This is one of my favorite ways to prepare venison, it is minimally seasoned bringing out the rich flavor of the deer. The collagen and marrow come together to create a nourishing and gelatinous texture in the mouth! A real treat for a cold and rainy day π
This is also a great way to incorporate nose to tail eating into your life!
If you have high quality meat, you only really need salt and pepper to season it and a lot of time, the only the shanks can cook, the more of the collagen and fat will render out of the meat, creating insanely rich melt in the mouth flavors, and the bone marrow will be released as well which is not only a flavor boost but incredibly nutritious! This is really a bang for the bite meat πͺπ»ππ»
I buy my venison shanks from Broken Arrow Ranch where I know that the animals lived in the wild, grazed on what they wanted and were humanely killed in their natural habitat (no rounding up, etc).
All you need to make this dish is:
1) a large pan with a lid , I like my Staub cast iron π₯
2) venison shanks, I used 5 pounds and thatβs about 7 portions for me π¦
3) salt and pepper π§
4) grass-fed cultured ghee to sear the meat
Making the dish is also incredibly simple, simply heat up the ghee in the cast iron and liberally season the meat on both sides with salt and pepper.
When the ghee is warm, sear the venison shanks on both sides until they are browned. Then put them lid on and let them simmer on low. You may need to add some broth or water but the key is the length of time yoh cook them. Ideally 5-6 hours until they fall off of the bone.
You can use the remaining bone marrow to make a whipped bone marrow butter (recipe will follow) or simply use the molten marrow as a drizzle for the meat π
This is very freezer friendly and can be reheated in the oven (covered in foil). The leftovers are almost even tastier than the original π
I like to enjoy the shanks with butter and sea salt flakes π§π§
I also love to serve them with my mashed cauliflower ππ»
