Slow-Braised Shin of Beef, Marsala, Tomato & Soft Polenta
The working cut — patient, collagen-rich, transformed by three hours in a low oven into something unctuous, glossy and impossibly rich.
Shin of beef is the working cut — full of collagen, deeply marbled, and patient. Give it three hours in a low oven with marsala, tomato and a strip of orange peel and it transforms into something unctuous, glossy and impossibly rich. Spoon it over soft Parmesan polenta and you’ve got the kind of supper that anchors a chilly May evening; the kind you make on Sunday afternoon and eat at the kitchen table with the doors thrown open.
- 1kg bone-in shin of beef
- 2 tbsp plain flour, well seasoned
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 2 carrots, finely diced
- 2 sticks celery, finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 strip orange peel (no pith)
- 250ml dry Marsala
- 400g tinned plum tomatoes
- 500ml good beef stock
- 1 litre water
- 200g coarse polenta (bramata)
- 50g unsalted butter
- 60g Parmesan, finely grated
- Small handful of parsley, finely chopped
- 1 lemon, zested
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- Preheat the oven to 150°C fan / 170°C / gas 3.
- Pat the shin dry. Toss in seasoned flour to coat lightly, shaking off the excess.
- Heat the oil in a heavy casserole over medium-high heat. Brown the shin all over — really brown, mahogany rather than beige, about 4 minutes a side. Lift onto a plate.
- Drop the heat to medium. Add onion, carrot and celery with a pinch of salt. Sweat slowly for 12–15 minutes until soft and just starting to colour. Add garlic, rosemary, bay and orange peel for the last 2 minutes.
- Pour in the Marsala and bubble hard for 3 minutes, scraping up any sticky bits from the base. Crush in the tomatoes with your hands, add the stock and bring to a gentle simmer.
- Slide the shin back in, two-thirds submerged. Cover with a lid and transfer to the oven. Braise 3 hours, turning once at the halfway point. Done when a fork slips in with no resistance and the marrow is wobbling.
- Twenty minutes before serving, make the polenta. Bring the water to a rolling boil with a teaspoon of salt. Pour in the polenta in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Drop the heat to low and cook, stirring every couple of minutes, for 15–20 minutes until thick and soft. Beat in butter and Parmesan. Taste for salt.
- Lift the shin out. If the sauce looks thin, reduce hard for 5 minutes over high heat. It should be glossy, slightly sweet from the Marsala, with the orange peel singing in the background.
- Combine parsley, lemon zest and garlic for the gremolata.
- Spoon polenta into warm shallow bowls. Top with shin, marrow facing up, ladle over the sauce and finish with the gremolata.
Always braise bone-in. The marrow melts out into the sauce over three hours and gives you a silkier, richer braise than any boneless cut could. After cooking, scoop the soft marrow onto toast or stir it through the polenta — it’s the best part.
A glass of Barbera or a young Chianti Classico — both have the acidity to cut through the richness without competing with the marsala.
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