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Shin of Beef Stock

A clear stock made by simmering shin of beef, lean ham, and veal with water, then seasoned with salt and optional aromatics.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Beef and mushroom are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,232 recipes. Both carry 2,4-nonadienal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓

Shin of Beef Stock

Ingredients

Directions

Make the stock

  1. Place the shin of beef, lean ham, and veal in a large pot.

  2. Cover with water and bring to a boil.

  3. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface.

  4. Reduce heat and simmer for several hours until the meat is tender.

Strain and season

  1. Remove the meat and strain the broth through a fine sieve.

  2. Season the broth with coarse sea salt and add green onions or mushroom buttons if desired.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Beef + mushroomtop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).

  2. Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,092 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Onion + mushroomtop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,626 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  4. Beef + vealtop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,784 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).

  5. Veal + mushroomtop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,446 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Shin of beef
Releases gelatin and savory flavor into the broth during long simmering.
Veal neck or knuckle
Adds gelatin and body, giving the stock a richer mouthfeel.
Lean ham
Contributes salty, savory depth to the broth.

The step that matters

Skim off any foam. Foam contains coagulated proteins and impurities that cloud the broth and can taint its flavor if left to recirculate. Skimming early keeps the stock clear and clean-tasting.

Swap the onion

The recipe marks onion as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, ham, veal, mushroom):

  1. Onionthe original
  2. Tomatofits about as well
  3. Asparagusfits about as well
  4. Shallotfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, ham, veal, mushroom. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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