Dexter Recipe

Pot roast topside using Dexter Beef

They call Dexter cattle the small cows with a big future — and they are. The success of the Dexter over the last 20 years has been outstanding and their popularity with farmers and consumers continues to increase, as they are a hardy, early-maturing breed that provides outstanding beef, renowned for both flavour and good marbling.
Neil Datson, from Glebe Farm, Spelsbury, has been farming Dexters for the past five years and is setting up a delivery service, which he hopes will soon include the southern region of Oxfordshire, should the demand be there. To help promote the Dexter cattle, which stand just 92cm to 107cm high, he is opening his 300-acre farm each Sunday during the summer, so that would-be customers can see his herd.

You will need: (serves 4-6)

Joint of Dexter topside weighing
2 1 /2 lb (1.15kg)
Selection of fresh vegetables, such as celery, carrots and onions
Selection of fresh herbs — particularly marjoram, parsley, thyme and bay leaf
Three cloves garlic (optional)
Half a bottle red wine
Quarter-pint (150ml) stock or water
Sunflower oil
Salt and freshly ground black peppercorns to season

Method:

Begin by browning the joint all over in hot oil, as this will give the finished dish extra flavour
Place the fresh herbs (and garlic cloves if used) in the bottom of a large braising dish and put the meat on top of them
Pour wine and stock into the pot, then add the vegetables so tha they surround the beef, having sliced them into suitable shape
Season with salt and freshly ground black peppercorns, and allow to cook slowly in the oven at 150C, 300F or gas mark 2 for at least two and a half hours
When the meat is done, remove both it and the vegetables from the pot, and keep them warm
Reduce the juices that are left by allowing them to bubble at a high heat. You are aiming to reduce them by half
Taste the sauce, adjust seasoning and strain into a gravy boat
Carve meat and serve with vegetables, new potatoes and the gravy