Simple braised beef shank

The plentiful and cheap shank is sadly foreign to most dinner tables. It's a cut for braising, and little else. I'm very familiar with the shank. It's a collagen rich group of muscles responsible for supporting the animals weight and balance. It's comprised of long sinews and isolated muscles connecting the hoof to the anchors in the knee. Because of the constant work and blood flow, this meats develops lots of robust beefy flavor. In ANY kitchen that is practicing whole animal utilization you must find a use for these cuts. This meat isn't even good for grinding.

Ok, let's get to the meat of this article. The cut I'm working with is a cross-cut shank from Bastrop Cattle company. It's local to me and 100% grass-fed. I paid only $4 for this cut. I'm making a dinner for 2 two, and I wanted to prepare this as simply as I could. I bought veggies at the Barton Creek farmers market; red potatoes, red onion, green beans. Total of 8 dollars. Everything else was in the pantry. You can substitute anything you like. Water for stock or carrots for green beans. It's just a good idea to keep in mind your going to cook this for several hours. So pick roots or add more delicate ingredients later in the process. What ever you do just have fun with it. Be sure to have good methods in the kitchen. Mis En Plas is a french term that means "everything in it's place". Do all you prep before you start, and clean up before you start preparing your meal. This is a professional approach to working in the kitchen. 

There's always a little debate about the effects of searing meats. Regardless of any of that mess, I can tell you one thing searing does. It lets you build flavors. I've started off with some homemade rendered lard we make at Salt & Time. Once the lard is hot add 1 tablespoon or 3-4 if you like more garlic. Sauté the garlic over medium heat. Just till translucent, and then remove garlic from pan and reserve.

Salt the meat 5-10 minutes before cooking. Just before putting the beef in the stock pot turn the heat up 1/4. Then put the largest surface down first. This will help keep the meat from distorting under heat. Making it harder to keep contact for the searing of the other side. Shanks can have more or less meat on them depending one where it comes off the shank. So look at the cut you buy closely cause sometimes there's less meat and more bone. 

Sear at medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Then flip and repeat. Take note of the brown bits left behind. This is known as "fond" and it's all flavor. Leave it alone, it's going to turn loose before to long.

 Once your shank has got a good hard crust on both sides, remove from the pan.  Add the shank back to the pot. 

At this point I add back the garlic and 3 cups of diced onion. Add salt and fresh cracked pepper. Cook till onion begins to caramelizes. Add enough COLD water to the pot to cover 1/2 of the shank.  I'm adding some Worchershire sauce, 1/4 cup worth. Two points I'd like to make here.

If you not using pre-made stock here's two tricks to still have a rich braising liquid. Always use cold water preferably filtered and from the fridge. Cold water, instead of hot or tap, will slow down the cooking process and lets a richer flavor develop. Worchershire sauce is great with red meats and helps add more flavor, easily. Bring the liquid to temp, not quite boiling.

 I'm adding the potatoes and green beans and moving to a pre-heated oven (at 300 degrees). Put on a lid and cook for 2 hours. Go do something for a while. Your house should be smelling amazing at this point. I like to plan this to happen when your dinner quest is arriving. You get some nice responses and can chat a bit. Meanwhile make a simple roux for the sauce later. Start this about half way through the braise. In a small cast iron skillet on low heat, combine 1 table spoon of flour with 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter. A roux is simple to make and is something you should be comfortable with making. No lessons here just be sure to get the mixture free of lumps. Don't worry about color for this use. 

Two hours in check for doneness. Remove shank, potatoes, and green beans. Move pot to the stove, fire the burner to high. Add 1 cup dry red wine and reduce the liquid by half. I've added fresh parsley and fresh thyme. Add the roux you made and stir in slowly. Let this thicken for 2 minutes over heat the turn off burner. This will be your sauce so season to taste. 

If your lucky like me there was a small bit of marrow left in the bone. Slurping out the rich marrow is the best way to start this meal. The veggies are tender and full of flavor. The meat is also extremely tender almost gelatinous. Eating collagen rich food with give you health benefits too. Look it up. So a meal once a week of grass-fed beef is a good idea. A meal containing collagen rich grass-fed beef is a great idea. Hope you like this recipe. Shanks!