… an Italian stew using shin steaks a.k.a. shanks
… revised recipe to capture 90% of the flavor at 30% of the work
Two to four 1-1/2- to 2-inch-thick beef shin steaks or shanks (about 3 lb.)
- 1 cup wine (white or red)
- 1 cup water
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 small onion (red or yellow or sweet) , chopped (1-1/2 cups)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (up to 1 Tablespoon)
- 1 bay leaf
Get creative! – the following are individually optional, but the more, the better:
1 teaspoon rosemary leaves
½ teaspoon thyme
2 veggie, chicken or beef bouillon cubes – crumbled (enough to make 2 cups broth)
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
Definitely OPTIONAL: diced/shredded carrot (1/2 cup) and diced celery (1/2 cup)
Put everything but the meat in a slow cooker and stir a bit
Lay the shanks on top and set the slow cooker to 8-12 hours, depending on when you want to eat.
About a half hour before dinner, prepare some mashed potatoes, rice or noodles to serve with the meat.
About 10 minutes before dinner, prepare to make gravy, unless you opt for “au jus”. Turn off the slow cooker and ladle out as much liquid as you can into a saucepan. Skim off fat to the extent that it’s a priority for you. For thickening, mix ¼ cup water with 2 Tablespoons corn starch in a small bowl. Turn the saucepan heat to medium high, and when the broth boils, slowly stir in the corn starch mixture. Use only as much of the cornstarch mixture as you need to achieve the thickness you want. If the broth is boiling, the cornstarch thickening will be almost immediate.
Serve the meat over your potatoes/rice/noodles and ladle on the gravy (or “au jus” broth).
