During Quentin Tarantino’s bloodthirsty western from 2015, there is a scene where they all tuck in to what looks like an awesome beef stew. Harry turned to me and said “That stew looks amazing, we’ve got to make it.” So here’s our version of it using shin of beef. This is melt in the mouth stuff – and easy to make – it just takes time. Feeds 8 (obviously!) Cooking time 3 hours.
Ingredients:
1kg beef shin – cut into chunks
2 medium white onions – peeled and roughly chopped
5 carrots, peeled and chopped into decent sized chunks
3 sticks celery, trimmed and roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 bay leaves and a sprig of thyme
2 tablespoon olive oil
Pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper
2 tablespoon flour
400ml beef stock
600ml Red Wine – (anything you would be happy to drink!)
Preheat your oven to as hot as it will go.
In an ovenproof casserole dish or saucepan, add the oil and gently fry the onions over a medium heat for 3 mins until softened, then add the carrots, celery, garlic and herbs and cook for a further 3 mins until everything has softened nicely.
Next, in a big bowl add the flour with some salt and pepper and toss the pieces of beef in it shaking off any excess. Now add the meat to the pan and brown it off for a few minutes, mixing it all together as you go along. Now add the beef stock and the wine.
Bring the whole lot to the boil , cover with a lid and put in the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 150ºC or 300ºF. Cook for 3 hours until the beef is really tender.
Serve with either rice or mash, or just a chunk of warm crusty bread and a glass of red.
Dode's Diner 