Oktoberfest and Beef Shank Braised in Beer (Guinness)

This year's Oktoberfest folk festival has begun. All of Munich, the Bavarians and the Germans are partying, drinking huge amounts of beer and eating, then drinking and eating again. It's probably the biggest festival of its kind, known all over the world and visited by around 6 million people every year. And what is being celebrated? The festival was (and still is) organized by brewers who wanted to get rid of their surplus beer before the next season. People met up, played, had fun and danced, all dressed in traditional Dirndl dresses or leather pants (which many of you probably know), which are still worn today.

Today's recipe may not be a typical "Oktoberfest" dish, especially since it uses Irish beer, and the recipe comes from the “Jamie” magazine, which I've already mentioned several times. Still, the combination of shank and beer reminds me of exactly that festival.

This is slow food in the fullest sense of the phrase. This shank takes about 5-6 hours to prepare. But it's worth the wait, because it's incredibly tender and juicy.

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Rub the meat with olive oil, salt and pepper and place it in a roasting pan. Wash the celeriac and cut it in half lengthwise. Put the youngest leaves and the tarragon in a bowl of cold water and place it in the fridge. Arrange the rest of the celeriac, the shallots and the garlic around the meat and put it in the oven for about 40 minutes, until the meat browns. Take the pan out of the oven, remove the meat, pour off the excess fat (if there is any), and stir the tomato purée into the vegetables. Put the meat back in the pan, pour the beer over it, cover (aluminum foil works for this) and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 4 hours. In the meantime, check on it, and if the liquid evaporates too much, add some hot water. The meat is done when it starts to lightly come away from the bone. Then remove the cover and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Arrange the celeriac leaves and tarragon around the meat and serve. It goes best with mashed potatoes and winter vegetables (in my case steamed zucchini, fennel and kohlrabi).

Beef shank in beer

Enjoy!

More recipes from the “Jamie” magazine:

Upside-down plum cake

Salmon with young garlic and tomato sauce

Almond-plum tart

Green chopped salad

Spring minestrone with basil pesto

Baked salmon with fennel seeds and egg