by Sandra Piddock

Created on: April 08, 2010

When I was a girl, my mother cooked a pan of  shin of beef and vegetables every Wednesday. My father and brother would have a bowl on the day it was cooked, but Mother and I would feast off that lovely pan of shin for the next two or three days.

These days, people are wary of shin for two reasons. One is that, in these health conscious times we live in, the presence of that rich marbling of fat in the shin is looked on with as much horror as a cyanide capsule. Then there's the simple fact that people don't actually know how to cook it. Many butchers now mix shin in with other beef and label it 'stewing beef,' but it's still possible to buy shin, and it's a fraction of the cost of other cuts of beef.

If you've never eaten shin of beef, you don't know what they're missing. Cooked properly, shin is tasty and tender, with a unique flavour that's hard to describe. Shin meat is quite dark, and it has a very rich flavour, as if you've cooked it in red wine, even if you haven't. Does that make sense? Only I really don't know how else to put it.

Why not buy some shin and find out for yourself? My favourite shin recipe is Stifado. This wonderful stew, of Greek origin, can be cooked with any stewing meat, but shin is best. Here's how I cook Sifado. These ingredients will serve 4 - 6.

I kg shin of beef

1 large or two small cooking onions, chopped

1 - 2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tbsps olive oil

400g tin plum tomatoes, or same weight of peeled, chopped fresh tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato puree

Small glass red wine (optional)

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp dried thyme or oregano - or a mixture of the two

1 tbsp sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the shin into bite sized chunks, trimming off excess fat. Heat olive oil in a large pan, and brown the meat. Transfer meat to a casserole dish, add onions and garlic and cook until softened but not brown. Add the rest of the ingredients, and a little water if needed. The meat should be covered, but you don't want too much liquid. Don't be tempted to miss out the sugar - it helps to thicken the sauce.

Heat oven to 325F, 170C, Gas mark 3. Cook stifado for about 3 hours, stirring halfway through. The stew should be really thick, and the meat tender. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley or freeze dried parsley. Serve with mashed potatoes or rice.

I'm sure once you've tried this, you'll put shin of beef on your shopping list regularly. Enjoy!

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