Stewed Ox-Cheek

Ingredients

• 1 cheek
• salt and water
• 4-5 onions
• butter and flour
• 6 cloves
• 3 turnips
• 2 carrots
• 1 bay-leaf
• 1 head celery
• 1 bunch savoury herbs
• cayenne
• black pepper and salt to taste
• 1 oz butter
• 2 dessertspoonful flour
• 2 tablespoonful Chili vinegar
• 2 tablespoonful mushroom ketchup
• 2 tablespoonful port wine
• 2 tablespoonful Harvey's sauce

Instructions

1. Have the cheek boned, and prepare it the day before it is to be eaten, by cleaning and putting it to soak all night in salt and water.
2. The next day, wipe it dry and clean, and put it into a stewpan.
3. Just cover it with water, skim well when it boils, and let it gently simmer till the meat is quite tender.
4. Slice and fry 3 onions in a little butter and flour, and put them into the gravy;
5. add 2 whole onions, each stuck with 3 cloves, 3 turnips quartered, 2 carrots sliced, a bay-leaf, 1 head of celery, a bunch of herbs, and seasoning to taste of cayenne, black pepper, and salt.
6. Let these stew till perfectly tender;
7. then take out the cheek, divide into pieces fit to help at table, skim and strain the gravy, and thicken 1-1/2 pint of it with butter and flour in the above proportions.
8. Add the vinegar, ketchup, and port wine;
9. put in the pieces of cheek;
10. let the whole boil up, and serve quite hot.
11. Send it to table in a ragout-dish.
12. If the colour of the gravy should not be very good, add a tablespoonful of the browning, No. 108.