Krombacher Beer – Slow Cooked Beef Shin Recipe

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23rd April 2017 celebrates St.George’s day in the UK but it also sees the celebration of the 501st Anniversary of the Reinheitsgrebot (also known as the German Brewing Laws or German Purity Laws) which is the oldest piece of food and drink law in the world; dating right back to 1516.  It states that only 4 ingredients may be used in the production of the beer; hops, malted barley, yeast and water. Therefore there are no additives or preservatives allowed to be added to the brew, ensuring the beer’s purity, taste and quality.  This also means that the beers are suitable for vegetarians/vegans as there are no animal products used to ‘clear’ the brew.

Krombacher is the largest brewer in Germany, and is the biggest family owned and operated brewery within Europe. Their beers have been made exclusively in Krombach since 1803, and are produced in accordance with the German Beer Purity Law of 1516.  Water is obtained from 48 wells, all within a 3km radius of the brewery, which is soft and low in mineral content making it perfect for brewing. Along with summer barley, Siegel hops and its own speciality cultivated yeast, it makes Krombacher beers be seen as the taste of its’ homeland.

It was first imported into the UK in 1987 and is growing in popularity here, where the range currently includes the Pilsner, Hell, Dark, Wizen, Radler, Low Alcoholic Pils and Low Alcohol Wizen.  You can find Krombacher in pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels throughout the UK, as well as from Majestic Wines, Beers of Europe and Noble Green Wines.  The low alcohol variations are also available from Dry Drinker.

Beef Shin in Kromacher Beer

Having been sent some of Krombacher’s beers and challenged to pair food or prepare a recipe to go with it, I created a deliciously rich, slow and succulent, beef shin cooked in their Dark beer recipe.  A quick call to my local butcher on Friday to place an order for some beef shin to collect yesterday morning and I was set for the challenge to create this tasty dinner for my family.  If you take the generic food groups, I almost managed to get this made with only 4 ingredients: vegetables, meat, grain and beer, along with a little bit of oil and some seasoning.

Beef Shin in Kromacher Beer

  • 15ml rapeseed oil
  • 2 sticks of celery, diced
  • 2 medium onions, diced
  • 2 medium carrots, diced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 500g beef shin, cubed (ask you butcher to do this for you)
  • 15ml / 1tbs plain flour
  • 500ml Krombacher Dark beer
  • 400g can chopped tomatoes
  • Salt & pepper to season
  1. Heat the oven to 180℃.
  2. In a large, hob/oven proof pan/casserole dish, add the oil and heat on the hob over a medium heat.
  3. Add the celery, carrots, onion and bay leaves.
  4. Stir and cook for 8-10 minutes until they’re just starting to soften but not colour.
  5. Add the beef and evenly sprinkle over the flour.
  6. Mix thoroughly to coat the meat and vegetables in the flour and to absorb any oil.

Beef Shin in Kromacher Beer

  1. Add the bottle of beer and the chopped tomatoes, along with salt and pepper to season.

Beef Shin in Kromacher Beer

  1. Stir to mix thoroughly then bring to the boil.
  2. Cover with a lid and place the pan/casserole dish into the oven to cook for 3-3½  hours, removing the lid for the final 30 minutes if you need to reduce and thicken the sauce further.

Beef Shin in Kromacher Beer

  1. The meat should be flaky and the sauce unctuous and thick.
  2. Serve with buttered mashed potatoes, green vegetables (kale or savoy cabbage) and some steamed carrots.

Beef Shin in Kromacher Beer

  1. Enjoy with a glass of cold Krombacher Dark beer!

Beef Shin in Kromacher Beer

This is a collaborative post.

Slow Cooked Shin of Beef

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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).

Slow cooked beef shin in Aldi Fleurie red wine

Slow cooked beef shin in Aldi Fleurie red wine

2. In a large casserole dish, heat 15ml of oil.

3. Fry the onions, carrots, celery and garlic until transparent, but not coloured.

Slow cooked beef shin in Aldi Fleurie red wine

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.

