Slow-cooked shin of beef on the bone and potatoes

Slow-cooked shin of beef on the bone and potatoes

Winter

I know this food, but not from my life. The things we eat now are not from here. This dish is an emblem of something lost; of the rural, the physical. It is the bones of our fathers’ fathers, an obituary to the way we used to cook. But it is also, should you make it, a revival.

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3–4 thick slices of beef shin on the bone (about 1kg / 2lb 4oz)
  • 1 onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 celery sticks, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • a handful of sage leaves, cut into ribbons
  • 2 bay leaves
  • a large glass of hard cider (about 350ml / 12fl oz)
  • 700–800g (1lb 9oz–1lb 12oz) potatoes, peeled and cut into large pieces
  • a big handful of flat-leaf parsley, leaves finely chopped
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Get a good, slow-burning fire going. Set a large, wide, heavy-based pot over it – either by hanging it or sitting it on a grill. Add the oil and, when it’s hot, add the slices of beef. Season them all with plenty of salt and black pepper. You want to develop some deep colour on the meat. Turn the beef and brown the second side in the same way. Once the meat is lovely and caramelized, lift it out of the pan and set it aside.

Keep the pan over the heat. Add the onion, celery and garlic. Now add the sage and bay leaves. Stir this all well and season it with salt and pepper. Fry the vegetables until they are soft and sweet.

Return the beef to the pan and add the cider and enough water to cover the beef. Place a lid on the pan and bring it up to a gentle simmer. Cook for 3–4 hours, or until the beef is tender when you push at it with a spoon. It will certainly have come away from the bone, but the actual muscle should be soft and come apart in shards and strands if you pull at it.

At this point add the potatoes and, if you need to, an extra splash of water so they have enough liquid to cook in. Return the lid to the pan and continue to simmer over a nice, low heat for a further 30–40 minutes, or until the potatoes want to break up. Remove the pan from the heat and scatter over the chopped parsley. Season with salt and black pepper and serve with warm bread for dunking and mopping.

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