Slow Cooked Mexican Beef Shin

Slow cooking meat on the bone is an ancient art. Imagine your ancestors making their way home from a hard morning’s hunt. They awoke at dawn to go out together, go about the plains and bring home food for their community. We can admire the social connection of their coordinated efforts, the mindful-ness and lack of distraction as they observed the tracks and weather patterns presented to them.

Their hand crafted tools and generational knowledge served their hunt. The meat they brought home would have been highly nutritious, from free roaming beasts living a good life before becoming a part of the food chain. As it cooked away on the fire on the bone the meat would have started to fall apart, taking on a greater infusion of nutrients from the bones such as zinc, magnesium and b vitamins.

Ingredients to serve 4 or 2 people and next day’s lunch

Appliances needed: Blender (I used a magic bullet), a slow cooker and oven or air fryer.

• 1/5 kg beef shin
• 1/2kg sliced pumpkin
• wraps (I used the mountain bread brand, they fall apart but they don’t leave you feeling to heavy and carb loaded).
• 300g tomato paste
• cup of cherrie tomatoes
• bunch of parsley
• pickled red onion (optional)
• 1tbsp soy sauce
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1tbsp oregano
• 1tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp stock
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Get a pan on medium-high heat whilst you salt and pepper your beef shin. You may need to drizzle a touch of oil on your pan. Once the pan is at temperature, carefully place the beef shin in to sear off 3 minutes each side.
2. While the beef shin is searing, add the tomato paste, garlic, cherries tomatoes, stock, soy sauce, spices and oregano to the blender. Whizz until a smooth paste is formed.
3. Turn your slow cooker on (Check its plugged in to save you heart break at 6pm) and add the beef shin and contents of your blender. You want it to cook for at least 6 hours depending on your slow cooker, if it’s cooking for 8 or 10 that will also give you a great result.
4. When it’s got 40 minutes left. Turn your oven on or prepare your air fryer. If air frying: Add your slices of pumpkin to the tray, salt and let go for about 35-38 minutes on 180 degrees. If using an oven, line a roasting tray with baking paper, you may need to drizzle a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper the pumpkin slices and let roast for 30 minutes on 190-200 degrees. Check on your pumpkin while it is cooking to avoid burning.

5. Once all your elements are ready, simply arrange in wrap format on a plate, laying your parsley, pickled onion (if using) and pumpkin beside.

The following macros are per serve and assume you opted for the mountain bread brand of wraps:

Per serve: 359kcal 34.5gP 10.8gF 31.2gC

You have read Part 3 of the harmonising hormone series. We can feel empowered by the age we live in with access to great quality food, multiple options to connect through exercise and the information readily available to us for learning how to best look after ourselves. Fortifying the pillars of nutrition, training and connection is a game changer for balancing hormones, fending off metabolic disease and protecting mental health.

Make these your focus, any way you can, and enjoy the benefits of healthy hormones!

Coming next: The specifics of sleep and hormones involved in sleep.