 20 minutes until deeply caramelised. Set aside.
2. Fry the sliced carrots hard with a pinch of salt and the star anise for 2 minutes, then cook 10 minutes until soft. Discard the anise, reserve.
3. Season the cheek and brown it hard on all sides in a very hot, oiled casserole; lift onto a rack.
4. Add the diced carrot, leek, garlic, pepper and thyme to the same pan, cook 5 minutes until golden, add the porter and reduce by three-quarters.
5. Return the cheek to the pan, cover with stock, bring to a simmer and skim. Cover and braise at 160°C (gas 3) for 3 hours.
6. Strain and reduce the liquid by half, then shred the meat and fold both through with the reserved thyme. Divide between two dishes, top with the onions and carrots, and push a marrow bone upright into each.
7. Bake the potatoes whole on coarse salt at 180°C (gas 4) for 45 minutes; rice the hot flesh, beat in warmed butter and milk, season, and pipe over the filling. Bake at 220°C (gas 7) for 12 minutes until golden.

Porter, stout or something darker

A dry stout works just as well as porter here, and a barley wine pushes it darker and sweeter. Pour what's left in the glass alongside the pie.

FAQ

Can I use beef shin instead of ox cheek? Yes, it braises in roughly the same time and shreds just as well.

Can the filling be made ahead? It improves overnight in the fridge; top with cold mash and bake a little longer to heat through.