How to Cook Ox Cheek: The Spanish Carrillada Braise, Step by Step

Why this cut needs time

The cheek is the muscle the animal chews with, and that constant work defines it. A muscle that moves a lot is a muscle with a lot of connective tissue, which means collagen. Raw, it comes with membranes on the outside, and it is nothing like a steak.

Collagen is tough when it is cooked fast: on a griddle an ox cheek would be inedible. With gentle heat and time, the same collagen breaks down into gelatine, the meat opens under a spoon and the sauce has body. Turning the heat up does not shorten the braise, it only dries the meat. The one real short cut is a pressure cooker.

What goes in the pot

• Ox cheeks, 250–300 g raw per person
• A little oil for browning
• Onion, carrot, leek and garlic
• Red wine, or Pedro Ximénez for the Andalusian version
• Stock to cover
• Salt

The method

1. Trim. Take off the outside membranes and surface fat with a thin knife and some patience. They do not melt the way the collagen inside does.
2. Brown. In the pot you will braise in, with a little oil, brown the cheeks on all sides. Lift them out. What sticks to the bottom is flavour for the sauce.
3. Soften the vegetables. In the same oil: onion, carrot, leek and garlic. Medium heat, no hurry, until they are soft.
4. Add wine and stock. Return the meat to the pot. Pour in the red wine and let the alcohol cook off. Then add stock to cover.
5. Cover and cook slowly. Lid on, heat low, the liquid barely moving. The test is not the clock: it is a knife going in with no resistance.
6. Blend and reduce the sauce. Take the meat out, blend the sauce with its vegetables and reduce it over a high heat until it has body. Put the meat back in the sauce and it is ready.

After a pressure cooker the sauce has to be reduced with the lid off, because nothing evaporates under pressure.

Red wine or Pedro Ximénez

The most widespread version uses red wine. The Andalusian version swaps it for Pedro Ximénez. The sauce comes out darker, with a touch of sweetness that suits this meat very well. Nothing else in the recipe changes.

Beef cheeks and ibérico pork cheeks are not the same

Cheeks from retinto yearling (añojo) are smaller and finer than those from a mature cow. Both are braised in the same way. Ibérico pork cheeks are another matter. They carry more fat and need less time. A recipe written for ibérico cheeks gives the wrong times for beef, and the other way round, and many Spanish recipes say only “carrilleras” without naming the animal. At a counter, say which you want: “carrilladas de ternera” for beef, “carrilladas de cerdo ibérico” for pork, and “limpias” if you would like the butcher to trim them.

How much to buy

Between 250 and 300 g raw per person. It sounds a lot, but ox cheek loses around 30% in the braise: 250–300 g raw leaves about 175–210 g on the plate.

• For 4 people: 1 to 1.2 kg raw.
• For 6 people: 1.5 to 1.8 kg raw.

Make it the day before

Ox cheek is one of those braises that improve overnight. The sauce settles and the meat soaks it up. With guests, that is an advantage: on the day all you do is warm it over a gentle heat.

What usually goes wrong

• Not trimming it. The membranes stay leathery on the plate.
• Too much heat. A rolling boil dries the meat before the collagen has melted.
• Serving the sauce unreduced. Watery, it is not the same dish.