Beef Shanks ...

I am looking to braise some meaty shanks. I got some 3" thick, 2lbs+ shanks. I want to do a braise in oven for 3-4hrs at 300f or so. My biggest concern is two fold.

1. sauce... I want to be able to cook and serve it, but because there is so much fat in the braising liquid and there is no way (for me) to properly defat it, are there any tricks I can use? Typically, I would filter it and leave it overnight in fridge and handle/finish next day.

2. what's your favorite braise? I typically use onions/carrots/bay leafs/peppercorns/thyme/rosemary/crushed/ tomatoes and a bottle of red (water if it's not enough). Anyone have any other recommendations? I typically start with dredging it in floor and then frying in skillet for 3-4 min per side to develop crust... and then put in a dutch oven...

TIA

Call me Ishmael, but I often find myself preferring braising beef in dark stout over red wine, if I am serving it with anything other than pasta. Regarding the fat, drink it. It will make you strong. Or just do your best skimming it. Otherwise, if you cool it down overnight, the fat will rise to the top and form a solid disc. Just pick it out in one piece and see how far you can throw it across the lawn.

I don't think that 3-4 hours is enough in the oven, at least not if you want fork-tender meat. When I've done shanks I've had to go up to as much as five hours. But then again, I guess it depends on the individual shanks and the over you are using.

I agree with the next day thing but if you're pressed for time I drain the liquid into a tall, clear, relatively narrow plastic pitcher or container and let the fat rise to the top and then carefully ladle the fat off. It doesn't have to be plastic or clear but clear helps.

Yep yep, I am glad I am not lost so far. I will defiantly do 5 hours.

here is starter

Pressure cooker is the way to shank IMO

Mucho Bocho said:

Pressure cooker is the way to shank IMO

Click to expand...

+1

Pressure cooker is magic for shank.

Lars

Yeah the Chinese guy I used to work for always did tongue and shins in the PC. Blow sv right out of the water.

Put me down for Pressure cooker as well.

If you had the time, take it off the bone, reform it and tie, marinate in red wine overnight. Make a stock with the bones, use that stock for braising liquid.

I've done pressure cooker shanks, but I actually prefer the low and slow braise method for the cut. The sinew and membranes just don't seem to get as nice and sticky in the pressure cooker as they do in the oven. But it might just be bias.

I do pressure cooking for stocks, for chunks of beef chuck, for all sorts of things, but I tend to go the old fashioned way for shanks. I also like that the sauce is reduced slowly over time instead of having to do it after the pressure cooking as a result of no loss of moisture.

I've never had them braised. I should note the Chinese guy was not f**king around, so he could have made a trade off in quality for saving himself a few hours of having to keep an eye on the shanks,tan,whatever

Not that low and slow is f**king around. I guess the PC is probably more labour , space and time friendly

oh yeah, for restaurant output, pressure-cooking is certainly advantageous.

I do own a PC, so it's something I may invest in this year...

Good news in came out delicious.

Bad news is in 2 fold:
Sauce will need a lot of work... Drain, chill, defat, reduce, so not possible to cook/eat same day (for me anyway).
As is, shanks can't be served, short to a few carnivores here. They are delicious, but, butt ugly. The strings didnt keep the shape, bone totally deformed and meat lobes separated. What I am thinking is, when I make sauce tomorrow, and I just pulled the meat out, I can then reheat and finish and serve..

It came out like extra delicious pulled pork. Here is a teaser