Tom Kerridge's Proper Pub Food (24 page)

Meanwhile, make the glazed carrots. Peel the carrots and rub them down with a green scouring pad to make them very smooth and remove any marks from the peeler, then set aside.
Place the water, butter, sugar, star anise and salt in a large saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil, stirring to melt the butter and dissolve the sugar. Add the carrots, reduce the heat
to medium-low and leave the carrots to simmer, uncovered, for 25–30 minutes until they are tender and the liquid has reduced by half.

To roast the marrow bones, reheat the oven to 200°C/ Gas Mark 6. Remove the marrow bones from the water and pat dry on kitchen paper. Heat 2–3 tablespoons of oil in a
frying pan over a high heat. Add the bones and sear them on the ends, then transfer them to a roasting tray. Place the roasting tray in the oven and roast the bones for 10 minutes, or until the
marrow is softened. Remove them from the oven and keep hot.

Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C/Gas Mark 4.

To make the suet dumplings, mix the breadcrumbs, flour, suet, parsley and salt together in a mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Whisk the eggs and milk together, then add
to the dry ingredients and mix until a soft dough forms. Shape into 6 dumplings.

Place the chicken stock in a flameproof casserole over a high heat and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer, add the dumplings, cover the pot and place it in the
oven for 12 or so minutes until the dumplings double in size.

When you are ready to serve, return the shins to the flameproof casserole with the reduced cooking liquid. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium, cover the pot and
simmer for 3–5 minutes until the beef is hot.

Divide the beef shins between 6 plates and spoon over a thin covering of the reduced cooking liquid. Add a marrow bone, carrot and dumpling to each portion and serve
immediately.

Braised shin of beef in red wine

Curing the beef in treacle gives a real deep depth of flavour and adds a special touch to an already fantastic cut of meat. My technique for roasting the beef at a very low
temperature is the oven equivalent of sous-vide cooking. You really do need an instant-read thermometer for this, and when the internal temperature reaches 55–58°C you will have the most
perfect medium-rare beef. Guaranteed!

If you have two ovens, use one to roast the potatoes and Yorkshire puddings at a high temperature and the other to roast the beef at a low temperature. That way you can work out
the timings and everything is perfectly cooked and ready to serve at the same time. Sunday lunch has never been easier.

Serves 4–6

For the Yorkshire puddings

A day ahead, mix the treacle and water together in a large bowl, stirring to dissolve the treacle. Add the beef, cover the bowl with clingfilm and put in the fridge to marinate
for 24 hours.

The next day, make the Yorkshire pudding batter at least 4 hours before you plan to cook. Put the flour into a mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Whisk the milk and eggs
together, then slowly whisk them into the flour to form a batter. Do not overmix – some lumps are OK. Leave the batter to stand at room temperature for 4 hours.

To prepare the roast potatoes, preheat the oven to 220°C/Gas Mark 7. While the oven is reaching the correct temperature, bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Add the
potatoes, return the water to the boil and blanch them for 8–10 minutes until they are cooked through and tender. Drain them through a colander in the sink and leave to steam-dry for a couple
of minutes. Be very careful not to break them up too much.

Heat a thin layer of vegetable oil in a roasting tray on the hob. Add the potatoes and stir them around so they are thinly coated with oil on every surface. Place the tray in the
oven and roast the potatoes for 45 minutes, or until crispy and golden brown.

Meanwhile, to finish the Yorkshire puddings, put a small amount of vegetable oil in the base of 8 Yorkshire pudding moulds and put the moulds in the oven while it is heating.
When the oven reaches the correct temperature and the oil is very hot, pour in the batter. Return the moulds to the oven and bake the Yorkshire puddings for about 25 minutes, until well risen,
puffy and golden brown. You can cook the Yorkshire puddings while the potatoes are roasting.

Remove the potatoes and Yorkshire puddings from the oven and immediately turn the
oven temperature down to 60°C/Gas Mark very low (or set to the nearest lowest temperature). Do not cover the roast potatoes with foil or they will lose their crispness.

Remove the beef from the marinade and pat dry. Heat 2–3 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Add the fillet and fry, turning regularly,
until browned all over. Place the fillet in a roasting tray.

When the oven has reached the correct temperature, place the roasting tray in the oven and roast the fillet for 1 hour, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the
middle of the fillet reads 55°–58°C.

As soon as you take the beef out of the oven, turn the oven temperature up to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Cover the beef with foil and leave to one side. As soon as the oven reaches
the correct temperature, return the potatoes and Yorkshire puddings and reheat them for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour the marinade into a saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and leave the marinade to simmer, uncovered, until it reduces by half.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the spinach with just the water clinging to the leaves and stir until it wilts. Season.

When ready to serve, brush the fillet with the reduced cooking juices, then slice the beef. Spoon a little of the red wine sauce on each plate, then top with the spinach and a
slice of beef. Serve immediately with the Yorkshire puddings and roast potatoes.

Tom’s Tip

You can also use the treacle cure mix for beef, venison or chicken, and then grill them on a barbecue.

Treacle-cured beef and roast potatoes with Yorkshire puddings

This recipe takes a couple of days to prepare to be ready for a special weekend barbecue, but it is one of the best things ever! It’s perfect outdoor man food – and
proper messy to eat! Try it with a serving of my Warm Tomato, Onion and Bread Salad with Beef Dripping Dressing
here
.

Serves 6–8

For the dry cure

For the barbecue glaze

Two days before you plan to barbecue, mix all of the dry cure ingredients together, then rub them into the rib of beef so it is completely covered. Place the beef into a large
plastic container and cover with the remaining cure mix. Put the lid on the container and place it in the fridge overnight or for 24 hours.

Meanwhile, up to 2 days in advance, make the barbecue glaze. Put the onions and dates in a large heatproof bowl. Bring the stout to the boil in a small saucepan, then pour it
into the bowl. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave the ingredients to cool at room temperature.

Whisk the remaining barbecue glaze ingredients together in a separate bowl. When the dates have softened and cooled, tip the dates, onions and stout into a blender and blend
until the mixture is smooth. Stir this purée into the other glaze ingredients. Set aside until needed.

Once the dry cure has been on the ribs for at least 24 hours, preheat the oven to 130°C/Gas Mark ½. Wash the cure off in cold running water. Place the ribs in a large
flameproof casserole, pour over the barbecue glaze and cover the pot. Place the pot in the oven and braise the ribs for 5–6 hours until the beef is very tender. Check occasionally to make
sure the glaze doesn’t evaporate. If it is reducing down too much, add a little water.

When the beef is tender, remove the pot from the oven and leave the beef to cool in the mixture at room temperature. When everything is completely cool, place the pot into the
fridge to chill overnight.

The next day, light your barbecue and leave the coals to become glowing. The copious amount of fat will have set, so remove it and discard. In good advance of wanting to eat,
place the covered pot on the barbecue rack and leave it to warm the ribs through. This will take 2–3 hours.

When the ribs are warm, uncover the pot to slowly reduce the glaze with the beef in the pan, basting the ribs every 10 minutes. When the glaze is reduced and coats the beef,
remove beef from the pan. It is now ready serve.

This is another classic from my pub’s lunch menu. Bavette steak has so much flavour, but can easily be tough if overcooked, so pay attention. The mushroom ketchup provides a
savoury acidity to the dish and is a very old English accompaniment. I love to serve this with triple-cooked chips.