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I love beef cheeks in long braises (or in the pressure cooker), so they should work great in a stew like peposo! I also see some peposo recipes using beef shins, another cut that you don't see that often and is tasty as well, although not as luscious in texture compared to cheeks.

I have a freezer full of venison which we have been casseroling, currying, meatballing and cooking in a variety of other ways, so yesterday I told the wife “no red meat for a couple of days”. I went into the butcher shop to buy some chicken (chicken noodle soup) and some duck (duck legs roasted on sliced potatoes) when I saw these Jarret de boeuf looking at me and begging me to take them home. They are really just beef shin served on the bone, similar to osso buco but they looked very appealing. A quick google informs me that the dish called Jarret de Boeuf is African in origin, with Chad being the place it is most associated with. So do I find an African/Chad recipe or go traditional U.K. and cook them in ale or Guinness. I shall ponder today whilst doing the Christmas shopping in the County Town of Chelmsford. Whatever way I decide, they will be cooked today and left refrigerated in their sauce for an evening meal on Monday or Tuesday.

A couple of recent meals. Fried rice. Rice bran oil, garlic, "fish sauce" (containing whole anchovies w/ chillies, ginger & galangal inter alia) (Mam ca com an lien), sliced beef, broccoli florets & stems, green cabbage, garlic, several-days-old-rice, Maggi sauce. Deep-fried chả giò chay, w/ green cabbage drizzled w/ okonomi sauce. Beef shin & beef chuck stewed w/ peanut oil, sliced ginger, shiro miso, water, dried Chinese mushrooms (rehydrated) plus the soaking water, dried wood-ear fungus (rehydrated), bamboo shoots (packaged, “fresh”/in water; pre-simmered in salted water & drained), dried tofu rolls (yuba rolls) (pre-soaked), a few dashes of Maggi sauce, hon-mirin, jozo-mirin.

Thanks, Dave W & Shelby. ----------------------------------------- A meal a few days ago. Eggs w/ celery, using a tamagoyaki-like egg mixture. Allowed to brown, with the sugars in it. Brussels sprouts fried rice, w/ julienned ginger & stuff. Beef stew. Rice bran oil, beef short ribs, beef shin, sea salt, water, shallots, Klondike Golds, heirloom carrots, Maggi sauce, oregano, thyme.

Comfort food. Stew. Oil, garlic, beef shin, salt, stock, water, simmer; daikon, carrots, red & yellow onion, celery, whole cloves, cinnamon/canela stick, simmer. More eaten later w/ rice.

I normally remove the membrane but this time the roe is left whole. Sichuan chili in oil and sesame oil on top. There was also a beef shin broth with maitake on the side.

Beef shin braised w/ bamboo shoots & stuff. Beef shins cut into rounds, tossed in pot w/ lots of garlic & enough oil. Slurry of mutenka shiro miso added, "sauté" a bit, water added, simmered. Sliced pre-treated** fresh bamboo shoots added, simmering continued; fresh wood-ear fungus also went in, simmer some more. Seasoning adjusted. Left it cooking for longer than intended, about 3+ hours. The shin rounds were disintegrating and some care was needed to extract partially-intact rounds. Plated w/ the bamboo slices, some of the fungus, blanched kai choy hearts (large-leaved mustard) and egg noodles¶¶ with the sauce/braising liquid drizzled over everything. ** Fresh bamboo shoots cut into halves, bracts and other harder/unwanted stuff peeled off/cut off, sliced up, simmered in salted water for about 3/4 hr then drained and rinsed w/ fresh water. The heat treatment removes cyanogenic glycosides. ¶¶I used Cipriani tagliarelle cooked per the instructions. On the way there: Beef shins (plus peeled lightly crushed garlic), whole and cut into rounds. Shin rounds in pot w/ garlic & oil. Bamboo shoots whole and one of them halved.

