The Priceless Cheaper Cuts

Every week, I make a menu for the next seven days and I make my shopping list from that list. I tend to stick to the list as much as possible, which is difficult when Drew comes with me, because somehow, packets of cookies, ice cream and snacks always sneak their way into the trolley. Also, when the farmers' market is in town, I'm often forced to do some major re-thinking.
One of the things I Love about the grocery store I frequent, besides the awesome customer service, is their butcher's counter. There's always a great selection of different and interesting things, including several 'forgotten' or cheaper cuts, which often makes me revise my menu a little. Partly because the price of these cuts can save a few quid, but also, it's fun to try something a little different and see what new and interesting textures can be achieved with different animal body parts.
This week, I had put shredded beef tacos down for Thursday, and was planning on using some beef chuck, but when I got to Waitrose, they had some ox cheeks for £4.32 per kilo (about $2.95 per lb) so I decided to give them a go.

This is a slooooooooow cooking recipe, which could definitely be done in a crock pot or slow cooker while you're at work instead of the oven, but I wouldn't skip the searing bit at the beginning, as it adds lovely flavour.

Ox Cheek and Black Bean Tacos
serves 4, Takes 30 minutes prep, 5 1/2 hours cooking time

900g (2 lbs)- approx 2- ox cheeks
1 medium onion, sliced
5 dried arbol chillies
1 ancho chilli, soaked for 5 minutes in boiling water, then thickly sliced.
2 cloves garlic, sliced
handful coriander (cilantro) stems
500ml (pint) good chicken stock
juice and zest of 1 lime
2 tsp coriander seeds

To serve:
Cooked black beans
Fresh pico de gallo*

Turn the oven on to 140C (290F) and heat a little lard or veg oil in a heavy bottomed skillet or frying pan over a med-high heat.
Season both sides of the cheeks well with salt and pepper and add to the hot skillet, leaving alone for a few minutes before turning and frying for another couple on the second side. When you have a nice brown colour on both sides, remove from the heat and set aside for a few minutes.

Add a little more oil to the pan and add the onions and garlic. Fry for a few minutes, until they begin to soften, then add the chillies, coriander seeds and stalks, stock and lime zest and juice. Bring to a simmer, then add the cheeks back to the pan and turn off the heat. Cover the pan tightly with foil and put in the oven for 5 1/2 hours, removing at 2 hours to make sure there's still liquid and to turn the meat over to finish cooking on the other side.
After 5 1/2 hours, remove from the oven and move the pieces of meat to a plate, discarding the cooking liquid and aromatics. Use a couple of forks to pull the meat apart into loose shreds, this will take very little effort, as all the connective tissue will have melted and the meat will be as soft as velvet. Taste the meat to check for seasoning, sprinkling over a littlesalt if need be.

Heat a non-stick frying pan over a med- high heat with a little more oil or lard and when nice and hot, add the meat to the pan. Leave for a couple of minutes, allowing the beef to get some crisp edges, before turning a little and frying much of the meat in the pan well.

Serve on warmed flour tortillas with black beans and pico de gallo.


For the pico de gallo:
De-seed three ripe tomatoes and chop into a small dice.
Chop half a red onion, and a large handful of fresh coriander.
De-seed and finely chop a fresh green chilli.
Mix together well with a few pinches of salt and the juice of a lime.
Beef Tacos

Patience Rewarded With Porky Perfection

I used to think I didn't like Mexican food. I spent far too much of my life eating in bad restaurants, believing that taco salads, 'fiesta rice' and sloppy grey tinned refried beans were Mexican food. And then I moved to Arizona.
Granted, AZ has its share of gringo-owned chains, decorated with dusty serapes and sombreros but luckily there are just as many independently owned little gems serving up exciting, vibrant regional dishes.

Because of the large Mexican population in Arizona and being married to the son of a Mexican, I came to LOVE their food and set about trying to perfect a few recipes.
My husband showed me how to make beans like his Grandma's and my friend David Schuttenberg, head Chef at El Cabrito in Manhattan, NY has been a brilliant source of recipes and inspiration. Here in the UK, we have born-again senorita Thomasina Miers educating British palates about the real deal in her Wahaca restaurants and on TV shows like Market Kitchen and The Wild Gourmets.

I have got a bit better understanding now of the ingredients and methods used in proper Mexican cookery and while I still have a TON to learn, I thought I'd give roasted pork shoulder a go. I had planned to make carnitas, but when the time came I just didn't fancy it, so I thought I'd slow roast my pork instead. Had I planned ahead, I would probably have brined the meat overnight first, but the result as it was was lovely.

The cooking time is long, but the amount of time spent doing actual work is minimal.

Chipotle-Rubbed, Roasted Pork Shoulder Tacos.
serves 4, takes 4 1/2 hours

1 kg (2/2lbs) free range pork shoulder (Skin ON if you can get it!)
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp ground chipotle chilli powder (Or hot, smoked paprika)
Boiling water
juice and zest of 1 lime
3 gloves garlic, halved.
tbsp coriander seeds
1 Medium onion, sliced
stems from a bunch of coriander
500ml (1 pint) homemade or good quality free-range chicken stock
250g dried pinto beans OR 2 cans cooked, ready to eat pinto beans

To serve-
handful celery leaves
handful coriander (cilantro) leaves
a few large handfuls shredded white cabbage
thinly sliced onions
sliced radishes
sliced green chilli
sliced ripe avocado
fresh lime juice
hot sauce (for me it's Frank's Red Hot)
Flour or corn tortillas

Crank your oven up as high as it will go and pop your kettle on to boil. In a roasting tin big enough to hold the pork, but not much much bigger, put the garlic, coriander seeds, lime zest, sliced onions, coriander stems, chicken stock and lime juice. If your butcher has not already scored the skin, use a very sharp knife to score through the top layer, into the fat but NOT into the meat. Place the pork on a wire rack in the sink and pour the kettleful of boiling water over the skin, which will make it shrink and the cuts open up. Rub the sea salt and chipotle (or as my husband calls it, 'chipplepoltlay' :-) all over the skin and rub well into the cuts and around the rest of the meat. Place the meat, skin-side-up in the roasting dish on top of the aromatics and pop in the oven.
leave the pork in the oven for 15 minutes, then turn the heat down to 150 degrees C (300F), remove the dish long enough to cover tightly with foil, then cook for 4 hours, removing the foil and cooking uncovered for the final 2 hours.

If you're using dried beans, start yesterday by soaking them over night in cold water, then simmer for 2.5 hours in unsalted water until tender. Season with salt once they're cooked.

If you're using canned beans, just warm them up in the can liquid over a low heat.

Remove your gorgeous, mahogany coloured piece of pork from the oven and set skin-side-down on a chopping board. Use a sharp knife to cut through the meat and skin, making large, rough chunks. (If the skin is too hard to cut through, separate it from the meat and cut through it separately, using the scores you made as a guide) The meat will be so tender, you'll be more pulling/squashing it apart than cutting it. Yum, right?

Serve heaps of this incredible, tender meat and crunchy skin in your tortillas with the crisp shredded cabbage, onions, radishes, avocados, herbs and chilli. Squeeze copious amounts of lime juice, sprinkle a little sea salt and some hot sauce over your tasty handfuls and try not to made obscene noises while you eat them. You can eat the beans either on the side or tucked in with the rest of the tasty goodness, which how I prefer them.

Pork Tacos