Cow shank stew

You may have already noticed that I love cows shank. Most of the time I make Ossobuco with it, but this time I went for a nice beer and onion based version. Ingredients (4p): • 4 cows shanks • 250 gram bacon strips • 3 large white onions • 2 large carrots • 500 gram mushrooms • 4 bay leaf • 4 cloves • thyme • 1 dark brown beer • 1 whole garlic and 4 loose cloves • 700 gram potatos • flour • 1. Pre-heat your oven at 160°C. Flour the shanks and put salt and pepper on them. Bake them in a good amound of butter, until brown. Put aside. 2. Cut your carrots, onions and mushrooms while frying the bacon strips in the same butter as used for the shanks. Add the onions, bay leafs, 4 loose garlic cloves and thyme. Heat well for a few minutes.

3. Add the beer and salt and pepper to your own taste. Put the shanks in an oven tray, with the carrot and mushrooms around them. Put everything from the pan (onions, bacon, beer etc) in the oven tray. It should only cover the shanks slightly.

4. Put in the oven for 3 hours, while scooping the liquid over the meat at least every 30 minutes. If you don't do this, the meat will burn. Make sure to stir the whole mixture a few times as well. 5. As soon as the last hour starts. Put the whole garlic in the oven. Cut off a little bit of the top and wrap it in aluminum foil with some oil. It will end up soft and sweet. 6. When everything is almost finished, boil the potatos. Before mashing them, add some butter, the garlic cloves from the oven, a little bit of milk and salt and pepper. Mash 'till really smooth. My sauce ended up a little runny, so I scooped out the meat, heated the sauce and added some cornstarch until it had the right thickness. Then I added the meat back in.