Slow Cooker Beef Shanks

Name: Slow Cooker Beef Shanks
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 6 h 15 min
Total time: 6 h 30 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt; ½ teaspoon black pepper; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 1 teaspoon smoked paprika; ½ teaspoon ground cumin; 6 beef shanks; 1 cup beef stock; 1 tablespoon cornstarch; 2 tablespoons parsley

User Reviews

5.0

3 reviews

Excellent

Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
6 hrs 15 mins
Total Time
6 hrs 30 mins
Servings
6 servings
Calories
276 kcal
Course
Main Course
Cuisine
Italian

Slow Cooker Beef Shanks

Winston Campbell

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These beef shanks are superb. Slowly cooked and smothered in a rich sauce, they are tender and flavorful.

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Ingredients

Servings

2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt or 1 teaspoon of any other salt, including Morton kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon ground cumin
6 beef shanks about 12 ounces each
1 cup beef stock

Optional:

1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons parsley chopped, for garnish

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Instructions

In a small bowl, mix the salt, pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and ground cumin.
Pat the beef shanks dry with paper towels. Season both sides with the spice mixture, gently pressing with your hands to ensure the spices adhere to the meat.
Pour the beef stock into the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker pan.
Add the beef shanks, layering them.
Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours.
Heat the broiler on high (450℉). Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Remove the shanks from the slow cooker and place them on the baking sheet. They are so tender at this point that some of them might fall apart. That's OK and expected.
Broil the shanks to brown the fat for 1-2 minutes, keeping a close eye on them to ensure they don't burn. Turn the broiler off and set the oven to warm (170℉). Keep the shanks in the oven to keep them warm while you reduce the cooking liquids.
Strain the cooking liquids into a measuring cup. Place the cooking liquids in the freezer for 10 minutes. This will help solidify the fat layer and make it easy to remove it from the top. Remove the fat layer from the cooking liquids using a spoon. Pour the liquids into a medium saucepan.
Prepare a cornstarch slurry by mixing the cornstarch with 1 ½ tablespoons of cold water. Stir the cornstarch slurry into the cooking liquids.
Heat the mixture over medium-high heat, whisking often, until it thickens into a rich glaze. This should take about 10 minutes.
Arrange the shanks on a serving platter or individual plates. Spoon the glaze on top. If desired, sprinkle them with chopped parsley for garnish. Serve immediately.

Notes

The shanks will start to smell amazing after four hours, but cook them for six hours to make sure they are tender.
Cleaning tip: Reducing the cooking liquids will result in the saucepan needing major scrubbing. Simply fill it with hot, soapy water, let it sit overnight, and then, the next day, scrub it with a stainless steel scrubber (assuming it's not a nonstick pan).
The reason for making a cornstarch slurry instead of stirring the cornstarch directly into the cooking liquids is that cornstarch can turn into clumps.
I experimented with browning the shanks on the stovetop before placing them in the slow cooker. My conclusion is that this extra step is unnecessary. You can achieve the same result with much less effort by briefly broiling the shanks after they are cooked.
If you buy the shanks online, you'll probably get different sizes. That's fine. You can cook them all together.
You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. Reheat them in the microwave, covered, at 50% power.