Winter's Best Slow-Cooked Comfort: Beef Shin, Pork Vindaloo & Creamy Chicken

As the chill of winter deepens across the UK, there's no better response than embracing the art of slow-cooking. Restaurateur-turned-butcher Richard H Turner shares three quintessential dishes designed to bring warmth and satisfaction during the colder months: braised beef shin with marrow, a rich pork neck vindaloo, and a comforting creamy chicken with leeks and tarragon.

The Essence of Slow-Cooked Comfort

Comfort food, for many, goes beyond mere sustenance; it's about the way it fills a home with inviting, mouthwatering aromas that develop over hours. Slow-cooking allows these rich scents to permeate the air, creating a cosy atmosphere while flavours deepen naturally. In winter, we crave hearty dishes that provide internal warmth, whether it's a savoury slow-cooked roast or a fragrant curry. This cooking style encourages a slower pace, perfect for unwinding after the festive rush.

While beef, pork, and lamb are traditional favourites for slow-cooked meals, chicken should not be overlooked. A creamy dish featuring chicken, leeks, tarragon, and mustard demonstrates that poultry can deliver just as much comfort and richness against the winter chill.

Braised Shin of Beef

Beef shin is often diced and hidden in stews or pies, but it deserves to shine on its own. A slice of shin, glistening on a plate with its bone pointing skywards to showcase the soft marrow, makes for an appetising presentation. This recipe draws inspiration from osso buco, using beef instead of rose veal and pairing it with simple buttery mash and greens for a comforting winter meal.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

2kg bone-in beef shin (sliced into even portions)
2-3 tbsp plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
75g beef dripping
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 garlic bulb, halved
2 bay leaves
5 thyme stalks
400g tin chopped tomatoes
300ml white wine
300ml chicken stock
Maldon sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

Method:

Coat the beef shin slices in seasoned flour. Melt beef dripping in a large pan and brown the meat until golden. Set aside.
Add onion, carrot, and celery with a sprinkle of salt, cooking until soft. Add garlic, bay, and thyme, cooking for a few more minutes.
Increase heat, add wine and tomatoes, then return the meat. Bubble until wine reduces by half, pour in stock, and simmer.
Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2 hours, turning meat every 30 minutes until tender.
Serve with buttered mash and greens.

Pork Neck Vindaloo

Pork neck, a cut cherished by butchers and chefs for its marbling, is ideal for long, gentle braises. This vindaloo recipe uses brining to tenderise the meat and a slow-cooked spice paste for depth. The secret ingredient is a pig's trotter, which adds collagen that breaks down into gelatin, creating a silky, luxurious sauce without thickeners.

Ingredients:

For the brine:

1.5 kg pork neck, cut into 6 cm chunks
1 pig’s trotter
1 litre coconut water
100ml coconut vinegar
50 g Maldon sea salt

For the curry:

1.5kg brined pork neck
50g coconut oil
30 cloves
3 sticks of cinnamon
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp black peppercorns
12 red Kashmiri chillies, chopped
1 piece fresh turmeric, peeled and chopped
1 piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
2 heads garlic, peeled and chopped
6 onions, peeled and chopped
100ml coconut vinegar
250g tamarind paste
Salt to taste

Method:

Brine the pork neck and trotter overnight in coconut water, vinegar, and salt. Pat dry the next day.
In a large pan, warm coconut oil and toast cloves, cinnamon, cumin, and peppercorns until fragrant. Add chillies, turmeric, ginger, garlic, and onions, sweating until softened.
Stir in salt, coconut vinegar, and tamarind paste, cook briefly, then blend into a smooth paste.
Return paste to pan, add brined pork, simmer, cover, and cook gently for three hours until tender. Remove trotter, strip meat and skin, dice, and return to sauce.
Adjust seasoning and cook for a final twenty minutes at 160°C.

Serving suggestions: Pair with steamed basmati rice, naan, or parathas, along with cucumber raita or a kachumber salad for balance.

A note on shortcuts: For a quicker option, two jars of Gymkhana Vindaloo Curry Sauce from Waitrose can substitute the curry paste.

Chicken with Leek, Tarragon, Mustard and Cream

Chicken is often overlooked in slow-cooked winter dishes, but it offers boundless possibilities for comfort. This recipe combines leeks, tarragon, mustard, and cream to create a rich, aromatic dish that warms from within. Using free-range poultry from Adlington Farm in Warwickshire, it's a versatile meal that can be adapted with different cuts.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts
2 chicken oyster legs
25ml vegetable oil
2 sprigs rosemary
3 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
1 small bunch of tarragon
25g unsalted butter
3 large leeks, trimmed and sliced into rounds
500ml medium cider
300ml double cream
2 tbsp English mustard
Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Season chicken pieces. In a frying pan, brown chicken skin-side down for 5 minutes, then turn and add thyme, rosemary, and bay, cooking for 3 more minutes.
In a casserole, melt butter, add leeks, and cook for 10 minutes until soft.
Chop half the tarragon, add to leeks, stir for 2 minutes, then add cider. Reduce by half, add cream, mustard, and chicken legs, simmering for 15 minutes.
Add chicken breasts, cook uncovered for another 15 minutes until sauce thickens. Adjust cooking time for extra tenderness.
Check seasoning and serve with creamy mashed potato.

Recipes adapted from www.turnerandgeorge.co.uk, offering a trio of slow-cooked delights to combat the winter cold with depth, flavour, and heartwarming satisfaction.