72 FEBRUARY 2020
1 large yellow onion, sliced(^3) / 4 cup (^1) / 4 -inch-thick unpeeled fresh
ginger slices
(^3) / 4 cup garlic cloves, peeled and
smashed
1 (6-oz.) can tomato paste
1 red Fresno chile, unseeded and
halved lengthwise
5 chiles de árbol
3 cups strong-brewed coffee
11 / 2 cups water
2 tsp. toasted coriander seeds
11 / 2 tsp. toasted cumin seeds
(^1) / 2 tsp. toasted fenugreek seeds
1 toasted cinnamon stick
4 toasted Tellicherry peppercorns
(^3) / 4 cup creamy peanut butter
Finely crushed roasted peanuts,
finely ground coffee beans, and
fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish
- Sprinkle beef all over with salt. Let
stand at room temperature 1 hour, or chill,
uncovered, at least 8 hours or up to
overnight. - Preheat oven to 300°F. (If beef was
chilled overnight, let stand at room tem-
perature 30 minutes.) Heat oil in a roast-
ing pan over medium-high until starting to
smoke. Add beef; cook, turning occasion-
ally, until browned on all sides, 15 to 20
minutes. Remove from pan. While beef
browns, process plum tomatoes in a
blender until smooth, about 15 seconds;
set aside. - Reduce heat under roasting pan to
medium. Add onion, ginger, and garlic;
cook, stirring occasionally and scraping
bottom of pan to loosen any browned bits,
until onion is softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir
in tomato paste, Fresno chile, and chiles
de árbol; cook, stirring often, until mixture
is fragrant, about 3 minutes. Stir in coffee
and pureed tomatoes. Bring mixture to a
boil over medium; boil, stirring occasion-
ally, 2 minutes. - Return beef to pan, nestling into
tomato mixture; add 1^1 / 2 cups water,
coriander, cumin, fenugreek, cinnamon
stick, and peppercorns. Return mixture to
a boil over medium. Cover pan tightly
with aluminum foil. Transfer to preheated
oven; roast until beef is fork-tender, 2
hours and 30 minutes to 3 hours. Uncover
and continue to roast 30 minutes. - Remove from oven; let stand 15 min-
utes. Remove beef from pan, and cover
beef with foil to keep warm. Pour braising
liquid in pan through a fine wire-mesh
strainer into a heatproof bowl; discard
solids. Wipe pan clean. Return braising
liquid to pan. Bring to a boil over medium-
high; reduce heat to medium-low, and
simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid
is slightly thickened and reduced to about
5 cups, 15 to 20 minutes. - Whisk peanut butter into reduced
sauce in pan until smooth; season with
salt to taste. Return beef to pan; cook
over medium-low, basting occasionally,
until warmed through, 8 to 10 minutes.
Garnish with crushed peanuts, ground
coffee beans, and cilantro. Serve
immediately.
MAKE AHEAD Prepare recipe as directed
through step 4. Let beef cool in pan 1
hour. Cover and chill mixture overnight or
up to 2 days. Uncover and skim hardened
fat from surface. Cover and reheat in a
300°F oven until warmed through, about
1 hour. Proceed with steps 5 and 6 as
directed.
WINE Luscious, oak-edged Merlot: 2016
Chappellet Napa Valley
IN COLONIAL AMERICA, beef cows were herded by enslaved men, many of whom had
been born in cattle-raising areas of West Africa. They brought with them skills inherited
from several thousand years of cattle-raising. In the Carolinas, they were known as
cow hunters. These men rounded up the animals to secure in the cow pens at night,
managed the herd, and butchered stock to be sold. Then as now, beef was an important
commodity: Beef, salted in casks, was a significant part of trade to Caribbean sugar
plantations, while cattle on the hoof were regularly herded to markets in urban centers.
Before the Civil War, cattle ranching moved ever westward into Texas and New
Mexico, and after the war, 25% of American cowboys were Black men. That’s 1 in 4
cowboys—men like Nat Love, Bass Reeves, and Bill Pickett—driving cattle on the two- to
three-month journey along the Shawnee Trail, the Chisholm Trail, and the Goodnight-
Loving Trail, bringing beef to northern shipping points in Kansas and beyond.
Black cooks also prepared and served beef, laying the foundations of American
cuisine. All along the mid-Atlantic by the late 18th century, skilled plantation cooks
had adapted English styles of beef cookery to the tastes of the dining elite. The 1824
cookbook The Virginia House-Wife listed no fewer than 18 beef recipes enslaved cooks
were skilled at producing. Today, at The Grey in Savannah, Georgia, chef Mashama Bailey
articulates this layered legacy in her braised beef shank recipe, flavored with peanut
butter and coffee. —Leni Sorensen is a scholar and culinary historian in Crozet, Virginia.AMERICA’S FIRST
COWBOYS
BEEF
wo rd s b y
LENI SORENSENrecipe by
MASHAMA BAILEYGLAZED BEEF SHANKS WITH COFFEE
AND PEANUTS
ACTIVE 1 HR 15 MIN; TOTAL 5 HR 30 MIN
SERVES 6 TO 8
Mashama Bailey braises these hefty beef
shanks in a ginger- and spice-spiked
tomato sauce. She finishes the sauce with
a generous dollop of thick and creamy
peanut butter, a nod to West African
ground nut stew and Southern barbecue.4 (about 1^1 / 2 -lb.) osso buco–cut
Angus beef shanks (about 2 inches
thick), tied
21 /^2 Tbsp. kosher salt, plus more to
taste(^1) / 4 cup peanut oil
1 (28-oz.) can whole peeled plum
tomatoes (such as Cento),
undrained