BEEF SHANK

We will be cooking beef shank today, a Mad Meat Genius first. This was an experiment that sounded like some tasty fun. Beef Shank is usually braised because it can be very tough. There are tendons and fibrous muscle that need to be cooked low and slow in a moist environment. We will be cooking our shank low and slow in a Weber Smoky Mountain Cooker. This smoker will keep the temperature hovering around 230 degrees for the cooking duration.


The beef shank first needs to be trimmed. There is a layer of fat and silver skin that needs to be removed. A sharp knife and a little patience is all that is needed. Some secret rub was applied and the shank was brought to room temperature. Today’s fuel will be a combination of charcoal, apple and hickory wood chunks. The cooker was brought to temperature and the Stoker was plugged in. Six hours of smoking and the beef shank was temporarily removed from the cooker. Several sheets of aluminum foil were spread on a table. Stubbs beef marinade and some more rub were applied to the shank. The meat was tightly wrapped and returned to the cooker. Wrapping the shank will achieve braising technique with its own steam. Six more hours of cooking and the internal temperature of the shank reached 195 degrees.


The shank was unwrapped from the foil. The meat was falling of the bone. There was a pool of marinade mixed with beef shank drippings. This liquid gold was reserved and later made into smoky rich gravy. The shank was sliced with a sharp knife. We served our shank with garlic mashed potatoes and artichokes. The meat had a pot roast quality and texture. It did have a wonderful beefy flavor. This experiment was a success. We even had a lot left over. Several days later we took left over shank and made asparagus chow mein. Yummy Noodles!