I’d originally wanted to cook Ox cheek, however neither of my two local butchers had any, and only one had some British shin of beef as an alternative, so that’s what I’ve used for today’s dinner. I’ve cooked this in 2/3 bottle of Aldi UK Fleurie red wine, from the Beaujolais region of France, but you could use an ale if you prefer.
30ml Rapeseed oil
2 medium onions, chopped
3 medium carrots, chopped
3 sticks of celery, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, bruised
2tbs Plain flour
Salt & pepper
2kg Shin of beef, diced
500ml red wine (or ale)
300ml beef stock
Handful of thyme, roughly chopped
2 Bay leaves
Stick of cinnamon
1. Preheat your oven to 180℃ (160℃ fan).
2. In a large casserole dish, heat 15ml of oil.
3. Fry the onions, carrots, celery and garlic until transparent, but not coloured.
4. Remove the vegetables to a bowl whilst you prepare the beef.
5. In a plastic bag, put the flour and season with salt and pepper.
6. Place the beef into the bag and toss to coat evenly. Shake off the excess.
7. Heat 15ml of oil in the casserole dish and fry the beef in batches until brown on all sides.
8. Remove the beef with the vegetables.
9. Add 100ml of the wine to the casserole dish and scrape the bottom of the dish to release all the flavours.
10. Add the rest of the wine, the beef stock, thyme, bay leaves and cinnamon stick, along with the browned beef and vegetables.
11. Give it a good stir to mix, put the lid on and put the casserole dish into the oven to cook.
12. Cook for 3-4 hours until the beef is tender and falls apart.
13. Remove the bay leaves, cinnamon stick and the garlic cloves.
14. Serve on a bed of chive mashed potatoes with some steamed savoy cabbage.
