Ingredients
- 700g beef cheek, diced
- Sea salt
- 2tbs vegetable oil
- 1 onion halved
- 300ml Guinness stout
- Juice of half an orange
- 2tbs cider vinegar
- 2tbs treacle
- Beef stock
- For the onion rings:
- 160g plain flour, plus extra for coating the onion rings
- 2tsp baking powder
- Sea salt and black pepper
- 200ml beer
- Vegetable oil, for frying the onion rings
- 1 medium onion
- To garnish:
- Handful fresh parsley leaves
- Handful fresh dill fronds
- Olive oil
- Juice of half a lemon
- Sea salt
- 4 floury baps
- 4tbs horseradish sauce
- Start by browning the beef. Heat a large nonstick pan and add the oil. Season the diced beef cheek with salt, then add to the pan with the two onion halves and cook on a high heat for two minutes, then turn the beef and cook for another two minutes until caramelised. Remove the beef and onion from the pan and set aside in a large bowl.
- Place a saucepan on the heat and add the Guinness, orange juice, cider vinegar and treacle. Stir and heat until the treacle dissolves into the liquid. Add the browned beef and onion halves into the saucepan, then add enough beef stock to cover the meat. Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat, cover with a lid and cook out slowly until the beef is soft (about 90 minutes).
- When the beef cheek is soft, remove the saucepan from the heat. Remove and discard the onion halves, then place a large nonstick pan on the heat and transfer the beef and liquid to the frying pan. Cook out on a medium-high heat to reduce the liquid to a glaze while basting the beef in the glaze as it reduces. When the sauce has reduced to a thick glaze, remove from the heat and set aside, ready for serving.
- While the glaze is reducing, make the onion ring batter. Add the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt and pepper to a bowl and stir together. Add the beer slowly, then whisk well by hand until a smooth light batter is formed; you don’t want the batter to be too thick.
- Place a small, heavy-based saucepan on a medium heat and add a good amount of vegetable oil, enough to have about an inch depth of oil in the saucepan.
- Peel the onion, and slice the onion into rings about 1½ cm wide, then separate into rings. Place the rings into a bowl with some plain flour in it to coat, then dip into the batter. To check if the oil is hot enough for the rings, drip a small amount of batter into the oil: you want it to gently sizzle straight away. Lift the onion ring out of the batter and let excess batter drip off, then carefully place the onion ring into the pot of oil with a small tongs. Allow to cook for two minutes, then turn with a tongs and cook on the other side for one minute or until golden brown and crispy. Remove and place on kitchen paper to drain off excess oil (keep cooked onion rings warm in the oven on a low heat while you cook the rest).
- Add the fresh parsley and dill to a bowl and lightly dress with olive oil, lemon juice and a pinch of salt.
- To serve, slice the baps in half and toast lightly. Spread the horseradish sauce over the base, then add the glazed beef and two onion rings. Top with a small amount of the dressed leaves.
