beef

Krombacher Beer – Slow Cooked Beef Shin Recipe

23rd April 2017 by Rosie

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.

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.

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

Heat the oven to 180℃.
In a large, hob/oven proof pan/casserole dish, add the oil and heat on the hob over a medium heat.
Add the celery, carrots, onion and bay leaves.
Stir and cook for 8-10 minutes until they’re just starting to soften but not colour.
Add the beef and evenly sprinkle over the flour.
Mix thoroughly to coat the meat and vegetables in the flour and to absorb any oil.

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

Stir to mix thoroughly then bring to the boil.
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.

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

Enjoy with a glass of cold Krombacher Dark beer!

This is a collaborative post.

Cottage Pie

17th October 2016 by Rosie

The summer is at an end, the nights are drawing in and it’s getting darker slightly earlier each evening. You can see the leaves turning their amazing hues of yellow, gold and red almost in front of your eyes, and there’s a distinct nip in the air to be felt. Shortly we’ll be putting our clocks back and that will signify the real start of the dark nights ahead until the promise of spring joins us once more.

At this time of year, what better meal to enjoy then a hearty Cottage Pie? Good quality, lean minced beef. Thick and delicious gravy enrobing the meat, topped off with a delightful, buttery soft mashed potato. It’s not a pretty dish for the eyes to behold, but it sure is a tasty one! Am I making you hungry yet?

I used 5% lean Angus Steak mince from Lidl and British grown Albert Bartlett potatoes (which I love for their taste and light, fluffy texture when cooked. Both of which have the Red Tractor mark of quality. To enjoy a meal as tasty as this, you’ll need:

15ml Rapeseed oil
1 large red onion, chopped
500g Lean minced beef
1 Knorr onion gravy pot
200ml Boiling water
50ml Red wine
10ml Worcester sauce
10ml Dried parsley
Salt & Pepper to season
4 Large Adrian Bartlett Potatoes, peeled & cut into 2-3cm pieces
100g Butter, cubed

Heat your oven to 200℃.
Gently heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion until soft, but not browned.
Add the mince and cook until browned.
Mix the stock pot with the boiling water, red wine and Worcester sauce, then add this to the mince along with the parsley.
Bring to the boil and season to taste.
Turn the heat down low and simmer, stirring occasionally, whilst you cook your potatoes.

Add your potatoes to a pan of cold water, bring to the boil and cook until soft.
Drain the potatoes, add the cubed butter, season and mash them really well (no lumps are welcome in this recipe!).
Pour the minced beef in to an ovenproof dish, then scoop the potatoes on top.
Spread out the potatoes to an even layer and rough the surface with a fork to allow parts of the potato topping to brown more than others.
Place the cottage pie in the oven and cook for 20 minutes until the top is a rich golden brown, and the gravy is just oozing up between the potatoes and the dish.

Remove from the oven and serve with generous amounts of vegetables.

Don’t forget, that when dinner tastes this good, it’s perfectly OK to go back for seconds.

This recipe was not sponsored or endorsed by either Lidl UK or by Adrian Bartlett potatoes.

Slow Cooked Shin of Beef

3rd April 2016 by Rosie

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.

Beef Cobbler

20th March 2016 by Rosie

I’m sharing a tasty meal for you to enjoy. It’s relatively quick and easy to make, so perfect for a midweek meal, and will feed a family when combined with fresh vegetables.

10ml vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped

500g minced beef

1 medium carrot, chopped

1 beef stock cube

1 Knorr herb flavour pot

15ml Bisto gravy powder

175g self raising flour

15ml cornflour

175g self raising flour

0.25ml Colemans mustard powder

Pinch salt

25g butter, cubed

25g Parmesan cheese, grated

50g Cheddar cheese, grated

2 eggs, beaten

Oven temperature: 200°C

1. In a saucepan, heat the oil gently and add the onion. Cook until starting to soften, but not brown.

2. Add the minced beef and cook until browned.

3. Add the chopped carrot and stir through.

4. Dissolve the stock cube in 100ml boiling water and add to the saucepan along with the Knorr flavour pot.

5. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and cook for 15 minutes until the carrots are softened.

6. To make the cobbler (scone) topping, in a large bowl place the flour and mustard powder and stir together to combine.

7. Add the cubed butter and, using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.

8. Stir in the cheeses.

9. Beat the eggs and add approx 2/3 of these to the flour and butter mixture. Combine with a fork until it starts to bind together, then knead gently until it forms a ball, adding more egg as required.

10. Turn the cobbler mix out onto a floured surface and gently roll out to a thickness of about 1cm.

11. Using a 5cm circular cutter, cut out as many rounds as you able to get from the mixture, re-forming and rolling as required. Set aside briefly whilst you thicken the minced beef.

12. Mix the Bisto and cornflour together and add cold water to mix to a runny paste, the consistency of single cream.

13. Increase the heat under the mince and return to the boil.

14. Add the Bisto and cornflour mixture and stir constantly until thickened. It is essential that you continue to stir this whilst it thickens or you will get a lumpy gravy!

15. Season to taste.

16. Transfer the mince to a heatproof dish and top with the cobbler rounds, overlapping as required.

17. Brush the top of the cobblers with the remaining beaten egg and transfer the dish to the oven.

18. Bake for 20 minutes, until the cobblers are browned.

19. Serve with plenty of freshly steamed vegetables.

Krombacher Beer – Slow Cooked Beef Shin Recipe

This is a collaborative post.

Cottage Pie

This recipe was not sponsored or endorsed by either Lidl UK or by Adrian Bartlett potatoes.

Slow Cooked Shin of Beef

Beef Cobbler

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