IronNoggin
Well-Known Member
For most of us Hunters, deer shanks are generally considered to be a bit of a pain in the butt. Too much connective tissue and sinew to make prepping it for the grinder (sausage / burgers) much more than an exercise in frustration! I quite often tossed them to the hounds. Then one day while over in Ukee, one of the restaurants offered up a Braised Lamb Shank dinner that I thoroughly enjoyed! Hmmm...
"Shanks are an eater’s cut: All that connective tissue is what is essentially the animal’s shin and calf melts into a slick, almost sticky gravy. Properly done, a braised shank feels like its loaded with fat, but isn’t."
Very True! And as I munched on that most delicious lamb, I figured there simply HAD to be a way to turn deer into the same Yummy Treat!
Through the hunting season, I kept a handful of the deer shanks back with thought of mimicking that recipe.
I conducted an online search, and found a handful of recipes that looked about right. Most noted:
"The key to cooking any shank, wild or domestic, is to cook it slow, moist and low. Take your time, braise or stew the shanks over low heat. Once you figure that out, you’re golden."
Seemed about right...
Most of the recipes I found were what I would call "heavy", based on red wines and the like. For the initial experiment though, I decided I wanted something just a little lighter. With a little more looking, I did find one recipe I thought I could modify, and so set about to do just that.
Here's what I eventually came up with:
Braised Venison Shanks
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter
4 venison shanks
4 heads of garlic, peeled
Salt
1 cup white wine (a California Pinot Grigio in this case)
3/4 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
Lemon peel from whole lemon finely grated
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 pound of fresh mushrooms
1 teaspoon of Garlic Plus spice
Method:
Take the shanks out of the fridge, coat them in a little oil and salt them well.
Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Heat the butter in a roaster and brown the shanks on every side but the one with the “shin,” where the bone shows clearly — if you brown this part, the shank is more likely to fall apart before you want it to. Remove the shanks as they brown and set aside.
While the shanks are browning, peel the garlic. Think it’s hard to peel 4 plus heads of garlic? Try this trick:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d3oc24fD-c
Works Deadly!! I'll never use another method for garlic again!
Put the garlic in the roaster and brown a little. Pour in the white wine and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Bring this to a boil and add the chicken stock, thyme, rosemary and lemon peel. Bring to a simmer and add salt to taste (if desired). Return the shanks to the pot and arrange “shin” side up with the garlic all around them. Cover the pot and cook in the oven until the meat wants to fall off the bone, anywhere from two to 3 hours.
Slice mushrooms and add to buttered frying pan with Garlic Plus to marinade on top of stove. I set this on the burner that allows some heat to transfer up through, and they did not require any further cooking after 2.5 hours.
Carefully remove the shanks and arrange on a baking sheet. Turn the oven to 400°F. Remove a decent handful of the nicest garlic cloves and set aside.
Puree the sauce in a blender, mix in the unsalted butter and pour the sauce into a small pot to keep warm on the stove.
Paint the shanks with some of the sauce and put them in the oven. Paint every 5 minutes for 15 minutes, or until there is a nice glaze on the shanks. To serve, give everyone some mashed potatoes, veggie of choice, and a shank. Pour some sauce over everything and garnish with the roasted garlic cloves and mushrooms.
Add in your favorite veggies and wine, and Walla! A Meal VERY Much Fit For a King!
![bowdown[1].gif](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Ffishbcforum.com%2Fpublic%2Fstyle_emoticons%2Fdefault%2Fbowdown%5B1%5D.gif&hash=cd2323ef9ea341861f34359b86ec1ed5)
Literally Melt In Your Mouth YUMMY!!
Cheers!
Nog
"Shanks are an eater’s cut: All that connective tissue is what is essentially the animal’s shin and calf melts into a slick, almost sticky gravy. Properly done, a braised shank feels like its loaded with fat, but isn’t."
Very True! And as I munched on that most delicious lamb, I figured there simply HAD to be a way to turn deer into the same Yummy Treat!
Through the hunting season, I kept a handful of the deer shanks back with thought of mimicking that recipe.
I conducted an online search, and found a handful of recipes that looked about right. Most noted:
"The key to cooking any shank, wild or domestic, is to cook it slow, moist and low. Take your time, braise or stew the shanks over low heat. Once you figure that out, you’re golden."
Seemed about right...
Most of the recipes I found were what I would call "heavy", based on red wines and the like. For the initial experiment though, I decided I wanted something just a little lighter. With a little more looking, I did find one recipe I thought I could modify, and so set about to do just that.
Here's what I eventually came up with:
Braised Venison Shanks
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter
4 venison shanks
4 heads of garlic, peeled
Salt
1 cup white wine (a California Pinot Grigio in this case)
3/4 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
Lemon peel from whole lemon finely grated
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 pound of fresh mushrooms
1 teaspoon of Garlic Plus spice
Method:
Take the shanks out of the fridge, coat them in a little oil and salt them well.
Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Heat the butter in a roaster and brown the shanks on every side but the one with the “shin,” where the bone shows clearly — if you brown this part, the shank is more likely to fall apart before you want it to. Remove the shanks as they brown and set aside.
While the shanks are browning, peel the garlic. Think it’s hard to peel 4 plus heads of garlic? Try this trick:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d3oc24fD-c
Works Deadly!! I'll never use another method for garlic again!
Put the garlic in the roaster and brown a little. Pour in the white wine and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Bring this to a boil and add the chicken stock, thyme, rosemary and lemon peel. Bring to a simmer and add salt to taste (if desired). Return the shanks to the pot and arrange “shin” side up with the garlic all around them. Cover the pot and cook in the oven until the meat wants to fall off the bone, anywhere from two to 3 hours.
Slice mushrooms and add to buttered frying pan with Garlic Plus to marinade on top of stove. I set this on the burner that allows some heat to transfer up through, and they did not require any further cooking after 2.5 hours.
Carefully remove the shanks and arrange on a baking sheet. Turn the oven to 400°F. Remove a decent handful of the nicest garlic cloves and set aside.
Puree the sauce in a blender, mix in the unsalted butter and pour the sauce into a small pot to keep warm on the stove.
Paint the shanks with some of the sauce and put them in the oven. Paint every 5 minutes for 15 minutes, or until there is a nice glaze on the shanks. To serve, give everyone some mashed potatoes, veggie of choice, and a shank. Pour some sauce over everything and garnish with the roasted garlic cloves and mushrooms.
Add in your favorite veggies and wine, and Walla! A Meal VERY Much Fit For a King!
Literally Melt In Your Mouth YUMMY!!
Cheers!
Nog
