Ox-head Brawn
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the head
Soak the ox-head in cold water for 1–2 hours.
Place the ox-head in a stew pan and cover with water.
Cook and shape
Boil slowly, then add vegetables and flavoring.
Once the meat is tender, strain it from the broth and remove all bones.
Cut the meat into small pieces while hot and season with salt and spiced pepper.
Press the seasoned meat tightly into a round brawn tin and let it cool.
Once cooled, turn it out and slice for breakfast or lunch.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Ox-head
- Supplies the meat and collagen that set into the firm, sliceable brawn.
- Vegetables
- Add aromatic flavor to the broth in which the head is slowly simmered.
- Spiced pepper
- Seasons the cut meat with warm, aromatic flavor before it is pressed into the tin.
The step that matters
Pressing the seasoned meat into the tin while hot. Collagen from the simmered head gelatinizes as the broth cools, binding the meat together. Pressing the meat tightly while it is still hot lets it set into a compact, sliceable block instead of loose pieces.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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