Active Time
40 min
Total Time
1 day
In this luxurious dish, the marrow from slow-simmered beef shanks combines with pan juices and aromatic vegetables, creating a silky gravy perfect for serving with potatoes. Tender roasted garlic adds a deep, caramelized background note.
Ingredients
Makes 6 to 8 servings
Special Equipment
Preparation
Step 1
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
Step 2
Pat shanks dry and rub all over with salt and pepper. Dredge shanks in flour, turning to coat. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then brown shanks on all sides in 3 batches, adding 1/2 tablespoon oil if necessary, 5 to 6 minutes per batch.
Step 3
Transfer shanks to a large roasting pan. Add broth and water to skillet and bring to a boil, scraping up brown bits. Nestle garlic (cut sides down), zest, thyme, and bay leaves with celery and carrots around shanks in pan and add broth mixture. Cover surface with a sheet of parchment paper and tightly cover pan with foil. Transfer to oven and braise until meat is very tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Skim off and discard fat from cooking liquid and cool mixture completely, uncovered, about 1 hour, then chill, covered, at least 6 hours.
Step 4
Preheat oven to 350°F (leave rack in middle position).
Step 5
Skim off and discard any remaining fat from surface of pan juices and reheat shank mixture, covered, in oven, turning shanks over once, 1 hour. Discard bay leaf, thyme sprigs, and zest. Transfer shanks and vegetables with garlic to a serving dish and keep warm, covered. If pan juices measure more than 3 cups, boil in a cleaned 12-inch skillet until reduced; if less, add water. Squeeze garlic pulp from 1 head into pan juices, discarding skin, and whisk to incorporate, then add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Pour sauce over shanks and serve, along with vegetables and remaining garlic heads.
Braised shank mixture can be chilled, covered, up to 2 days.
Leave a Review
Reviews (15)
Back to TopBest meal I had all year. We used the biggest rondeau that Le Creuset makes and it was barely big enough. Use the roasting pan as prescribed. We didn't cool the meat to save time. Just simply browned, braised, and then sent the jus through a fat separator to skim off the fat. Double down on the veggies. And add some marrow bones if you have them. We served with roasted Japanese sweet potatoes and red potatoes. Yum.
Krissy
NYC
11/8/2021
I love this recipe. I wouldn’t change a thing.
Erik B.
White Plains, MD
11/2/2021
Why is there a photo of a turkey drumstick with a recipe for beef shank???
Nanette90278
4/13/2015
Oh my goodness this recipe is heaven on earth! For all of you that have ammended the recipe to make it simpler, please don't, it is really simple and the end result is amazing. I'm not sure that beef shanks is the same cut in America as it is in England as the beef shank (shin with bone in) we get in the UK is much larger than what is described in this recipe but based on that the only modifications I made was that I doubled the amount of water added as my shank was 10ins thick including bone and the fresh thyme in my garden was out of season so I used 1tbsp dried thyme. I have cooked this dish for a dinner party and everyone wanted the recipe, it was so simple to cook and so impressive, this is now a regular on our dinner table. Just don't mess with the recipe, give it time and enjoy. Thanks very much for a wonderful dish.
Majo603
Northamptonshire, UK
9/30/2012
This is great stuff....I didn't do all the steps...but I did braised it in the oven with all of the components...for probably 4 hours....I didn't bother to make the sauce the juices were fantastic as they were.
dmorgann
Debbie, Scranton Pa
12/10/2010
For the same amount of work, osso bucco is a better recipe. Also, is anyone concerned about mad cow when using beef marrow?
diablofoodie
nyc
2/23/2010
I would not make this recipe again. I made a few changes, and followed some suggestions of other reviewers. Although it made a wonderful sauce, which was delicious over risotto; the meat itself was too rich for my tastes. I found it a bit gamey.
