Pressure Cooker Morcillo

Morcillo (beef shank) is Spain's answer to Italy's ossobuco without the "osso". It's a tough inexpensive cut, but rich & full of flavor when prepared this way. It's easy to make and popular fare here in restaurants and for home cooking.

Ingredients

• 1 piece of beef shank (about 1 kilo/2 pounds) - just the muscle, no bone, trim off tendons & what you can of the "silver skin", cut in 3" chunks
• 1 large onion (roughly chopped)
• 2 carrots (peeled & sliced in rounds)
• 6 button mushrooms - washed, roughly chopped
• 1 small potato, peeled
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup red wine or oloroso sherry
• 1 bay leaf, 4 whole peppercorns, salt & ground pepper

Preparation

• Salt & pepper the meat (dusting with flour is optional)
• Brown the meat on all sides in olive oil, set aside.
• Lightly sautee onions, carrot, garlic & mushrooms (3 minutes).
• Add back the meat plus bay leaf, peppercorns & 1/2 tsp salt.
• Add wine and enough water to just cover.
• Close the pressure cooker, when the pressure is up, cook 15-20 minutes.
• When the pressure bleeds off, remove the meat & bay leaf, puree everything else to make a nice thick sauce. Check salt.
• Serve with white rice or potatoes (boiled, mashed or fried). Enjoy!

Note:
1. I prefer oloroso sherry, but any wine will work.
2. You can cook the whole piece, cooking time will be about 30 minutes.
3. Substitute pork or veal/beef cheeks for the shank. Delicious!
4. Cooking time in a normal stew pot takes twice as long, but works a treat.
5. Optional spices: cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, star anise...

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