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|picked up some beef shin from the butchers the other day, and braised it in a litre of o'hara's extra stout, holy sh1t it was really really good!
Shin takes a while to cook tender (1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hrs) but the flavour you get from it is incredibly rich, much better than your regular 'diced beef' that you buy, and half the price.
Kicked the stuffing out of any 'beef and guinness stew' I've ever tasted and I'm a chef nearly 13 years now. heartily recommend

Sounds nice,but dont stop now,whats the rest of the ressy

This sort of thread should be banned on a Friday night when we've got the beer ready to go but NO food lined up <!-- s:P --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_razz.gif" alt="" title="Razz" /><!-- s:P -->

Will

500g x beef shin, diced
2 x onion, diced large (or whole peeled shallot)
2 x carrot, large
2 x celery stick
2 x clove garlic crushed
100g x chestnut mushroom (regular button is fine too)
750ml x O'Hara's extra stout (250ml is for the chef)
2 tablespoon x tomato puree
thyme

- season meat well then brown your beef in small batches with a little oil,( it should saute, not boil, use a wide bottom pan/pot)
- cut you veg into large chunks, it'll be braising for 2-2 1/2 hrs so, needs to be big or it'll disappear
- brown your onions on a high heat, add the rest of the veg and drop the heat to med, sweat the veg out till softened
-Add browned beef plus tomato paste,stirr in and cook it out, it should turn from red to a general rusty colour.
-Add stout, bring to boil, skim, then [u:14c27l30]simmer [/u:14c27l30]uncovered for 2 - 21/2 hrs. Skim every 30 mins.

check the meat after 2 hr, it should flake apart under the slightest pressure, continue simmering if not. If the jus is not thick enough for your personal taste, add a little corn flour(2teasp) mixed with a small amount of water to thicken things up, season well with plenty of salt and black pepper.

Shin is really cheap, and you might be put off with the heavy marbling of fat/sinew that you see going through it, but trust me, after 2 hrs slow braising in stout, this fat melts off the meat and blends into the jus, giving you and incredible rich flavour.Paired with o'hara's extra stout... Delicious!
Make sure you serve with mash potato that has plenty of salt and has at least 30% butter added to it.
I might stick this on our bar menu...any takers?

enjoy, I did!

yep, slow and low is the way to go. The so called 'cheap cuts' really do win out in terms of flavour.

Unfortunately I notice all the celeb chefs have been banging on about these cuts of meat and the downside is a lot of them are no longer cheap. Lamb shanks for instance.

Try beef cheek with it... By far the best cut to braised.. Incredible tender