What Is a Shin of Beef

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This recipe comes from the old school world of cooking! It is simply braised beef shin in a good quality beef stock until a knife is no longer required, then it is served on some spring asparagus and peas!

Braised Beef Shin with Bacon, Asparagus and Peas.

As far as I am concerned beef shin is the tastiest part of the cow! It is also known as shank or foreshank and it will come as no surprise that it comes from the lower part of the leg.

It is a hard-working cut of meat and as a result, it is a tough old bugger.

But as with all tougher cuts of meat treat them right and you will be rewarded with some of the tastiest meat you can buy.

It is also a lot cheaper than the more prized cuts of meat!

I use it in recipes as diverse as my Instant Pot Beef Ossobucco through to my Beef Vindaloo!

In this recipe it is braised in a good quality beef stock and then served on a bed of asparagus and peas cooked in bacon and butter… I know… Right????

The Secret to Braising.

Braising is the perfect cooking method for tougher cuts of meat.

It is a very gentle way of cooking, it is essentially what happens in both your slow cooker and Pressure cooker.

It is a wet method of cooking. The most important choice you have to make is to choose what the 'wet part' is.

Water, beer, stock, wine and any combination of these all work really well. I even braise this ham hock in soy sauce and black bean sauce!

This braised beef recipe is not designed to be served with a heavy sauce, so I want to impart the beef with even more beef. So I chose beef stock!

The second most important consideration is temperature. The lower the temperature the longer you will need to cook the meat.

I find 150°C or 300°F is perfect for this cut of meat, leaving it fork tender but not completely 'shreddable'.

You could also cook this in a slow cooker, they are great at braising tougher cuts of meat as these slow cooker lamb shanks demonstrate.

To swap the recipe simply swap the oven for the slow cooker and cook on low for 7-8 hours.

What to do with the Braising Liquid.

The first thing to say is 'whatever you do do not throw it away'!

This recipe takes already good stock and turns it up to 11 so we want to make sure we use it.

We have about a litre so quite a lot, fortunately, it freezes really well. Simply strain it and then allow it to return to room temperature.

Then skim off the fat and freeze in portions you are most likely to use.

For me, that is 250ml or 500ml portions.

As for using it up, then it would make a great stock in a Mushroom risotto. It would also make a spectacular base for this beef minestrone soup!

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours 15 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes

This simply braised beef shin steak is slowly simmered in aromats, beef stock and Worcestershire sauce until fork tender. Then it is served on a bed of peas and asparagus cooked in bacon and butter... Of course!

Ingredients

For the Beef

• 700 g Bone-in Beef Shin Steaks
• 2 Tbsp Canola Oil
• 200 g Onion
• 2 Sticks Celery
• 6 Garlic Cloves
• 4 Anchovy Fillets
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1l Beef Stock
• 2 Sprigs of Thyme

For the Asparagus and Peas

• 75 g Streaky Bacon
• 250 g Asapargus
• 150 g Peas
• 35 g Butter

Instructions

1. Heat a heavy based pan that can be placed in the oven over a medium high heat.
2. When hot add the oil.
3. Season the beef generously and then sear the beef shin steaks on both sides.
4. Roughly chop the anchovy, celery and onion.
5. Then bash the garlic with the side of a knife and remove the skin.
6. You should now be able to remove the beef and transfer to a plate.
7. Add the anchovies and cook for 60 seconds and then add the Worcestershire sauce.
8. Then quickly in with the celery, onions and garlic.
9. Cook these for 5 minutes or until they start to colour and then nestle in the beef along with any resting juices.
10. Pour over the beef stock, add the thyme and then taste adding salt and pepper as required.
11. Add a lid and then place in the oven and roast at 150°C or 300°F for 3 hours.
12. Roughly 15 minutes before the beef is ready to be served slice the bacon into batons.
13. Snap the asparagus to remove the woody ends and then cut off the spears, then chop the remaining stalks into 1cm long pieces.
14. Run the peas under cold water for a few minutes if you are using frozen to defrost them.
15. Heat a frying pan oiver a medium heat and cook the bacon for 5-7 minutes until crisped.
16. Add in the asparagus and cook for a further 3-4 minutes.
17. Throw in the butter and peas and cook for another 2 minutes.
18. Remove the beef from the oven and add 50 ml of the cooking liquid into the asparagus mix.
19. Serve the peas and asparagus with the beef served on top.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1303 Total Fat: 87g Saturated Fat: 32g Trans Fat: 1g Unsaturated Fat: 47g Cholesterol: 277mg Sodium: 2391mg Carbohydrates: 37g Fiber: 6g Sugar: 15g Protein: 91g

Calorific details are provided by a third-party application and are to be used as indicative figures only.

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Source: https://www.krumpli.co.uk/braised-beef-shin/

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