A couple of notes before you get started.
Shanks are often discarded, but they provide some of the most flavor and rich collagen of anywhere on the animal. You just have to prepare them right! This recipe goes exceptionally well with the bacon balsamic rosemary glaze.
This recipe will work with any comparable size animal, such as caribou or moose. If you want to use venison or antelope, for example, then you could increase the shanks to 4. Though only 2 will still be delicious!
Avocado oil works well for searing proteins and sautéing because it has a high smoke point. Many of you no doubt have pork fat, bear fat, lard, or some other animal fat you’ve harvested. These work great and I prefer to use one of these first. But if you can’t, my go-to is avocado oil.
Ingredients:
- Elk shank 2 each
- Garlic cloves, lightly crushed 5 each
- Diced white onion 1 Cup l 235 grams
- Fresh thyme 8 oz. l 227 grams
- Red wine 3 Cups l 700 milliliter
- Bone broth 2 Cups l 475 milliliters
- Whole black pepper corns 1 Tbsp l 30 grams
- Kosher salt
- Avocado oil for searing shanks
Equipment Needed:
Broad, shallow sauce pot or shank.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425°.
While the pan is heating, drizzle enough oil or fat in the pan to just cover the surface, and season the shanks on all sides with salt.
When the pan is hot, place shanks gently in the pan on any of the three non “shin” sides. There is no practical reason to sear this side. When one side of each shank is brown, turn, continuing to brown all three sides.
Once browned, remove from pan and set aside briefly on a plate or rack and drain oil or fat.
Add onion, garlic, and thyme and sauté for just a moment to release their aromatics.
Add remaining ingredients to the pan. Cover tightly with lid or aluminum foil and place in oven.
Turn oven down to 300° and allow shanks to braise for 2 ½ – 3 hours. Shanks should be fork tender.
Reserve liquid to pour over, reduce to a thicker sauce, or discard.