Various meals. Leftover beef shins braised w/ bamboo shoots (from here) augmented w/ stuff, over softened mei fun (thin rice noodles). It was re-simmered w/ "Spiced Dry Tofu" (五香厚干; this one) [Wen's Food], pre-soaked & trimmed wood-ear fungus, salt & some stock, and I don't remember what else. Bunching broccoli florets [Nading Farm] Blanched in simmering water, dressed w/ a mixture of rice bran oil, oyster sauce diluted w/ water, ground white pepper, then drizzled w/ some lemon-"ponzu" sauce [Kikkoman]. Remainder of the garlic chicken from here re-simmered w. stuff, over hand-made min sin (手工麵線; Fuzhou-type thin wheat noodles; a.k.a. misua) [Hung-Ming (Taiwanese brand)]. Stuff was simmered w/ more Western celery plus generous Chinese celery, shallots, hon-mirin [Takara], AgroDolce Bianco Delizia Estense, a scoop of gelatin-heavy chicken stock, dried bay leaves, crushed black peppercorns, this-and-that. Garnished w/ a sprig of chervil from my deck. Lotus leaf-wrapped glutinous rice w/ shiitake mushrooms & pork [commercial], steamed. Red-green romaine lettuce [Van Antwerp Farm] blanched in oiled simmering water, dressed w/ oyster sauce & black pepper. Fried rice. Hot oil & pan, sliced young reddish onions ("spring onions") [Nading Farm] fried till just browning, farm-fresh eggs [Schacht Farm] marbled in situ in the pan middle, 2-day-old white rice, some salt, toss/stir on high heat; sliced-up lean siu-yuk (Cantonese roast pork); then slice-up green parts of the young onions plus frozen petite peas, toss/fold in, cover for 30 secs, turn the heat off & leave the cover on for another minute. Garnished w/ Chinese celery leaves.

Various meals. ------------------------------------- Leftover beef shin, bamboo shoot & daikon braise (see here; scroll down) with handmade Fuzhou-type thin wheat noodles (手工麵線; sau2 gung1 min6 sin3). Plus Chinese-type spinach (菠菜) blanched in oiled simmering water & dressed w/ oyster sauce & white pepper. -------------------------------------------------- Faroe Islands salmon fillet marinated and steamed w/ ryori-shu, hon-mirin, sake, sea salt, white pepper, bunapi-shimeji, ginger, scallions, coriander leaf. Eaten w/ hōrensō (spinach) & hakusai (Napa cabbage) briefly simmered in fresh chicken stock/broth. Plus white rice. --------------------------------------------------------- Chicken rice. Quasi-Hainanese style. Chicken ("Just Bare Chicken" young whole chicken) poached w/ the barely-simmering method this time; scallions in chicken cavity, lots of lightly crushed ginger, sea salt, a bit of ajinomoto in water. Removed when done, lightly rubbed w/ "pure sesame oil" (un-roasted) [Dragonfly] and chilled in the fridge for a short while. Rice – peanut oil, minced ginger, chopped smashed garlic, long-grain rice, the poaching stock w/ the floating chicken fat, pandan leaves (frozen --> thawed, tied into bundles). Cook in the usual way (stovetop). Soup – Green cabbage in some f the poaching stock. Sauce – Medium-hot oil, chopped crushed garlic, sauté; quench w/ a mixture of double-fermented soy sauce [LKK], a bit of dark soy sauce [Yuet Heung Yuen], good Shaohsing wine, enough water, ground white pepper; bring back to a low simmer for a minute or two.

