Beef shin buco, saffron puntalette and orange gremolata
Beef shin is slowly cooked in the oven until tender, then served with saffron pasta and a zesty gremolata.
Ingredients
For the buco
- 1–1.5kg/2lb 4oz–3lb 5oz cross-cut beef shin (ask a butcher to cut into pieces, bone in)
- 10g/â…“oz fresh thyme
- 4 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 onions, chopped
- 2 heads garlic, broken in half and unpeeled
- 1 litres/1¾ pint chicken stock
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the gremolata
For the puntalette
Method
To make the buco, season the beef shin well with salt and pepper. Tie the thyme and bay leaves together with kitchen string.
Heat the oil in a heavy-based, large, lidded, oven-safe saucepan or casserole dish over a high heat. Fry the beef until golden brown on each side. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Reduce the heat, add the onion and season with salt – this will produce moisture to loosen any beefy crust stuck to the pan. Cook until tender and translucent.
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4.
Return the beef to the pan and add the garlic heads and herbs. Pour in the chicken stock. The beef should be sat just proud of the stock. If you need more liquid, top up with water. Bring to a simmer. Check the salt level in the broth – it should be flavourful but not fully seasoned so it is not overly salty when reduced.
Cook the beef in the oven with the lid on for 2½–3 hours. It is cooked through when a skewer or knife cuts through the beef shin with no resistance.
To make the gremolata, combine all of the ingredients on a chopping board and continue to chop together to mix thoroughly. Set aside.
To make the puntalette, cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water according to packet instructions. When the pasta is tender, reserve a large ladleful of the starchy pasta water and drain the rest.
In a separate saucepan, heat around 200ml/7fl oz cooking juices from the buco with the saffron.
Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in the now empty pasta pan, then add the pasta back in. Stir in the saffron-infused roasting juices, the reserved pasta water and the cream. Simmer until the sauce has come together but is still quite loose. Remove from the heat. The pasta will keep absorbing liquid as it cools so it is important to leave a little liquid.
Fold in the remaining butter, the Parmesan and 1–2 tablespoons of gremolata.
To serve, spread the puntalette on a serving plate and place the beef shin on top. Shower with the gremolata and lots more Parmesan.
Recipe Tips
The buco can be served immediately or left to cool, then chilled in the fridge. It can be reheated in the oven ahead of serving. If you're planning on making it ahead, it will keep very nicely in the fridge for up to 5 days.
The puntalette can be served immediately or left to cool, then chilled in the fridge until ready to serve, for up to 3 days. To reheat, add a splash of water and gently bring it up to temperature in a saucepan.
