Beef shin

Used in 5 recipes on RecipeWiki.

Beef shin is cut from the lower leg, a lean but sinewy muscle wrapped in connective tissue that melts into gelatine after hours of slow cooking. The meat turns soft and gives the cooking liquid a rich, lip-sticking body, which is why it is the backbone of Borscht, and why Holodets, the Russian set meat jelly, depends on it. This page also covers shin on the bone, where the marrow adds further depth, and the shin-or-chuck choice some recipes allow. Never let it boil hard: a bare simmer or a low oven keeps the fibres moist.

What else can I make with it?

Most often cooked with

Recipes with beef shin

Borscht — shot from directly overhead: beetroot and cabbage soup built on beef broth

Borscht

Beetroot and cabbage soup built on beef broth, with the grated beetroot added late and with acid so it stays red.

3 hr 35 minServes 6

Leafy greensPotatoesRussian

Holodets — shot from directly overhead, the table surface filling the frame

Holodets

Pork trotters and beef simmered for hours until the broth sets to a firm savoury jelly around the shredded meat.

18 hr 15 minServes 10

Side dishesRussian

Rassolnik — shot from directly overhead: barley and pickled cucumber soup

Rassolnik

Barley and pickled cucumber soup, sharpened at the end with the pickle brine itself rather than with vinegar.

2 hr 55 minServes 6

PotatoesRussianSoups

Slow-Braised Beef Shin — shot from directly overhead: beef shin browned hard then cooked for hours at a bare simmer

Slow-Braised Beef Shin

Beef shin browned hard then cooked for hours at a bare simmer, until the collagen melts and the meat falls apart under a fork.

4 hr 30 minServes 4

BeefDinnerMain courses

Zharkoye — shot from directly overhead, the table surface filling the frame

Zharkoye

Beef, potato and root vegetables braised slowly in one pot until the meat pulls apart under a fork.

3 hr 15 minServes 4

Main coursesPotatoesRussian