chefsway
connecticut
1/21/2010
I used this recipe mainly as a guide to ingredients. I took some shortcuts to simplify the preparation and scaled it down to serve two. My wife and I were very pleased with the results. Browned the shanks in a Le Creuset dutch oven, removed them from the pot, deglazed with two cups of beef bouillon, then returned the shanks to the same pot for braising. Two shanks just fit nicely in 5.5 quart dutch oven. The two cups of bouillon just covered the shanks. I added about eight cloves of peeled garlic, one medium to large onion sliced, about a tablespoon of dried thyme, a few bay leaves, and the zest of one lemon coarsely grated. (Skipped the carrots and celery.) Cooked at 275F for 2-1/2 hours with lid on. Added a medium potato halved lengthwise and cut into one inch sections. Cooked for another 45 minutes with lid on. Using a slotted spoon I removed everything but the liquid from the pot, skimmed off the fat, added a splash of red wine and then simmered and stirred the liquid briefly to make about 1/2 cup of sauce. We served the shanks with steamed broccoli tossed with a vinaigrette dressing. I think the lemon zest is a key ingredient. Without being a distinct flavor at the end, it seems to brighten the overall effect and makes the dish very savory.
Slow_fire
San Diego, CA
11/25/2009
I liked this but didn't love it. I used the slow cooker to braise and my shanks fell apart. I then had to pick them apart further to get the big fat strips out. There wasn't nearly enough garlic to make it taste like roasted garlic. It was very greasy, probably not aided by my addition of some extra bones. I prefer using beef shanks to make ragu, I think.
Anonymous
Providence, RI
9/21/2009
We get one shank/year as we order from local Oregon family who ranches 120 mi. from town. They raise the best organic beef around, in accordance with Michael Pollan's criterea put forth in The Omnivorse's Dilemma. I instantly liked this recepie b/c it uses 4 heads of garlic, and herbs that I grow in my garden year round. I did substitute California bay for traditional Greek bay even though there is both in my yard, as I find the former to be too pungent for my and my family's tastes. Even with that change, this didn't appeal to my 8 year old son's palate. He does have an adventuresome one; he'll demand octopus and salmon roe when dining in a Japanese restaraunt. This dish is quite rich, even with most of the fat removed, according to the recipie's directions. I took the liberty, when pouring the excess pan juices in the skillet after the meat and vegetables were done, to thicken the sauce with arrowroot, and with good results. Still, I doubt that I'll make this one again, what with so many more flavourful recipies for beef shank. Next year, I'll try a spicy Korean one I found online during this year's search. At any rate, thanks to the person who posted this recipie; I love sharing info, too.
poodlewriter
Portland, OR
2/2/2009
Very good! I didn't follow the recipe exactly (grilled the shanks instead of browning because we happened to be grilling), no parchment, reheated the sauce on the stove after fishing out the meat, cutting it up and then adding it back in to just warm through (cut down on the work some). Served with crusty French bread to sop up the gravy. Will definitely make again.
Anonymous
Seattle, WA
5/27/2008
A few thongs the recipe doesn't tell you: don't sear the shanks in a non-stick skillet. The carmelized "brown bits" will have nothing to stick to and the dish will lack flavor. Also, the addition of two or three more marrow bones to the pot make everything more delicious. The extra marrow can be added to the sauce. Also, I get better results by lightly zesting a larger lemon with a microplane, thereby getting about two tablespoons of zest for the pot. Also, as are all braises, this dish gets een better the more time it stays in the fridge. (But do finish it within five days of cooking).
anewman102
New York, NY
4/11/2007
Excellent recipe. Hello, to the person from Spokane who can spot a turkey leg--but cannot write "a lot" which is actually two words--correctly.
Anonymous
3/26/2007
I think if you look at the Turkey Ossobuco picture from the same list of Braised Meat recipes, you can figure out what happened. They both sound so good, will have to make them both and report back.
Anonymous
Miami
3/25/2007
Please don't steer away from trying this recipe because of the comment about the picture. This dish is very, very good. Think you'll really enjoy making (and eating) this meal.
Anonymous
3/11/2007
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