Beef shin with smoked dulse

Spring

With its striking oxblood hue, transparent when held up to the light, dulse seaweed is easy to recognize. It washes up on the beach, ready for gathering, often along the high-tide line, and looks like massive splayed hands and fingers. I collect it, wash it and cold smoke it for 8 to 12 hours to impart a flavour that is quite incredible. Dulse adds waves of intensity to this slowly cooked shin of beef, but you don’t have to smoke your own weed (so to speak) – you can buy ready-smoked dulse from companies that specialize in foraged seaweeds (try maraseaweed.com and irishseaweeds.com).

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or beef dripping
About 800g (1lb 12oz) shin of beef, in thick slices on or off the bone
2 onions, sliced
4 large garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
2 celery sticks, trimmed and thinly sliced
3 or 4 thyme sprigs
½ glass of red wine
2–3 teaspoons powdered smoked dulse, or 1 handful home-smoked dulse
300ml (10½fl oz) chicken stock or water
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Heat the oven to 120°C/235°F/gas mark 1.

Heat the oil or dripping in a large heavy-based flameproof casserole. Season the pieces of shin with salt and pepper, then put them in the pan to brown for 3–4 minutes on each side, until well-coloured all over. Remove from the pan and set aside on a plate.

Add the onions, garlic, celery and thyme to the pan and cook gently over a low heat, stirring regularly until the onions are soft but not coloured. Return the meat to the pan, then add the wine, dulse and stock or water and bring to a gentle simmer.

Place a lid on the casserole and put it in the oven for 4–5 hours, or until the meat shreds easily with a fork. Remove the casserole from the oven, season to taste, and allow the meat to rest for 25 minutes before serving with buttery mash.

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