--- title: "Thor’s Hammer, a beefy cut for a potjie kind of day" description: "It’s as macho and gung ho as a cut of meat gets, and it needs taming. Enter the potjie, and plenty of time." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "WHAT'S COOKING" author: "Tony Jackman" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/tonyjackman/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-10-16-thors-hammer-a-beefy-cut-for-a-potjie-kind-of-day/" published: "2024-10-16T13:30:12" updated: "2025-09-19T08:51:06" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 530 --- # Thor’s Hammer, a beefy cut for a potjie kind of day > It’s as macho and gung ho as a cut of meat gets, and it needs taming. Enter the potjie, and plenty of time. By Tony Jackman · Published 16 October 2024, 15:30 SAST · Updated 19 September 2025, 10:51 SAST ## Key points - Elevating the humble beef shin to a show-stopping Thor’s Hammer potjie, Tony Jackman proves that with a little fire, some patience, and a generous sprinkle of creativity, even the underdog of the butchery can steal the dinner party spotlight. - Checkers continues to inspire culinary adventures, recently introducing a new cut of beef: the Thor’s Hammer, sourced from the shin. - This striking cut, traditionally more affordable, is gaining popularity and price, making it a prime choice for home cooks. - Tony Jackman shares a delicious potjie recipe, perfect for gatherings, featuring the Thor’s Hammer cooked slowly for maximum flavor. - Sign up for Jackman's weekly newsletter for more culinary insights and recipes delivered every Friday. ## Content A few years ago, Checkers sent me a slab of picanha, at the start of my journey of cooking this fine piece of beef from the rump end of the beast, with its generous fat cap. A picanha is all about that fat cap, which is rendered until it’s golden and crunchy. I wrote[this](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-07-05-piquant-picanha-steaking-out-a-muscle-youll-love/) about it at the time, and later[this](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-03-04-whats-cooking-today-twice-cooked-picanha-steaks/), and have loved the picanha ever since. A few days ago, they asked me to test drive another cut of beef. You may have seen it in the butchery sections of some supermarkets. It’s a striking hunk of meat fashioned from one of the humblest parts of the animal: the shin. Long one of the cheaper cuts, it is doubtless becoming considerably more expensive. The label suggests oven-roasting it slowly for four hours. This makes perfect sense. But it was a potjie kind of day, so I lit a fire and set about preparing everything that would go into the pot. A Thor’s Hammer is Frenched in the way a rack of lamb is trimmed. But, luckily, your butcher is likely to have done this for you and to have displayed it in a fridge all pretty and enticing. ![YYyyyyyyyyyyyyy. (Photo: Tony Jackman)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/Cd-zKhUM4cyE5YyC32dW9vjO-6k=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/thorshammer2.jpg) *Showstopper: Even the underdog of the butchery can steal the show. (Photo: Tony Jackman)* It makes for a fine presentation, so plan one as a party piece. I reckon it would feed six comfortably, depending on how much meat is on it, as they won’t necessarily be the same size. Note: check that you have a potjie that fits the dimensions of the “hammer” you plan to cook. It might be tight. #### **Tony’s Thor’s Hammer potjie** *(Serves 6-8 depending on how meaty it is)* #### **Ingredients** 1 Thor’s Hammer (beef shin on the bone, French trimmed) 3 Tbsp butter 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 2 leeks, chopped 3 carrots, peeled and sliced 2 celery stalks, diced 4 garlic cloves, chopped 2 Tbsp flour Salt and black pepper to taste *For the cooking stock:* 1.5 litres beef stock, or enough to almost cover the meat 3 or 4 rosemary sprigs 3 bay leaves 2 Tbsp crushed coriander seeds 350ml red wine Salt and black pepper to taste #### **Method** Chop and slice all the vegetables. Presuming that you’ve prepared plenty of hot coals, put some around the base of a clean potjie and add the butter and oil. Add the “hammer” and brown the meat on all sides. Add the chopped vegetables, stirring for the fats to coat them, then sprinkle the flour on them, evenly. In a 2-litre jug, mix the beef stock with all of the other cooking stock ingredients, including salt and black pepper to taste, and pour this around the meat. Put the potjie lid on and cook for four hours, adding coals around the potjie base and a few coals on the lid whenever needed to keep the meat cooking slowly and steadily. Once the meat is tender, spoon off the stock and leave it in a jug for it to cool and the fat to rise. Spoon off the fat. Heat the stock as a sauce to accompany the meat. **DM**