Beef Shank - Can I Confit It?

[PrincessFiona60]

Found a beautiful beef shank almost two pounds. I would like to know if I can confit it for preservation and get several small meals out of it.

 

[Andy M.]

Never heard of it's being done but I can't think why it wouldn't work.

 

[Cooking4to]

I don't see why not, salt it first, and then I would boil it around 200 degrees in fat...

You don't hear many people doing it much anymore, its kind of costly to do to say $30 of meat, unless you like how it tastes after...

I would personally braise it up and freeze it to your portion size, easily last 3 months in the frzr, I am sure you will eat it by then...
Throw it with some red wine, mushrooms, and spices in a slow cooker for 4-5 hours, make some garlic basil mashed and enjoy.. 2lbs isn't much, I could eat that myself, lol...

Anyway, your idea will work too..

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Should I just follow a Duck Confit recipe for technique? Just thought of this as a possibility to tenderize and add more fat, now I'm considering doing it with a pork roast too!

I've also considered braising the shank in diced tomatoes, garlic and onion.

Cooking4to, thank you for your input, I have to eat moderate protein and my spouse has different nutrition needs, so I cook meats up and then two different meals at a later date, depending on what flavor we want. Sometimes I get lucky and we want the same flavor profile. We are older and spoiled, we get what we want when we want.

 

[Andy M.]

Just like duck. Season the way you want, maybe some thyme.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Thanks, I have that recipe in the Bittman. I cant believe I never read this cookbook...

 

[Cooking4to]

Should I just follow a Duck Confit recipe for technique? Just thought of this as a possibility to tenderize and add more fat, now I'm considering doing it with a pork roast too!

I've also considered braising the shank in diced tomatoes, garlic and onion.

Cooking4to, thank you for your input, I have to eat moderate protein and my spouse has different nutrition needs, so I cook meats up and then two different meals at a later date, depending on what flavor we want. Sometimes I get lucky and we want the same flavor profile. We are older and spoiled, we get what we want when we want.

gotcha, I understand better than you know, my wife is a vegan {since she was 7 years old} and me and our sons are meat eaters, so we cook 2 separate meals almost every meal, lol... I have gotten it down to a science, other HOV's {husbands of vegans} have told me I should write a cookbook because I have a ton of recipes that go both ways, so somewhere in the recipe you divide the vegan portion and add meat to the non vegan portion, like a fork in the road the single recipe turns into 2 recipes...

2 Lbs doesn't sound like much meat for the trouble, I do this often, I am an avid hunter {white tail, turkey, duck, bear. Although I never got a bear, but I still hunt them }... So I end up with a lot of meat {sometimes, not lately} and have to get creative about how to prepare it for future meals, I used to harvest fat from the butchers not to buy oils.

I do it a little different, I get 60lbs of venison wrap and tie 60lbs of beef fat to it and low temp cook it after its all been salted... You can only make so much ven/pork sausage, jerky, and jarred stew... It works but to me its a practice for large amounts of processing... I end up with a huge ball of meat, you get all your venison cuts and layer them and wrap them and tie them with the beef fat covering all the meat on every side, inside and outside...
So after all that is done and its the size of car tire, I roll it into the smoker, no smoke, just heat and steam, 190 degrees for a few days , a lot of work and time later, I can roll that tire into a huge container and store it almost anywhere cool, dark , and dry...

If you want to do it just to do it, than yes, dig in, I do duck all the time, its one of my favorite recipes, also duck fat is great for oil, but harder to find and not easy to get a big quantity of...

 

[medtran49]

Try Googling "beef shank confit." There are several different recipes to get you started.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Thanks, I understand how and when to use Google. Just hoping to inspire some discussion with a question I did have that concerned cooking.

 

[GotGarlic]

Re: braising the shank, that sounds similar to osso buco: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/10/slow-cooker-beef-shank-osso-buco-gremolata-recipe.html

I think the gremolata idea is great for freshening up all kinds of braised dishes at serving time.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

That's one tasty looking recipe, GG. I saved it, with no promise of ever making it.

PF, beef shank is actually my favorite cut of beef for a veggie soup. Just sayin'...

 

[Andy M.]

...PF, beef shank is actually my favorite cut of beef for a veggie soup. Just sayin'...

I like beef shanks for a beef barley soup with mushrooms that I make. They provide great beef flavor.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Maybe I should just make a soup, beef and mushroom would be good. I'll need to grind it for Shrek.

 

[menumaker]

I agree with Cooking4to about braising it and then I would leave it in the fridge for a day or two to mellow all the flavors and then freeze it. However, it should confit well but I would remove it from the fat when cooked and set aside for a while until the fat has solidified a bit so that the juice in the bottom can be removed and stored separately for gravy later. This juice could become a bit rancid after a while otherwise I think.( Just my opinion) Warm the now clean fat up enough again for you to return the beef and proceed as usual.