1kg bone in beef shin
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter or
1/2 onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 lemon, zest peeled off in wide strips with a vegetable peeler
1 head garlic, cut horizontally through the middle
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 cups red wine
2-3 cups beef broth
14 oz can whole tomatoes, hand-crushed
Directions
Season shanks with a sprinkle of salt and plenty of pepper. (The salt will help draw out some of the moisture from the meat and help it sear.)
Heat a large oven proof pot over medium heat and hit it with a good drizzle of olive oil. Add the butter. Sear the shin, turning carefully with tongs, until all sides are a rich brown color. Drizzle with a little more oil, if needed. (Do this in batches if the shanks are big and look crowded in the pot.) Remove the browned beef shin to a side plate. There will be a lot of flavor left over in the bottom of the pot. You’re going to use that to create your sauce.
Using the same pot, saute the onion, celery, carrots, lemon zest, bay leaves, and parsley over medium heat. Cook the vegetables down until they start to get some color. Season with salt and pepper; add a little oil if needed. Put the shin back in the pot. Pour in the wine and let it simmer down for 10 minutes, until the wine has reduced by half. Reducing is key for intense flavor. Add the beef broth, the halved garlic head and tomatoes and stir everything together.
Reduce heat to low, cover pan and simmer for about 2 hours or until the meat is falling off the bone. Preheat an oven to 180 C and pop it in there for another hour or so with the lid off. Make sure that the liquid reduces substantially as this will concentrate the flavour. Garnish with chopped parsley and lemon zest. Serve with Mashed Potato, rice or polenta.