Slow cooked beef shin in Aldi Fleurie red wine

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.

Slow cooked beef shin in Aldi Fleurie red wine

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.

Slow cooked beef shin in Aldi Fleurie red wine

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.

Slow cooked beef shin in Aldi Fleurie red wine

Venison Tagine

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We love venison as its such a rich and lean meat that’s full of flavour and I was lucky to have been given a 3kg haunch of venison a while back by a colleague in exchange for making her daughter’s Christening cake. Her husband shot and butchered the venison, so I can be sure of it’s provenance.

 After boning the joint of meat, I divided it and used one portion to make a tagine in my slow cooker as follows:

500g Venison, cubed (you can use beef or lamb if you prefer)
30ml Rapeseed oil
2 Onions, sliced
2 Cloves of garlic, crushed
1tbs Ground coriander
1tbs Ground cumin
2tsp Ground ginger
1tsp Ground cinnamon
250ml Beef stock
400g tin Plum tomatoes
100g Dried apricots, chopped
2tbs Ground almonds
400g tin Chick peas, drained and rinsed

1. Heat the oil in a heavy based frying pan and fry the venison in batches until browned.
2. Transfer the venison into the base of your slow cooker.
3. Gently fry the onion & garlic in the pan for 5 minutes until softened, then add the ground coriander, cumin, ginger and cinnamon and fry gently for 2 minutes.
4. Add this onion & spice mixture to your venison in the slow cooker.
5. Pour your stock into your frying pan to deglaze and heat until just boiling.
6. Pour this stock mixture over your meat and spice mixture.
7. Add the plum tomatoes, chopped apricots, ground almonds and chick peas.
8. Stir well then place the lid on top.
9. Cook in the slow cooker on low for 12 hours or on medium for 8 hours.

Serve with cous cous and a little fresh, chopped coriander to garnish.

Slow cooked Cumberland Sausage Casserole

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I was recently sent a fantastic hamper of goodies from the Unilever Kitchen with which to create or re-visit a tried and tested, well loved, recipe for a wonderful autumnal/winter dish.  I chose to alter my favourite sausage casserole to use some of the ingredients contained within the hamper.

When creating your casserole, remember it’s cooking not baking so it’s not a precise science; add or take away ingredients that you do or don’t like, even alter the proportions to suit your taste if you want.


500ml Boiling water
1 Knorr Chicken stock pot
1 HEAPED tbs (20ml) Plain flour
1 HEAPED tbs (20ml) Tomato puree
1 HEAPED tbs (20ml) Maille wholegrain mustard
2tsp mixed herbs
1 can 400g chopped tomatoes
1 pack Cumberland sausages
1 medium swede, diced.
3 medium carrots, diced
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium parsnips, diced
1 red pepper, diced

This is the perfect recipe to make in your slow cooker so you can come home to the amazing smell of your hearty, warming dinner.

1. Make your stock using the Knorr Stock pot with the boiling water.
2. In the crock pot of your slow cooker, put your flour, tomato puree, mustard, herbs, chopped tomatoes and the stock then mix thoroughly.
3. Add the chopped vegetables and stir through.
4. Cut each sausage into 3 and add them to the crock pot (I don’t bother to brown mine as it’s a slow cooked recipe). You MAY need to add some more water at this stage. You want it to submerge the majority of your veg but not all.
5. Place the lid on and cook on medium for 6-8 hours.  The fantastic thing about a slow cooker is that it’s difficult to over-cook your food and you certainly don’t have to watch it cook either.
6. If you want to thicken your casserole up a bit more, remove the lid and turn the dial up to high for the final 30 minutes.
7.  Serve with boiled potatoes, mashed with some Flora Buttery and some lovely steamed Savoy cabbage.

 Perfect for a cold Autumn or Winter’s evening.

Now you’ve seen just how EASY it is to make your own casserole sauce, why not have a go for yourself the.Come back and tell me how you got on.


Rosie
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Thank you to the Unilever Kitchen for sending me the hamper containing items I’ve used to make this recipe.