# Beef Shanks: It's just not for soups and stews anymore.  Smoked and Pulled Beef Shank with better Q



## fwismoker (Aug 5, 2013)

Most of us know the shank as being a plain ole tough piece of meat that is only good for one thing and that is for soups, stews and making beef stock.  If you were just to grill it or smoke it then it would  just be super tough grizzly  and unedible. 

It looks like it would be as tasty as a good tenderloin doesn't it?  Good yes, tender NO....unless it's cooked differently than we cook and smoke most beef.   When i began this experiment i had NO idea how long i'd have to cook it or even if it would even work so i only started with 2 good size shanks.

My method of cook was going to be charcoal and smoke so i broke the cook down into different steps.

*Step 1) 12:00 Season the shanks and get them on the mini. I seasoned with Jack Stack All Purpose and Montreal Steak...great combo   I also put a small dish on the mini's bottom shelf to catch some drippings.*

*












20130803_114040.jpg



 fwismoker
 Aug 3, 2013





*
*Step 2)  With out knowing how long this process was going to take wanted to get good smoke on it and get it up to temp so i put the PitmasterIQ on the WSM mini and got it up to 250 degrees.   I smoked it until the IT was 145 degrees.*

*Step 3) Appx 1:15 Since this is going to be a long cook for these couple small pieces of meat i wanted to lower the pit temp to 200 degrees or less.  The IQ made this very easy.  With charcoal and wood chunks you won't get much smoke at these temps but you will still get all the good combustion gasses of the charcoal which also adds to your flavor and smoke ring.  *

*Step 4) 4:00  The braising process.   I put the took foil and formed a foil bowl , put the shanks in with beef broth... semi loosley cover it with a foil lid so smoke still has access to the meat.   I set the IQ for 225 and walked away, i did check on the broth every hour or so and if it needed i poured it over the shanks to keep it moist. Also add beef broth to the drippings when necessary. *

I did occasionaly check the IT with an instant read thermometer but that was more to get an idea of what was going on and to check the tenderness.  I pulled these about 8:15 PM when one of the shank bones pulled away when i was checking it... I knew it was done.

*












116.JPG



 fwismoker
 Aug 5, 2013





*
*There's the process i used for very tender, tasty pulled beef shanks. I added the drippings and juice back in but another option i might try when i do this on a larger scale is to make beef gravy from the drippings. *













119.JPG



__ fwismoker
__ Aug 5, 2013






Sauteed onions on the sammies.













120.JPG



__ fwismoker
__ Aug 5, 2013


















117.JPG



__ fwismoker
__ Aug 5, 2013






*












121.JPG



 fwismoker
 Aug 5, 2013





*
*Something new to try!   Thanks for looking!*


----------



## dirtsailor2003 (Aug 5, 2013)

Looks pretty tasty! Guess I'm going to have to look into the party Q for some lower temp no tend smokes!


----------



## fwismoker (Aug 5, 2013)

dirtsailor2003 said:


> Looks pretty tasty! Guess I'm going to have to look into the party Q for some lower temp no tend smokes!


I haven't tried the Partyq at super low temps like 200 and lower but I can.. I'll check it on the next mini cook and see.  The pitmasteriq did great though.


----------



## dirtsailor2003 (Aug 5, 2013)

Yeah I've been looking at the party q because we dry camp where there's no power. It would be cool to be able to set the mini and forget it go paddle the lake or stir up some dust with the enduro!


----------



## hambone1950 (Aug 5, 2013)

I bet that is absolutely delicious ! I have had beef marrow and I've used roasted beef bones in my spaghetti sauce. Those bones are packed with flavor. 
That's a really ambitious dish. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## kathrynn (Aug 5, 2013)

Looks good!  Save that marrow for some stock.

Kat


----------



## fwismoker (Aug 5, 2013)

KathrynN said:


> Looks good!  Save that marrow for some stock.
> 
> Kat


Thanks ham and Kat... Kat part of it ended up in the pull and the pooches got a treat with the bones.. Lol  They were salivating for them. I feel so bad for them having to smell that Q
all day!


