Beef Bourguignon

It has been snowy and magical, I love the snow so much, I love the way it makes the whole of the UK stand still. In any other country people would still go about their normal lives but not here, oh no....Quick it's snowing panic buy, panic buy, shut the schools, don't leave the house, woman get's some snow on her head, front page news ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
When it's freezing outside we all crave hot comfort food and beef bourguignon is perfect for this. I adapted Gordon Ramsey's recipe for this and it turned out perfectly and I really do recommend using shin beef, it's the perfect cut for this. I served mine with buttery mashed potato and celeriac, yum.

3 tsp goose fat or Butter and a splash of oil
 600g shin beef , cut into large chunks
100g smoked streaky bacon , sliced
350g Whole peeled shallots or pearl onions, peeled
250g chestnut mushrooms (about 20)
2 garlic cloves
1 bouquet garni
1 tbsp tomato purée
750ml bottle red wine

 I peeled my shallots, quartered my chestnut mushrooms, added the smoky bacon and sauteed everything in some goose fat.

I covered my chunks of shin beef in seasoned flour, browned in batches and then added them to the pan. I then added my bouquet garni, tomato past, red wine and 100ml of water and left to cook on the hob for about 2 hours half covered and then I transferred it to the oven totally covered for a further hour and a half. 

The long slow cooking of this bourguignon makes the meat literally melt in your mouth, so utterly delicious, especially when served with a pile of steaming butter celeriac mash.

Beef Shin Ragu

Beef shin is one of my favourite cuts of meat, It's amazing in slow cooked stews and pasta sauces and I would choose it over stewing or braising steak every time as I think it has more flavour and falls apart a bit more easily. Here is really easy recipe for a ragu sauce to go with pasta which I think is great food for the weather were having, it's not cold but bloody rainy!
Although this is a very easy dish to prepare and cook you need a whole day to do it as it's takes around 4/5 hours to cook but is very very worth it.

800g Beef Shin cut into chunks
2 Large Carrot
2 Large celery sticks or several smaller ones
2 onions
3 cloves of garlic
A tin of good quality tomatoes
A handful of cherry tomatoes
A squidge of tomato puree
2 bay leaves
2/3 sage leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
1 bottle of half decent red
500ml of good beef/chicken stock
Parmesan/Pecerino to sprinkle on top





 Fry the beef in batches so it brown's and does not steam and then remove the it to a plate, and set aside.


Add the diced vegetables and herbs to the casserole dish and sweat them gently for 10-15 minutes until soft but not coloured.


Return the meat to the pan, and add the wine, stock, and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer, then half cover it and simmer on the stove top for around 4/5 hours or you can put it in the oven if you prefer






When it's done serve with pasta, salad and a generous sprinkle of Parmesan

Beef Shin Stew

Hellloooooo summer where are you???? Were ready for you now, it's a bit miserable and grey here and everyone would really appreciate it if you just hurried up and started spreading all those lovely D vitamins around with your sunny rays, no....fine well F you then I'll just make a big vat of delicious stew and I don't even actually mind because I secretly prefer winter food anyway so I win.

Beef Shin Stew

Beef Shin cut into chunks
Beef Stock
Shallots
Carrots
Red wine
Bay Leaves
Seasoned Flour
Mushroom Ketchup

Cover your beef in seasoned flour and brown off in a big casserole dish, then add your peeled whole shallots and carrot's, fry gently for a few mins the add red wine, beef stock, bay leaves and a splash of mushroom ketchup.
transfer it into a pre heated oven and cook for as long as your dare or as long you have, I managed 3 and a half hours and I served it with mashed potatoes and savoy cabbage, lovely jubbley.

Rare Roast Beef and sweet chilli stir-fry

I always make a Roast dinner on a Sunday without fail and I know for a fact that it is the dish I do best with sticky goose fat potatoes and home-made Yorkshire pudding no matter what the meat is and this Sunday was no exception, I made roast beef with all the trimmings and ended up with Lot's of left over beef as it was large joint and there was only two of us. So today for lunch I raided the cupboard and fridge and made a stir-fry using Thai stick noodles, cabbage, broccoli, fish sauce, soy sauce and sweet chilli sauce, then at the very last moment I added thin slices of my lovely pink beef and all was well in the world.


I took this photo on my bed, don't know why I'm telling you but thought I would anyway. And I promise one day I will be a better photographer with a better camera and then my photo's won't be so shit...