Couple of dinners. ---------------------------------------- Smoked Cajun sausages [Claus'], sautéed cipollini onions & baby portobello mushrooms, blanched baby kai-lan plants, wild rice [Bineshii] cooked separately then tossed in the fond/juices/residues in the pan on heat after doing the sausages and onions/mushrooms. ---------------------------------------- Hiyayakko. Soft tofu chunks, julienned hakusai (leafy parts mainly), katsuobushi, chopped scallions. A sauce made from a mixture of soba shoyu [Assi], hon-mirin [Takara], "Hokkaido kelp-flavored naturally brewed soy sauce" [Wei Chuan] and water, was brought quickly to a brief simmer then poured over the cold tofu and the toppings added. Beef shin stewed w/ bamboo shoots & daikon. Smashed garlic & generous sliced ginger sautéed in medium-hot oil, then beef shin sliced into thick rounds and browned a bit, mutenka shiro miso [Maruman] added, everything tossed around, water added, simmered for a while. Fresh bamboo shoots (see here, scroll down) halved then stripped of bracts & trimmed suitably were simmered** in salted water (strong simmer) for ~30 min. Peeled baby daikon cut into rounds were added into the pot w/ the simmering bamboo shoots (to temper the bitterness of the young daikon) and the mix simmered for a little while more, everything then drained and rinsed, the bamboo shoots sliced up and added in to the simmering beef shin, followed a while later by the reserved daikon. A good shot of hon-mirin went in, seasoning was adjusted and simmering continued till it was judged satisfactory. (2++ hours in all) ETA: Drinking sake also went in with the hon-mirin. ** Fresh bamboo shoots contain cyanogenic glycosides which need to be removed/transformed; the simmering/boiling takes care of that.

Beef shin braised w/ garlic. Whole beef shin sliced into thick-ish rounds, browned in EV olive oil w/ just sea salt, developing some nice fond &etc; then tossed w/ and gently sautéed w/ about 2-and-a-half heads worth of garlic cloves, uncrushed but each sliced in half. Water added to cover plus a bit. Simmered for a while. Fresh bay leaves crushed in the hand added plus cracked/lightly crushed black peppercorns. Simmered some more till done and the sauce was thickened and reduced. Eaten w/ fedelini, spooning some of the sauce over the pasta. Parsley garnish. Balsamic glazed Cipollini onions, with romaine lettuce. Trimmed whole red & yellow Cipollini onions gently browned in EV olive oil on medium-low heat (starting top-side-down), turning over once. Chicken stock added. Simmered down, covered some of the time. A generous pour of 10-year balsamic vinegar added, stuff stirred around, turning the onions over as appropriate; water splashed in as needed; a 2-second pour of hon-mirin went in, plus some dried crushed thyme, the pan covered and shaken occasionally as the stuff was cooked down. Seasoning adjusted. The romaine was simply blanched in the pasta cooking water (from above) w/ a bit of oil added in, and eaten (chopsticks) mostly with dipping into the sauce of the glazed onions.

Beef shins slow-braised (stove-top) w/ bamboo shoots, lily buds, beancurd skin rolls, fresh thick-cap Chinese mushrooms. Ladled over and onto "mei fun" (thin rice noodles, softened in simmering water/stand in hot water) and red-green lettuce leaves. Whole beef shins, trimmed then cut into thick-ish rounds. Crushed garlic (lots) sautéed in rice bran oil, the shin rounds added & browned, a slurry in water of a generous number of cubes of fermented wet bean curd ("fu yee") [Liu Ma Kee] plus some of the liquid added, sautéeing continued. Sufficent water added, simmered for a bit. Trimmed winter bamboo cut into chunks added, simmered for a while. Cut-up fresh Chinese flower-pattern thick-cap mushrooms [from a CFM vendor, his first time growing it], pre-soaked dried lily buds & oiled dried beancurd skin rolls ("fu chook") added in, simmering continued, seasoning adjusted. On the way there.

It sounds like what you have is a stewing hen which will make a superb coq au vin but is unlikely to give you satisfactory results when roasted. Sounds like those legs have been given such a workout that you have the equivalent of beef shin - fabulous when braised but inedible when cooked using dry heat.

