Recipes: Ox Cheek Tacos

This is my favourite taco recipe! I love a meal that you can put in the slow cooker in the morning, and then it's minimal effort to finish off in the evening.

I buy the ox cheek from Swaledale Butchers, but I think it's available from some supermarkets too, and of course from your local butchers.

And the ancho chillies are from Mex Grocer, this is the best place in the UK for Mexican ingredients.

The ingredients and recipe are below...

1. Soak the ancho chillies in just boiled water for 20 minutes.

   
   

2. After 20 minutes, remove the seeds from the chillies and add them to a blender along with the garlic, tomato puree, cumin, coriander, hot chilli powder, onion, apple cider vinegar, and 2 tbsp of water. Blend until this becomes a smooth paste.

   
   

3. On the hob, add 1 tbsp oil to a frying pan and place on a medium-high heat. Brown the meat for a few minutes on each side. You might have to do this in two batches.

   
   

4. Put the paste from the blender into the slow cooker, add the beef stock and mix well. Then add in the browned ox cheek, and spoon some of the sauce over the top of the ox cheek.

   
   

5. Set the slow cooker to high and cook for 6 hours. I turned the ox cheeks a couple of times during the 6 hours.

   
   

6. Once the ox cheeks are soft and starting to fall apart, remove them from the slow cooker and shred using a couple of forks. Then add the meat back into the slow cooker, combining well with the sauce, and cook on low for another 30 minutes.

I served this on corn wraps with smashed avocado mixed with tajin, diced tomatoes and a squeeze of lime.

Enjoy!