What Are Beef shanks and How Can I Use Them?
Beef shanks is easier to cook with than it looks. Here's how to choose, use, and store them, what to substitute, and 9 recipes to get you started.
What are beef shanks?
The beef shank is the shank (or leg) portion of a steer or heifer.
Due to the constant use of this muscle by the animal it tends to be tough, dry, and sinewy, so is best when cooked for a long time in moist heat.
As it is very lean, it is widely used to prepare very low-fat ground beef. Due to its lack of sales, it is not often seen in shops. Although, if found in retail, it is very cheap and a low-cost ingredient for beef stock. Beef shank is a common ingredient in soups.
Where found
Beef shanks are usually found in the meats section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.
| In Chinese: | 牛肉柄 | |
| British (UK) term: | ||
| en français: | jarrets de bœuf | |
| en español: | Pierna de res |
Recipes using beef shanks
There are 9 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Star Anise Beef-Rice Noodle Soup
A star anise beef and rice noodle soup in the style of Vietnamese pho: a long-simmered oxtail and shank broth scented with charred ginger, star anise, and cinnamon, over rice noodles, beef, and fresh herbs.
Wedding Soup
Hearty Italian wedding soup simmered for hours with beef shanks, tiny meatballs, vegetables, tomatoes, and small pasta shells. Topped with grated Parmesan for a soul-warming bowl.
Chicken & Beef Burgoo
Chicken and beef burgoo, the hearty Kentucky stew that simmers two meats with corn, lima beans, potatoes, okra, and tomatoes, thickened with a bacon-drippings roux. A big-batch Southern crowd-pleaser.
Gribiche Sauce
Classic French gribiche sauce with Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, capers, cornichons, and hard-boiled eggs. Served alongside slow-simmered beef shank medallions and steamed baby leeks.
Hough Soup
Traditional Scottish hough soup made from beef shank simmered for hours with carrots, onion, and turnip, then thickened with sago. A hearty, old-fashioned broth from the bone.
Beef & Root Vegetable Soup with Homemade Stock
Beef and root vegetable soup made the slow way: a from-scratch stock from meaty soup bones, then simmered with shank meat, barley, turnip, parsnip, and tomato. Hearty, deeply savory, and better the next day.
Braveheart Cock-A-Leekie Soup
Scottish "Braveheart" chicken, beef and leek soup. Adapted from The Frugal Gourmet
