Braised Venison Shanks with Garlic
User Reviews
4.9
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Prep Time
10 mins
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Cook Time
2 hrs 30 mins
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Total Time
2 hrs 40 mins
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Servings
4 people
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Calories
410 kcal
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
American
Braised Venison Shanks with Garlic
Description
The venison shanks are taken from the fridge, oiled, and salted before being browned carefully in a Dutch oven, leaving the shin side unbrowned to keep the shanks intact during cooking. Garlic heads are peeled quickly by shaking cloves in bowls and then lightly browned in the pot. White wine is added to deglaze, scraping browned bits, then combined with chicken stock, dried thyme, fresh rosemary, and lemon zest. The shanks return to the pot and braise slowly in the oven at 300°F to cook through and become tender.
After cooking, the braising liquid is pureed to create a smooth sauce, finishing with butter for richness. The dish is finished with fresh rosemary garnish if desired. This tender, aromatic preparation suits a rustic meal and pairs well with root vegetables, mashed potatoes, or hearty grains.
Preserved garlic can be used as a garnish if available; otherwise, some garlic cloves are removed before pureeing the sauce to adjust texture and flavor.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil or butter
- 4 venison shanks (or lamb)
- 4 garlic peeled, heads
- salt
- 3/4 cup white wine
- 1/2 cup chicken stock or other light stock
- 1 teaspoon thyme dried
- 1 tablespoon rosemary plus more for garnish, chopped fresh
- lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons butter unsalted
Instructions
- Take the shanks out of the fridge, coat them in a little oil and salt them well. Preheat the oven to 300°F.
- Heat the vegetable oil or butter in a Dutch oven (or other ovenproof pan that will fit all the shanks) and brown the shanks on every side but the one with the "shin," where the bone shows clearly -- if you brown this part, the shank is more likely to fall apart before you want it to. Remove the shanks as they brown and set aside.
- While the shanks are browning, peel the garlic. Think it's hard to peel 4 heads of garlic? Try this trick: Separate the cloves and put them in a metal bowl. Cover the bowl with one the same size and shake them vigorously for about 10 seconds. All the cloves will be peeled. Here is a video of the process.
- Put the garlic in the pot and brown just a little. Pour in the white wine and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Bring this to a boil and add the chicken stock, thyme, rosemary and lemon zest. bring to a simmer and add salt to taste. Return the shanks to the pot and arrange "shin" side up with the garlic all around them. Cover the pot and cook in the oven until the meat wants to fall off the bone, anywhere from an hour to 2 hours.
- Carefully remove the shanks and arrange on a baking sheet or small roasting pan. Turn the oven to 400°F. Remove about 12 of the nicest garlic cloves and set aside.
- Puree the sauce in a blender, swirl in the unsalted butter and pour the sauce into a small pot to keep warm.
- Paint the shanks with some of the sauce and put them in the oven. Paint every 5 minutes for 15 minutes, or until there is a nice glaze on the shanks. To serve, give everyone some mashed potatoes or polenta and a shank. Pour some sauce over everything and garnish with the roasted garlic cloves and rosemary.
Notes
- To peel garlic quickly, separate cloves and shake them vigorously between two metal bowls for about 10 seconds; the skins will come off easily.
- The shin side of the shanks should not be browned initially to prevent the meat from falling apart prematurely during braising.
- If you have preserved garlic, use it as a garnish for this dish; otherwise, remove some garlic cloves before pureeing the sauce to moderate the garlic flavor.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 4people
Amount Per Serving
Calories 410 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 410kcal | 21% |
| Carbohydrates | 3g | 1% |
| Protein | 40g | 80% |
| Fat | 22g | 34% |
| Saturated Fat | 14g | 70% |
| Cholesterol | 142mg | 47% |
| Sodium | 158mg | 7% |
| Potassium | 507mg | 11% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 1g | 2% |
| Vitamin A | 190IU | 4% |
| Vitamin C | 1mg | 1% |
| Calcium | 31mg | 3% |
| Iron | 4mg | 22% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
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