Braised lamb/venison shank recipe??

[Idaho Mule]

Just wondering if someone has a recipe for "braised deer shank". I have eaten braised lamb shank a few times and enjoyed it (never made it). With deer season in full swing we sometimes end up with a younger deer or two and it might be fun to use the shanks in a different method than the burger pile. I think if one payed close attention and removed the fat as best he could that it could have potential. Any one have experience with such?? JW

[NyFirefighter357]

I have found the best way is to cook thing like this is in an oven bag. (http://www.reynoldskitchens.com/oven-bags/). Follow directions for oven bag. Preheat your oven, this time to 325°F, Pat your leg dry and make several deep incisions throughout the roast with a paring knife. Fill with incisions with garlic cloves, you can also randomly insert garlic cloves, sprigs of fresh thyme and fresh sage into those incisions. Generously apply salt and pepper to leg. In a hot skillet add bacon grease, olive oil or lard and brown the leg well on all sides. Remove the leg and add 2-3 medium or large onions, 4-5 cloves of garlic and brown. Add the onions and garlic into the bag some celery, bay leaves and thyme & sage, place the leg on top. Add 2 cups of stock or broth Chicken/beef/vegetable or 1 cup broth/stock & 1 cup white wine. Cook 3.5-4hrs

[Lloyd Smale]

stick them in a crock pot with a pack of lipton onion soup mix and cook on high all day and pick the meat out of the remaining connecting tissue and bone. About anything on a deer cooked like that is tender and tasty. If your in a hurry a couple hours in a pressure cooker will do the same. that said I shoot enough deer that shanks, necks, briskets, ect go in the scrap pile for sausage and burger which I personally enjoy as much as a roast. Costs us about 20 bucks a day in gas to go and shoot a deer. If I get even 10lbs of burger off a deer just that paid for two days gas when burger goes for 4 bucks a lb. I might change my attitude a bit if I only shot one deer a year and ANY venison was a treat.

[MaryB]

I have made them in a tomato based pasta sauce(tomato sauce, pick your herbs... last time I did it was with sage, parsley, marjoram). Simmer until falling apart, pick meat off and mix back into sauce, serve over choice of pasta. The tomato cuts any tallow fat you missed...

[ripshod]

I pressure cook for about 90 minutes.Season with whatever you like.Makes great soup meat.Do not debone.I think that the bone adds to the flavor.

[MT Gianni]

I have cooked venison shanks using any osso bucco recipe. The key is slow and low until that collagen dissolves and leaves all the flavor. I like a tomato based sauce that is heavy with garlic.

[Idaho Mule]

Thank you all for the great ideas and suggestions. Everything sounds like great ideas, I just got to sort out which way I want to go with this project. MT Gianni, please pardon my ignorance, but just what is "osso bucco"?? I have ridden a lot of buckers in my time, but I never called one of them that. JW

[MaryB]

Osso Bruco is braised beef shank



Typical serving on polenta

[Idaho Mule]

Thanks Mary, and everyone else. Now I just got to land one of those "younger deer" or whittle the shanks out of the full size doe that Lagene got last Sat. JW

[Fishman]

I debone the shanks and keep that meat separate because of all the connective tissue. It makes GREAT stew, chili, whatever because of all the collagen. I have cut it into 1" chunks as well as coarse ground it (chili grind) and it all works well. I have slow cooked the chunks in stew and that is good. I have also pressure canned the shank meat. A couple years ago I canned 30 pints of shank meat and we are still eating it. Fun fact, South Texas deer often have prickly pear thorns in their shanks and sometimes they are so bad they are unusable.

Deer shank meat is the best there is in certain dishes and deserves to be set aside for that use. I find it less satisfactory in burger where the excessive connective tissue is a negative rather than the positive it is in a slow cooker.

[MT Gianni]

Mary had it right, thanks. I debone as I don't care for the taste of venison marrow but any of those recipes should get you a tasty meal.