Shin of Beef Stew Served in a Giant Yorkshire Pudding

The only drawback with making shin of beef stew is in the time which it takes to cook. Shin of beef is one of the cheapest cuts of beef one can buy but when it is cooked properly, it is absolutely delicious and as tender as any piece of spring lamb. Tonight's recipe is for one person.

Ingredients

- Shin of Beef Stew

1/2lb diced shin of beef
1 small onion (quartered)
1 medium carrot (scraped and roughly chopped)
2 pints of fresh beef stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

- Yorkshire Pudding

3oz plain (all-purpose in the USA) flour
5fl oz milk
1 small egg
1/2 tsp salt
Sunflower oil for cooking

Method

The first step is to get the shin of beef on to cook. It will take a total of two and a half hours to do so.

The beef should be put in to a large stew pot and quickly browned on a fairly high heat, while the stock is heated in a separate pot. The hot stock should then be poured in to the beef and brought to a simmer. The shin of beef then has to simmer in this way for two hours. It is important to check frequently if more liquid is required. If so, boiling water should be used to top up the pot.

The Yorkshire Pudding will take about thirty-five minutes to cook in a hot oven. When the beef has been simmering therefore for around an hour and three-quarters, enough sunflower oil should be poured in to a circular, ovenproof dish about eight inches in diameter and one inch deep to comfortably cover the base. The dish should then be placed in to the oven and the oven should be put on to pre-heat to 220C or equivalent while the Yorkshire Pudding batter is prepared.

There are a lot of fanciful tips and advice given both in cookbooks and around the Web for making Yorkshire Pudding. Very often, these are extremely complicated and almost ominous sounding and it is my firm belief that they are the principal reason why a lot of people are afraid to try making Yorkshire Pudding. Alternatively, attempting to follow some of these preposterous suggestions is the very reason why the Yorkshire Puddings don't turn out as intended. Those who know me and how I cook will know that I am a great advocate of simplicity in cooking and therefore I make Yorkshire Pudding very effectively in the following, simple fashion.

The flour should be sieved in to a mixing bowl or basin and the salt added. The milk should be measured out in a measuring jug and then the egg added to the milk and the liquid whisked briskly to combine the egg with the milk. Slowly, the milk and egg mixture should be poured in to the flour and salt, whisking all the time, until a smooth batter is formed.

Very carefully, the hot dish should be removed from the oven and the batter poured in to a depth of about two-thirds of the way up the side of the dish. It will splutter a bit so be careful not to get splashed. Return the dish to the oven and cook for thirty to thirty-five minutes, until the Yorkshire Pudding is beautifully raised and golden.

When the Yorkshire Pudding is safely in the oven, the onion and carrot should be added to the shin of beef stew, along with more boiling water if required. I know that it is more usual to add the vegetables at the start that their flavour may fully permeate the meat but I like my vegetables to be eaten with a bit of substance, not turning to mush the moment they are out of the pot. That is why I compromise in this way when the meat has to cook for so long.

When the Yorkshire Pudding is ready, it should be removed from the oven and removed from the dish to a plate with a fish slice or spatula. The shin of beef stew should then be seasoned with salt and pepper and added to the centre of the Yorkshire Pudding to be served.