The Seasonal Larder: A Little Love for Beef Shin & Stewing Steak ❤️

By Emma Collen, Director & Food Addict at The Jericho Kitchen

There are some cuts of beef that simply reward a little time, and North Aston’s wonderful beef shin and stewing steak are two of them.

And while August might not immediately have you reaching for the casserole dish, that’s rather the beauty of them. Keep them tucked away in the freezer until the hot weather subsides or choose a cooler day to batch cook and freeze a few portions for later.

Come those short winter days, there is something rather wonderful about knowing dinner is already made. You can head out for a long walk, spend a few hours in the garden, go to the shops — or simply get on with your day — knowing that something delicious only needs gently reheating when you get home.

Beef shin is made for long, slow cooking. Its wonderful richness and texture make it perfect for an Italian ragù: slowly cooked with a soffritto of onion, carrot and celery, red wine and tomatoes until the beef falls apart and the sauce becomes deep, glossy and intensely savoury. Toss it through pappardelle or tagliatelle with plenty of Parmesan and you have one of the great comfort-food dinners.

Stewing steak gives you even more possibilities. There’s the classic Beef Bourguignon with red wine, mushrooms and shallots; a proper beef and ale casserole; Hungarian goulash; or a rich beef and mushroom pie.

But my favourite has to be the wonderfully simple Tuscan beef stew Peposo.

Tuscan Peposo

Peposo comes from Tuscany and is all about allowing a handful of good ingredients to do their work slowly. Beef, garlic, black pepper and a decent Chianti transform over several hours into something extraordinarily rich and delicious.

Serves 4–6

You will need:

• 1kg North Aston stewing steak, cut into generous chunks

• 6 garlic cloves, lightly crushed

• 2–3 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

• 500ml Chianti or another good Tuscan red wine

• 1 tbsp tomato purée

• 2 bay leaves

• Sea salt

• A small sprig of rosemary, optional

1. Put the beef into a heavy casserole with the garlic, black pepper, wine, tomato purée, bay leaves and a good pinch of salt. Add the rosemary if using.

2. Cover and cook at 150°C fan / 170°C conventional for around 2½–3 hours, checking occasionally, until the beef is beautifully tender.

3. Remove the lid for the final 30 minutes if the sauce needs to reduce. You are looking for something dark, rich and intensely beefy, with the wine reduced into a gorgeous sauce.

4. Serve it as they would in Tuscany with soft, creamy polenta, or simply with some good crusty bread to mop up every last bit of sauce. A pile of wilted cavolo nero or other seasonal greens alongside is all it needs.

5. And perhaps make double.

6. Half for tonight, half for the freezer — because on a cold, dark evening a few months from now, when dinner is ready almost before you’ve taken your coat off, you’ll be very glad you did.