Ingredients

2.5 kg boneless shin of beef or beef cheek

1 medium onion

1 large carrot

3 celery stalks

1 head of garlic

50g unsalted butter

3 springs of fresh thyme

1 bottle of red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon)

1 ½ litres beef stock

2 litres chicken stock

Vegetable oil for frying

Preparation

  1. Trim the shin of beef of all silver sinew and cut it into 5 cm pieces.
  2. Place it in a large bowl cover with red wine and leave for 24 hours.
  3. Drain the meat and place on a kitchen towel to remove any excess moisture, keeping the wine for use later on.
  4. Peel and chop the vegetables into 3 cm dice cut the garlic bulb in half
  5. Season the meat well with salt and colour in vegetable oil in a very hot pan until dark brown on all sides.
  6. Lift the meat out into a suitable casserole pan.
  7. Deglaze the browning pan with a little water and add this to the meat.
  8. Melt the butter in the pan and cook the vegetables in the butter until golden brown. Add these to the meat.
  9. Add the red wine to the casserole pan and reduce until it becomes a glaze.
  10. Add the thyme, garlic, beef and chicken stock to the casserole and bring it to the boil then place a paper lid on top and cook in an oven, pre-heated to 180◦C, for 2 ½ to 3 hours.
  11. Remove the casserole from the oven, the beef should be very tender so that you can cut it with a spoon and the sauce is rich and dark in colour.
  12. Allow the casserole to cool down before removing the beef and passing the sauce through a fine sieve.

To Serve: warm the pieces of beef in the sauce and serve in a large dish at the table with some mashed potatoes, and some boiled root vegetables