Braised featherblade of Beef

Feather blade of beef is an incredibly tasty and cheap cut of beef that, when cooked nice and slow, gives an incredibly soft velvet-like texture. The feather blade is lesser known and harder to get hold of – you probably won’t find it in your local supermarket – but any good butchers should have them. It’s cheaper than a steak too, so it’s a great alternative!

Info

Serves
4
Prep time
20 - 30 minutes
Cooking time
3 hours

Ingredients

  • tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 carrot, roughly diced – keep chunky
  • 1 white onion, roughly diced – keep chunky
  • 1 celery stick, roughly diced – keep chunky
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 4 featherblade steaks
  • 2 tablespoons tomato puree
  • 500ml beef stock
  • 175ml red wine
  • 1 teaspoon english mustard
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Method

  1. To start off, season your feather blade steaks generously with salt & pepper. Add your olive oil to a hot pan and place the feather blade steaks in for a couple of minutes to brown off on each side.

  2. Once browned, remove the steaks and place them in an ovenproof casserole dish.

  3. Add your chopped carrot, onion, garlic and celery to the hot frying pan with the beef juices (add a little more oil if needed). Brown the veg off for a few minutes. Once your veg is browned and slightly soft, add them into the casserole dish.

  4. Keep your heat on the frying pan and pour in the red wine to deglaze. Let it bubble away for a few minutes for the alcohol to burn off, then pour/spoon into the oven dish along with the steaks and veg.

  5. Add your tomato puree, thyme, bay leaf, English mustard and beef stock to the oven dish and season with a little salt and plenty of black pepper. Give it a little stir and make sure the steaks are submerged in the liquid (if you need to add a bit more stock then go ahead).

  6. Before you put the lid on your dish, place a layer of greaseproof baking paper on the top and then put the lid over – this will stop it from reducing too quickly!

  7. Place the dish in the oven at 140 degrees for 3 hours.

  8. Once 3 hours have passed, remove from the oven and, with a slotted spoon, remove and set the feather blade aside – leaving the juices and veg behind.

  9. Pass the remaining juices and veg through a sieve and into a pan (you can puree the veg through the sieve with the back of a spoon if you wish!). This will be your gravy, so simmer it down until you’re happy with the consistency. Add a touch of plain flour if you want to help thicken it up!

  10. Place your feather blade on a plate and serve with creamy mashed potato, your gravy and green beans or tender-stem broccoli.

  11. TIP

    You can view a photogragh of the finished recipe from the following link to the BBC Food website