Richie McCaw's topside supreme

The New Zealand Rugby Foundation has celebrated its 25th Anniversary with the favourite recipes from some of the biggest names in the game published in NZ Rugby Kitchen (published by Random Kitchen). It's packed with a wide range of recipes and glossy images of players attempting their efforts in the kitchen. The book is packed with honest hearty food that would go down well at home before an All Blacks test match. This is Richie McCaw's entry for slow-cooked topside beef.

Ingredients

1 to fry	Oil
1 ½ kgs	Beef, use topside beef (Main)
1	Onion, chopped
2 cups	Water
2 Tbsp	White wine vinegar
1 Tbsp	Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp	Beef stock
1	Bouquet garni, 1 bay leaf, 2 sprigs of thyme and a few parsley stalks or ½ teaspoon dried mixed herbs
1	Butter, soft, and flour for thickening juices

Directions

1. Place a dash of oil in a large saucepan over a high heat and brown the piece of meat on all sides. Set aside on a plate.
2. Lower the heat, add the onion and cook until lightly golden, about 10 minutes.
3. Return the meat to the saucepan, add onion, water, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, beef stock powder and bouquet garni and cover with the saucepan lid.
4. Cook on a very low simmer for 5-6 hours until the meat is tender and falling apart.
5. You can also cook this in the oven at 150C, or in a slow cooker.
6. Remove the meat from the saucepan and keep warm. You should be able to pull the meat apart with 2 forks to serve.
7. Thicken the juices with a paste made from equal quantities of soft butter and flour. Whisk into the juices.
8. Serve with plenty of mashed potato, vegetables and the meat sauce.