Beef Shin in Spanish: Morcillo, Jarrete and How to Braise It

What morcillo and jarrete are

The cut you knew at home as shin, or shank, is easy to find in Spain once you know its name. It is the lower part of the leg, just above the hock: a muscle that carries the animal’s weight and works all day. That makes it lean, firm and threaded with sinew, tough when fried and tender after hours in a pot.

The name changes with the region, not the meat. Morcillo and jarrete are the same cut; brazuelo is the front leg, and butchers who follow the Argentine tradition may say garrón. Sliced across the bone, with the marrow in the middle, it is sold as ossobuco, often written osobuco. The rest of the counter vocabulary is in our guide to beef cuts in Spanish.

Two traps at the counter

• One letter. Morcillo, with an o, is shin. Morcilla, with an a, is Spanish black pudding (US: blood sausage).
• Jarrete on its own is also the word for lamb shank: our lamb shanks are sold as jarrete de ternasco (see the lamb page). For beef, say jarrete de ternera or de vacuno. At many counters ternera loosely means yearling beef (añojo).

British shin, American shank, German Wade: one cut

A British recipe that says “shin” usually means boneless chunks, so morcillo en trozos is a straight swap. A Beinscheibe recipe needs the bone and its marrow, so ask for the sliced version.

What to say at the counter

• “Morcillo para guisar, en trozos grandes, por favor.” Shin for stewing, in large pieces.
• “¿Me lo corta en rodajas con hueso, para ossobuco?” Could you slice it through the bone for ossobuco?
• “¿De qué pieza es la carne para guisar?” Which cut is the stewing beef from? Trays of carne para guisar can come from several cuts; more in our guide to reading a Spanish meat label.

How to braise beef shin

Long, moist, gentle heat turns the collagen into gelatine: the meat falls into long strands and the sauce thickens by itself. Leave the sinew in; it melts.

1. Cut. Large pieces, because they shrink. Pat them dry and salt them.
2. Brown. In a heavy casserole (US: Dutch oven) with olive oil, a few pieces at a time so they colour rather than steam. Lift them out.
3. Soften. Onion, carrot and garlic in the same fat, over a medium heat.
4. Add the liquid. A glass of red wine, scraping the bottom; let it bubble for a minute, return the meat and add stock or water to come two thirds of the way up the meat.
5. Cook slowly. Lid on, in the oven at 160–170 °C (320–340 °F) for three to four hours, or on the lowest heat on the hob (US: stovetop), the liquid barely moving.
6. Test. It is ready when a fork twists a piece apart. If it resists, give it more time, not more heat. Then lift the meat out and reduce the sauce until it coats a spoon.

It is better the next day: overnight in the fridge the sauce sets to a jelly and the fat hardens on top, easy to lift off.

Three more dishes from the same method

• A British stew or pie filling. Ale or stock instead of wine; the gravy needs little or no flour.
• Goulash. Boned shin in chunks, with plenty of onion and paprika.
• Ossobuco. Slices through the bone with white wine, tomato and vegetables, served with mash (US: mashed potatoes) or risotto.

Buying a whole shin

Ours comes as one joint of approx. 2.5 kg, vacuum-packed and chilled, not sliced. Cut it into two or three pieces the day it arrives, cook one and freeze the others raw. Ox cheek works on the same logic of collagen and time, with a softer result: see how to cook ox cheek.