Beef shin comes from the foreshank of the animal and, due to the the vast amount of work the muscle does, is full of connective tissues which makes the meat very tough. This means shin benefits from being cooked low and slow in order to break down all the fibres and turn it into unctuous, gelatinous meat which in turn thickens the sauce in which it is cooked. Beef shin is generally a very cheap cut because of the long cooking time required and is sometimes seen as undesirable – but the results are well worth the wait.
Shin can be bought on or off the bone, in whole pieces or diced. However you buy it, it’s always a good idea to keep the bones and add them to the pot, as the bone marrow will add a wonderful richness and flavour to your sauce. Below is a simple method for creating a warming beef stew out of of beef shin home.