I've made this dish many times and it is crazy good! This is the only way, in my opinion, to deal with wild game shanks and has made the venison shank (including the heel) basically my favorite piece of the deer! Here it is, enjoy.
Braised Venison Shanks
This recipe is pretty simple but takes a few steps and dirties more dishes than I like but is totally worth it. I took a braised short rib recipe and tweaked it until I came up with this recipe and man it's one of my favorite and everyone who tries it, loves it.
Cook Time: 4hr 15min
Serves 3 people with second servings, or 5 - 6 people but everyone wants seconds so not realistic lol
Ingredients:
Cooked meat removed from bones, sauce blended into gravy, and all put back together in the original cooking pan to place in the oven and keep warm. The picture does no justice to the greatness of this meal. Prepare to be amazed at the flavor!
UPDATE: Better/more images added!
Notes:
Braised Venison Shanks
This recipe is pretty simple but takes a few steps and dirties more dishes than I like but is totally worth it. I took a braised short rib recipe and tweaked it until I came up with this recipe and man it's one of my favorite and everyone who tries it, loves it.
Cook Time: 4hr 15min
Serves 3 people with second servings, or 5 - 6 people but everyone wants seconds so not realistic lol
Ingredients:
- 4 lbs of venison shanks (heels left on rear shanks makes for more meat)
- Cooking oil (Canola preferred but any will work)
- Salt and black pepper
- 1 large white or yellow onion, sliced or diced (not a red onion)
- 3 Roma tomatoes cut into eights
- 3 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped (or crushed well if easier)
- 1 cup of Merlot wine (you can use Chardonnay if you have no Merlot) [Update: been using Carlos Rossi Burgandy in the giant jug, it's thin and cheap and makes a great sauce]
- 2 cups of beef broth (can use beef bouillon to make broth)
- 3 Tablespoons of Dijon Mustard (optional if you do not have, no big deal)
- 1 pound of pasta or 2 cups of long grain dry rice (i prefer rice with this dish)
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder or Dehydrated Onion
- Large oven roasting pan or turkey roasting pan (I use disposable turkey roasting pan)
- Foil
- Blender
- Place an oven rack at the half way/middle notch in the oven
- Lightly oil the roasting pan and one side of foil that will cover the pan
- Place shanks in pan
- Season shanks all around with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder
- Add to the pan the wine, onion, garlic, tomato, Dijon mustard, and the beef broth
- Cover the pan with the foil (oil side down)
- Place pan on middle rack in oven
- Cook at 350 degrees for 4 hours, meat should be fork tender
- At the 3 hour and 30 minute point check meat and then begin cooking the pasta/rice, it should finish before the shanks finish braising
- After shanks have completed cooking time remove pan from oven
- Uncover and debone meat from shanks, be sure not to burn yourself, dispose of the bones once cleaned of meat and tender tissue
- Pour sauce with the veggies into blender without adding meat to the blender
- Before blending, let the sauce set in the blender until fat pools at the top
- Scoop away fat from the broth in the blender
- Blend the sauce with veggies in the blender, taste and add salt/pepper to taste if needed and reblend
- Add blended sauce back to the meat in the pan and cover the pan with foil again
- Place back in the oven for 15 minutes to rewarm the sauce as it cools down quickly
- Remove from oven and serve meat and sauce/gravy over rice or pasta
Cooked meat removed from bones, sauce blended into gravy, and all put back together in the original cooking pan to place in the oven and keep warm. The picture does no justice to the greatness of this meal. Prepare to be amazed at the flavor!
UPDATE: Better/more images added!
Notes:
- I clean the major outside skin of the shank but do not spend more then 2 minutes or so on it. The silver skin, tendon, and cartlage will cook down and melt into amazing flavors and will be soft enough to easily eat. That stuff has a buttery flavorful texture and taste after this dish is done cooking.
- I use both front and back shanks but the back shanks have more meat
- I leave the heel on the back shanks when I process my deer and pigs, just so there is more meat for this dish. The heal muscle is a tough one as well and full of silver skin and stuff so it is great for this dish
- Most braised dishes have you sear the meat first before cooking in the oven. If you have a dish big enough to do so feel free but I often vacuum seal my venison shanks whole bone and they are quite long. Pork shanks would probably be short enough.
- For 2 years now I take my Fiskar geared tree limb loppers and I cut the shank at the top knuckle and right below where the meat stops. This makes a more manageable shanks to vacuum seal and cook but the cut is not a very clean. If you go this tree limb lopper route be sure and get rid of bone chips or chunks from the cut/break and you will be golden. This cutting process is super quick, easy, and clean. When cut down this way the shanks may be able to be seared in a pan but again 4 shanks in 1 pan is not an easy fit even when cut down.
- If the sauce ever gets thick and crusty like it was cooking too long or in too wide of a pan simply add a cup of water or more and it will come right back. I've had to do this a number of times where I lost track of time. The dish was salvaged and you would never know the difference.
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