After a very long day of discussions and negotiations there is always my favourite part of a business trip – the dinner. Together with our JV partners in a supposedly well-known Shanghai institution, located in a colonial type building with a fitting sino-colonial interior. We had … Jellyfish with sesame oil and vinegar Filled braised lotus root Greens with garlic and walnuts. This was surprisingly nice with a sharp dressing. Drunken chicken. Braised beef shin with Sichuan pepper and chili (a variety of “husband-and-wife” lung slices). Very good. Pomelo with onions and honey. A little bit weird. Red-braised spare ribs. Filled devil’s horn (kind of water nuts) Deep fried river fish. A local Shanghainese speciality. Two types of shrimp Braised beef short rib Spicy chicken legs Steamed abalone with garlic. Very tender and very good. Beijing duck Steamed bamboo with ham Steamed nibbles. Surprisingly popular. Sweet and sour clams with veggies Stir-fried crab with garlic on cellophane noodles. Excellent. Deep-fried lotus root filled with pork and ginger. Also excellent. Three types of steamed pumpkins Steamed carp Dong Po Rou. I love this ! Clear soup with five-spice fish balls Stir-fried water vegetable “Good fortune” noodle soup Green onion pancake.Very light and flaky. I ate three. After that several different fruits, but I was too full to make more pictures. And very happy ...

A ramen bowl. Pre-braised beef tendon & beef shin/shank (see here) [East Asia Market] simmered in water, fish sauce, hon-mirin for a while (to render them softer & ramp up the gelatinousness), before assembling the rest of the components in it. Baby zucchini, spring onions, ramen + seasonings, Chinese spinach, aburaage. Bowled, topped w/ lots of ground white pepper. The base was a pack of "Ibumie Penang Lad Mie Perisa Lada Pedas". On the way there.

Glad they turned out well. We love beef shin. There is an organic farmer north of us who sells the most wonderful grass fed beef and we get the shins which are dirt cheap. We also just got a Berkshire pig and I have a 'shin' out for cooking tomorrow. Maybe SV would be the way to cook them. Too late for the one I have out but next time I'll try that. There is no skin on the meat so may as well SV it. Nigella Lawson has a great recipe for roasting skin on pork shank/shin on a bed of apples/onions bathed in beer...that's a good one too. From her "Kitchen" book. cheers

Could you guys recommend me temperature to cook beef shin? I stupidly started preparing everything before doing any research first... One source I checked recommends 68* C though it seems way too high to me. PS. Marry Christmas!

Some recent lunches. ------------------------ • Beef shin & veggie soup. Whole beef shin, trimmed, cut into 1½ - 2 inch rounds, browned in oil seasoned w/ lightly crushed garlic cloves (reserved); quenched w/ water, sautéed garlic added back in, sea-salt added, simmered for 30-40 min; whole cloves & stick cinnamon & a couple whole star anise added in together w/ halved scrubbed purple potatoes & halved baby scrubbed daikon; simmered some more. Halved (lengthwise) fresh carrots & generous quartered red & white onions added, simmered some more. Seasoning adjusted. [The only thing that had its “skin” removed was the garlic, and the onions with the dry skin taken off. ;-) ] • Broccoli florets, stir-fried w/ smashed garlic & fu yee (fermented beancurd) [Chan Moon Kee] simmered down in the sautéeing mixture. • White rice (Basmati). ------------------------- • Kon Lo Mein, using skinny wonton noodles; dressed w/ a sauce of minced beef & veal (1:1) sautéed w/ garlic and ginger & various sauces including oyster sauce [LKK], “Luscious Soy Paste” [Kim Lan], sesame oil [Dragonfly], mirin, light soy sauce, ryori-shu. • Steamed har gow & siu mai [commercial], eaten w/ a dipping sauce of mixed soy sauces w/ rice vinegar & chopped scallions. -------------------------- • Fried rice. Roughly chopped char siu (Chinese BBQ pork), chopped smashed garlic, a sliced-up Carmen Italian sweet pepper, 2-day-old white rice (Basmati), frozen peas, lots of trimmed Thai basil, sliced-up plain 3-egg omelette (fried separately; hot oil, hot pan, sizzle, flip). • Chicken broth w/ carrots & leaf celery. -------------------------- • Kangkong belacan, with dried prawns (har mai) added in as well. • Babi pongteh, with sliced pork belly (*definitely* skin-on). This time I loosely patterned it after this recipe but using peanut oil and Red Thumb & Austrian Crescent fingerling potatoes. I used palm sugar (gula melaka). • White rice (Basmati). There are discussions about removing (!) pork belly skin elsewhere on the forum as well as discussions that largely dwell on getting great puffed and crispy skin etc. IMO soft, yielding, fall-apart skin w/ lovely gelatinous textures (such as in this dish) are quite wonderful too, but perhaps not all will appreciate that. :-)

