Beef stew help please

[SueFawley]

I want to cook a beef stew. I'm going out to the shops in about an hour, but I don't know what cut of beef I should ask the butcher for. Having been a supermarket meat buyer for the last 20 years I find butcher's shops intimidating.
What's your favourite cut for that gorgeous melt in the mouth quality beef in a stew?

Skirt, if you can get it. It is the diaphragm, almost fat-free, tough as old boots and cooks down a treat. Shin of beef has lots of connective tissue and is therefore delicious (but fattier) and takes longer cooking. It is wonderful if you have hours and hours of cooking time. Skirt is quicker.

I'd forgotten about skirt. My mum was a very good cook and always made our beef stews with it. I'll ask the butcher if he has it, if not I'll get shin, I've definitely seen that in the window.
I'm going to cook it tomorrow and can put it on to cook all day if need be.

Thank you!

I'd just ask the butcher, they're not that scary, honest!

Braising steak is great for stews. Or even Stewing steak
I'd ask, IME butchers love it when people ask questions like that!

Ask the butcher. They will know what is good at the mo. I always pressure cooker my beef stew with loads of root veg, mushrooms and stock (tin of cheap soup works well as not too salty). Quite often put whole new pots in too. A meal in a pot.

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest ox cheeks. Similar to shin, and have to be cooked (gently) for at least 3 hours but it MELTS! Yum!

Thanks everyone. I'm back from the shops and I feel so silly. The butcher was lovely, very keen to talk about the different cuts of meat and even told me what temperature to cook at my stew at. I will definitely shop there regularly.
I've set myself a goal to cook something at home at least once a week during 2013, because I'm a useless cook these days.

What did you get? I am just cooking a lovely stew with flat iron steak, lovely, but usually use skirt as it has an amazing texture when cooked.

The thing about butchers is that they are great for giving advice. Tell him what you want to cook, and how many people you are cooking for, and he'll tell you what to buy and how to cook it.