by Neil Nicol

Created on: February 02, 2009

The process of braising meat is simply that by which we quickly seal the pieces of meat in a hot pan to prevent the juices escaping and making the meat tough, then cook them long and slow in a liquid. The most common liquid in which to cook them is of course beef stock but I like to add a little something extra to the stock, such as red wine, or as in this instance, brown ale. Note that shin of beef is one of the most inexpensive cuts of beef you can buy but if cooked for long enough in the correct fashion, it is equally one of the tastiest.

Braised Beef in Beer

You will require, in order to make this dish which will serve four:

2lb of shin of beef (cut against the grain in to bite sized pieces)

1 pint of brown ale (substitute with stout if you cannot get brown ale)

1 pint of fresh beef stock (please, no stock cubes!)

1 large carrot (sliced in to quarter inch thick discs)

2lb of potatoes (unpeeled and chopped in to required size)

1 onion (peeled and quartered down through the centre)

2 cloves of garlic (crushed or finely chopped)

Large pinch of dried thyme

Large pinch of dried sage

Brown the meat in a large stew pan over a high heat, stirring it around with a wooden spoon to minimise sticking. Add the hot stock, the brown ale, the thyme and the sage and bring to a boil. Stir thoroughly, scraping any stuck bits of meat from the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat until the stew is gently simmering, cover the pan and cook in this way for one and a half hours. Check on it every twenty minutes to half an hour and give it a gentle stir.

Prepare all your vegetables as described above and when the stew has been on for about an hour and a half, add them also to the pan. Stir thoroughly to mix everything together. Increase the heat to bring the mix back to the boil and simmer in a previous fashion to before for a further thirty to forty minutes, until the potatoes have softened.

I like to serve this stew in soup bowls, stock and all, along with some fresh crusty bread (still warm if possible.) I know we are not supposed to take bread with potatoes (two carbohydrates!) but an occasional indulgence can be a treat for us all. Alternatively, scoop out the meat and vegetables with a slotted spoon and serve on a conventional plate.

I hope you will try this delicious, one pan recipe and find out just how tasty a meal with such inexpensive ingredients as this can be.

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