Beef Shank Stew with Mustard Suet Dumplings

Beef stew is one of my favourite winter dish. Boeuf Bourguignon, Guinesse beef stew, Cantonese style braised beef etc. They are effortless to make and rather wholesome. I have cooked lamb shank and pork shank before, but it was not until last weekend I came across beef shank at the Waitrose meat section. I am sure it has always been available at a butcher, but it was the first time I see it available as pre-packed. My immediately thought was 'bone marrow + beef = tasty stew!'. It do love Waitrose's meat section. It offers an excellent variety of cuts of meat that is comparable with the butcher, which other supermarkets cannot compete with. 

Beef shank meat is actually the shin. It has to be slow cooked to perfection. Once the meat is cooked through and falls off the bone, I then cut them into pieces. 

Serves 3

2 carrots, peeled and chopped into thick pieces

2 stalks of celery, cut to 3 pieces

6 shallots, peeled

2 bay leaves 

1 tbsp of tomato puree

500ml beef stock

700g beef shank

1 tbsp of wholegrain mustard

70g suet

125g self-raising flour

1 tbsp of wholegrain mustard

2 tbsp of plain flour

Salt & pepper

Some warm water

1. Season the plain flour with salt and pepper. Rub the meat with the mixture. 

2. Preheat the oven to gas 2.

3. Heat a dollop of oil in the cast-iron casserole dish. Once the oil is hot enough, seal the meat all around.

4. Leave the meat aside to rest. In the same casserole dish, cook the shallots, stalks, carrots and bay leaves until they soften. 

5. Put the meat back into the casserole dish, pour in the stock and tomato puree. Bring it to boil then lower the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

6. Place the casserole dish into the oven and leave it to cook for 2 1/2 hour. Check the liquid level periodically and add more stock if necessary. 

7. Meanwhile, place the plain flour, suet and wholegrain mustard in a mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. 

8. Make a dwell in the middle and pour in some warm water. Careful not to put too much. If the mixture is too dry, more warm water can be added later.

9. Bine the suet and flour mixture together to form a soft dough. It is ready when the dough doesn't stick to the hands. 

10. Roll the dough into 8 small balls (or bigger ones, depending on preference).

11. Take the casserole dish out of the oven. Turn the heat up to gas 6. Cut the meat into small pieces and put back into the dish. Remove the bone marrow. 

12. Place the dumplings into the casserole, return it to the oven and cook for another 25 minutes.