Cold weather calls for nourishing dishes like these braised bison shanks 😍
When served with a pasta swap, some veggies and slathered with ghee or the bone marrow that cooks out of the bone, they feel like a warm hug 🥰
The key to yummy shanks is time and high quality meat. I got my shanks from Force or Nature, but Northstar Bison makes yummy shanks as well! You can use my referral link to save on your order.
You can also check out my guide to grass fed bison here
It’s important that shanks are braised, because they contain a lot of collagen that needs to be rendered. Searing only will result in tough meat, so you really want to take the time to cook them low and slow so that they fall off of the bone 🤩
You can choose to braise them in any liquid you like, water or broth work well. I also like to throw in some bay leaf for additional flavor🤤
My favorite part of the cut is the precious bone marrow inside the bone, and to make sure that I can enjoy every morsel of it, I remove it from the bone before I cook it, and simply roast it in the oven to drizzle over my veggies 😍
You can of course leave it in the bone, which will enhance the flavor of the meat, and you’ll still get the majority of it if you decide to drizzle the braising liquid over the meat or consume the broth!
Although this freezes well, I prefer to make only one shank at a time, which normally makes about two portions for me. One shank is typically 12-14 ounces and is very rich, so you don’t need a lot to fill up.
To make gather up 👩🏻🍳:
Grass fed Bison shanks (as many as you need) 🦬
Ghee for searing, I love cultured ghee from Pure Indian Foods 🧈
Sea Salt such as that from Celtic Sea Salt 🧂
Pepper- we use Thrive Market black pepper
Dried Bayleaf (I like Burlap and Barrel) 🌱
Begin by:
Pat the shanks dry and heat up ghee in a pot
Next, sear the meat until crispy brown on all sides, and season with salt and pepper.
Now, I like to remove the meat from the pot and scoop out the marrow to enjoy later on. I do this after searing because then it’s easier to remove. You can also leave the marrow in the bone.
. You can also leave the marrow in the bone.
Now, add in bay leaf or any other herb of your choice for flavor, and pour on water. Bring the water to a boil, and then turn down the heat and let it simmer for about 3 hours, or until the meat falls off of the bone!
When the meat is ready, you can shred it off of the bone and enjoy it with your favorite veggies and a pasta swap such as Shirataki Noodles drizzled in ghee and marrow or you can use it in a grain free tortilla with some guacamole (as shredded bison meat) or soup 🍲🌮
You can also strain the braising liquid and and add in some veggies like carrot and green onion and create a nourishing bone broth! I did this and put it in the fridge, and woke up to a bone broth jelly, which confirms how nourishing and rich the broth is 🙌🏻
I decided to roast the bone marrow in the oven with some sea salt at 300° for about 10 minutes.