Shank you....shank you very much!
Please detail recipe..Midwest?
I killed three deer in a span of eight days and I kept front and back shanks from one deer and ground the second dears. The deer I killed on Saturday I have yet to butcher so I'm planning to freeze the shanks. My question is, do you have to clean any of the silver skin off of them at all or do you just cut them off and cook them as is. I know that I had read that whenever you come down that low in that slow that all of that stuff turns into like a July tennis, not tough and actually tasty part of the dish. Is this true? Or is it best to try to clean the easiest of the silver skin out of that? I myself am not super picky, but my wife and my daughters don't always go into things with an open mind and I want to make sure that I give it the best chance to be a Success at our dinner table. Thanks for bringing this up Jethro!!!
stink n string - I just cut away the outer layer of silver skin enough so anything that got dirt on it is gone. I wouldn't bother trying to take much more than that, there are so many layers of silver skin and tendon as you break down the shank it doesn't do any good to spend time on it. Cook it long enough and all that stuff breaks down anyways.
Speaking to how your wife and kids would like it - I tried one of Hank Shaw's recipes when we had a party with several other families. Everyone, including the kids went back for seconds.
midwest's Link
Otherwise, a meal of deer shanks is a family favorite. Can’t wait to try the Mt goat shanks
You don't know what you're missing man! Some folks think tenderloin is the tastiest part of an animal too, their loss...
midwest - I need to try the garlic recipe, looks good. The Austrian recipe is what I made and our guests destroyed it.
Mooso Buco has become one of my all time favorite game dishes. I always start with braising the meat in olive oil. Lots of garlic and onions are a given as well. After that you can get creative, I have used white wine, red wine, red sauce and various combinations to make the sauce, usually mixed with a decent amount of beef stock (I use one called "Better than Bullion"). Other things to add or think about include soy sauce or teriyaki, thyme, ground black pepper, (if you're adventuresome, a bit of malt or balsamic vinegar adds an interesting flavor).
After braising, the key is to cook it low and slow, with lots of moisture. All of the connective tissue breaks down and creates the awesome flavor. Toby mentioned pressure cooking and that works great. I have done in 45 minutes in a pressure cooker what normally takes at least 4 hours in a slow cooker.
Usually. after it's cooked, I remove the meat and turn up the heat to boil off water and thicken the gravy. You can also use corn starch, especially if you're in a hurry. Since this also concentrates the flavor, don't use too much salt early in the process or you may find it too salty (you can always add more just before serving).
You can serve it over rice, risotto, pasta etc. Sometimes I add carrots and parsnips and sort of make a stew. By the way, leave all the connective tissue, on, as it cooks it will soften, and it definitely adds to the unique taste.
Breville makes this great appliance called a Fast Slow Cooker, it braises, slow cooks, steams and pressure cooks, works really well for one pot meals.
Try it, it's not a hard dish to master and I have never met anyone who doesn't like it. Dammit now I'm hungry.
StickNString: I did not remove any silver skin. Everything that has been said about all the skin, tendons, ligaments melting away is true. As you pull apart the meat you can tell where those layers were, but they are melted away to jelly.
Craig@work: slice through meat with knife to the bone. Cut bone with bone saw of your choice. Rinse off to get rid of bone dust. Pat dry before meal prep.
