Hodge-Podge

Ingredients

• 2 lb shin of beef
• 3 quart water
• 1 pint table beer
• 2 onions
• 2 carrots
• 2 turnips
• 1 head celery
• to taste pepper
• to taste salt
• for thickening butter
• for thickening flour

Method

Braising shin of beef demands patience but rewards it with deep savour: the connective tissue in the cut breaks down into gelatine, thickening the cooking liquor naturally whilst the meat itself becomes butter-tender. Start by placing the beef shin, water, and table beer in a heavy stewpan. Bring to a rolling boil over a high flame and let it boil hard for 5–8 minutes, skimming the surface aggressively with a slotted spoon. You're removing the grey albumin that clouds the broth — this matters. The cleaner you skim now, the clearer and more refined the final stew. Once the scum stops surfacing noticeably, reduce the heat to a bare simmer.

Prepare your vegetables: rough-chop the onions into quarters, cut carrots and turnips into large chunks (they'll soften considerably, so size them generously), and quarter the celery head. Add them to the pan along with a pinch of salt and a few good grinds of pepper. The vegetables sit in the hot liquor not to become silken, but to flavour it — they'll collapse into the broth eventually, acting as aromatic scaffolding. Stewing is distinct from braising in intensity; here, maintain a gentle simmer where the surface barely trembles. This low, even heat keeps the meat from toughening through over-agitation. Three hours is your baseline, but test the shin's doneness at the two-hour mark by piercing it with a skewer — it should meet almost no resistance when fully done.

Once the meat yields easily, remove it from the pan and set aside. Strain the broth through fine mesh, discarding the spent vegetables. Return the broth to the pan and bring it to a gentle simmer. Make a beurre manié — equal parts softened butter and flour worked into a paste — and whisk it into the simmering broth in small knobs, stirring between each addition until the stew reaches the consistency you want. The flour thickens through gelatinisation; the butter emulsifies into the liquid, giving it body and gloss. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Tear or chunk the beef shin into manageable pieces and return it to the pan. You can finish the dish with the carrots and turnips from your initial cook (warmed through gently) or replace them with fresh blanched turnips and carrots, or serve alongside braised spinach or celery. Either approach works; fresh vegetables offer brighter colour, whilst cooked ones contribute to a more unified, unctuous whole.