Beef shin

Beef shin

　　At first glance, beef shin has an attractive, ruddy hue, with clearly visible muscle fibers that are truly enticing. When eaten, the meat is tender, rich yet not greasy, and lean without being tough. More interestingly, when the beef is just out of the pot, its full flavor doesn’t emerge until sliced—just a cut with a knife releases an intense aroma that makes one’s mouth water and saliva flow.

　　 Pingyao beef is distinctive not only in its meticulous and unique preparation steps—"slaughtering, curing, and boiling"—but also in its exceptional raw material: while most processors avoid using old cattle for braised beef, in Pingyao, the older the cow, the more aromatic the resulting braised beef, and the longer it can be preserved.