There are plenty of worthwhile cuts from the round though most of them lend themselves better to roasting than grilling. Consider tying roasts from the top round and knuckle and grilling them slowly as on a rotisserie. Marinate the beef in a cooked marinade of caramelized vegetable and reduced wine, then vinegar. Bovine Myology is a good resource. From the aitch bone: Spider Top sirloin: Culotte Mouse/heart of the top sirloin (the beginning of the tenderloin, very tender) Top sirloin cut into pavés (remove silverskin) Top Round: Pear (pectineus; very tender) Top round cap (gracilis, similar to skirt steak) Adductor (on the side of the top round, more tender than the top round) Top Round (best when barded with fatback or bacon and slowly roasted) Outside Round: Eye of round (marinate, roast slowly) Silverside (grind) Knuckle Carrot/rat (cylindrical muscle under the knuckle used in pot au feu or pho. Simmer as you would a shank) Knuckle (2 muscles can be easily separated and are very clean -the larger muscle can be opened and the silverskin removed, then tied back together) Tri-tip (covers the knuckle, attached to the top sirloin. Whiting (sartorius) Shank Beef shin. Braise/simmer.

Chả giò chay and deep-fried firm tofu slices. Eaten w/ Lingham's chili sauce, pickled cucumbers & scallions. Plus some of the beef shin stew from breakfast.

Early breakfast today: Beef shin stew. Olive oil, lightly crushed garlic, beef shins cut into rounds, sea salt, sauté; water, simmer; two cinnamon sticks, handful of cloves, simmer; cut-up potatoes, simmer; carrots & onions, simmer.

Breakfast-Brunch today: • Beef shin slices sautéed w/ garlic in peanut oil then stewed w/ shallots; yellow, red & orange carrots; water, sea salt; dried oregano. • Pickled scallions, daikon, Japanese cucumber. • White rice.

Couple of recent dinners. ------------------------- • Tofu sautéed/"stir-fried" with julienned ginger, browned minced fatty pork, chili garlic sauce [Lee Kum Kee], yuojialaodouban (友加老豆瓣) [Yuojia (友加)], Japanese-style Worcestershire sauce [bull-Dog], lots of chopped scallions at the end. • White rice (Basmati). ------------------------- Simple comfort food after a trying 1½ day power & heat loss with arctic conditions outside: Beef shin stew w/ carrots, Carola potatoes, shallots, daikon, garlic, dried Mexican oregano, dried thyme, sea salt. (Garlic tossed in oil, reserved, beef browned, salted lightly, fond developed, water added &etc)

• Deep-fried firm tofu chunks, w/ French Breakfast radishes, pickled cucumbers, chopped romaine lettuce. • Leftover stewed/braised beef shins & pork w/ bamboo shoots & daikon, with white rice.

Beef shin & pork braised/stewed w/ fermented/preserved beancurd, bamboo shoots & daikon. Generous sliced ginger sautéed in corn oil. Beef shin slices browned in the oil. A bit of Redmond salt added. Tossed w/ a mixture of chillied fermented beancurd and preserved beancurd in sesame oil (see below), mashing up the beancurd blocks. Some of the liquid from the jars of tofu poured in as well. Sufficient water added. Brought to a simmer for a short while. Bamboo shoots (pre-simmered in salted water) added in, plus about a (big) half-head's worth of garlic, smashed, deskinned. Simmered for a while. Pork chunks (from a bone-in pork chop) added in, followed shortly after by daikon chunks (skinned). Seasoning adjusted. Simmered till done. Eaten w/ Fuzhou-type hand-made thin wheat noodles (this one). Pic of the two types of preserved/fermented beancurd I used: