Easy to make, Shin Beef with onions a tasty recipe
Shin Beef and Onions
I thought I’d make a winter warmer of ‘shin and onions’. Shin is one of the cheapest cuts of beef and as I’ve said before you don’t have to spend a lot on meat to get a good tasty and wholesome meal.
You do however need a lot of time. Most cuts like shin require 3 to 4 hours slow stewing, or they will be as tough as boots.
Make friends with your local butcher and you’ll be surprised at what is on offer, and their knowledge of meat will make sure you make the best of every cut.
Osso Bucco
Shin can be bought on the bone and braised; there are several recipes where the shin is cut into steaks on the bone, in Italy, it is called ‘ osso bucco ’ cooked slowly with red wine, herbs, and tomatoes to make a tasty and very rich meal.
Osso Bucco
Chef's Tip for Tearless Onions
Peel the onion as usual, but leave the root on. [see picture above]
now carefully slice the the onion fron the root down. Depending how fine you want them make as many incisions as you want.
Now slice across the onion and you will produce a fine chop.
now throw away the root and cook the chopped onions.
Traditional British Recipe
However, this is a more traditional British way of cooking and preparing.
You will need;
Shin Beef, 1 ½ lb will be enough for four people unless everyone is very hungry and then… well you know your family best. It may look a little streaky, but that will all melt away with the cooking.
2 good sized onions, I tend to use the red ones or Spanish because they are sweeter than English, but that is your choice.
4 cloves of garlic or a heaped teaspoon of garlic powder. If you suffer from winter aches and stiffness, the powdered garlic will ease this if used regularly.
Coriander powder about a teaspoon. [if you follow my recipes then will know that I add this to many dishes.]
I also use a mixture of fresh herbs; mint, basil [which I grow on my kitchen windowsill] thyme and parsley.
Course chop the onions and sweat them in a deep frying pan with a little salt, when they are transparent add the garlic, and the herbs. Add a little olive oil and fry for about five minutes. Put this aside and reheat your pan add more oil or lard and a knob of butter. When this is very hot, add the meat making sure you seal every piece.
Put your cookpot in a preheated oven with just a drop of water and make sure the pot is warmed right through before you add the meat mixture. You can add vegetables, carrots, leeks or maybe some celery. Add two tablespoons of white wine vinegar, a cup of red wine, white if you prefer and bring to the boil. [ a note on cooking wine, if you don’t have proper cooking wine just use a nice wine. Don’t make the mistake of buying cheap wine for cooking, if it’s not fit to drink then what do you think it will do to your meal?
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 7, but as soon as you put the cook pot in drop the heat to 4 for another hour and then down to 2 for 2 more hours.
So set your timer and go put your feet up for awhile.
Once its cooked separate the meat from its juice and place this in a frying pan, add two tablespoons of water and a little flour. [ I use semolina or tapioca flour because it is low GI and that is better for me because I am diabetic.] you can use corn flour or ordinary plain flour.
Mix the meat back in and serve with veg, or put it in a pie with a nice thick crust.
Meals on a budget
To emphasise how cheap a meal this is, I bought the piece of shin in the photograph at four pound Sterling per kilo, or less than two pound a pound. our butcher also gave us the shin bone sawn into four pieces. The meat I have cut up into fourpieces and with a piece of bone in each bag I frozen them. For just £13 we have four family sized meals. It doesn't get much cheaper than that to feed your family.
If you are on a tight budget, make the effort and make this delicious and nutritious dish to satisfy the healthiest of appitites