----------



## mdboatbum (Aug 5, 2013)

And the best part is they're cheap!! Looks like a great meal. I bet oxtails would work much the same way. The grocery store in my neighborhood usually has one or the other for around $.99 a pound.


----------



## fwismoker (Aug 5, 2013)

Mdboatbum said:


> And the best part is they're cheap!! Looks like a great meal. I bet oxtails would work much the same way. The grocery store in my neighborhood usually has one or the other for around $.99 a pound.


Ah.. funny you said that about the oxtlails because the butcher said not to bother unless I was doing soup. I come to find out that is popular in Jamaica.  I'm picking up both the next time I'm there.. Might do both at the same time.


----------



## disco (Aug 5, 2013)

What a great project. I am going to have to add this to my to do list. Thanks for the idea.

Disco


----------



## snorkelinggirl (Aug 5, 2013)

Looks fantastic!  I love beef shanks...great beefy flavor, and when cooked right they are delicious. 

Not to gross anyone out, but smoked beef marrow is out-of-this-world fantastic when spread on some bread or crackers (or best yet, a soft pretzel!).

Thanks for a great post!

Clarissa


----------



## fwismoker (Aug 5, 2013)

SnorkelingGirl said:


> Looks fantastic!  I love beef shanks...great beefy flavor, and when cooked right they are delicious.
> 
> Not to gross anyone out, but smoked beef marrow is out-of-this-world fantastic when spread on some bread or crackers (or best yet, a soft pretzel!).
> 
> ...


Clarissa thanks for the compliment! I saw you and Webo talking about them and it got me thinking... dangerous right?  Haha


----------



## fwismoker (Aug 5, 2013)

Disco said:


> What a great project. I am going to have to add this to my to do list. Thanks for the idea.
> 
> Disco


Disco might work great in your cooker!


----------



## kingfishcam (Aug 5, 2013)

I was not sure what to do with these other than make soup.  Great idea!


----------



## rhnewfie (Aug 5, 2013)

That looks great!


----------



## thoseguys26 (Aug 5, 2013)

Nice work. I've thought of flavor boiling them for an hour to break them down and render the fat out. Then smoke em good! Looks like a successful smoke!


----------



## smokinhusker (Aug 6, 2013)

Looks great!

I use oxtails in Chef JJ's Smoky Au Jus for Brisket and my Prime Rib Au Jus, then take all the meat off them, add some of the Au Jus to the pulled meat and they make the best "Philly's". Usually oxtail (when I can find it) runs between $5-6 per lb.


----------



## webowabo (Aug 6, 2013)

SnorkelingGirl said:


> Looks fantastic!  I love beef shanks...great beefy flavor, and when cooked right they are delicious.
> 
> Not to gross anyone out, but smoked beef marrow is out-of-this-world fantastic when spread on some bread or crackers (or best yet, a soft pretzel!).
> 
> ...


I agree with the marrow... good good stuff.

And Keith.... Im Glad your Bone fell off the Shank :P

Glad we got some good pictures up of it... Ive been waiting for like 2 WHOLE days..

Seriously.. they look great!!! Whats for next weekend ?

Mike


----------



## fwismoker (Aug 6, 2013)

webowabo said:


> I agree with the marrow... good good stuff.
> 
> And Keith.... Im Glad your Bone fell off the Shank :P
> 
> ...


Mike I'm surprised you you remember after the stooper.. Lol  jk

One thing I'm going to do is find  a couple of small birds and do some testing on the mini  doing multiple birds at once with different seasoning methods .  If it doesn't go perfect at least I won't ruin much.


----------



## fwismoker (Aug 6, 2013)

SmokinHusker said:


> Looks great!
> 
> I use oxtails in Chef JJ's Smoky Au Jus for Brisket and my Prime Rib Au Jus, then take all the meat off them, add some of the Au Jus to the pulled meat and they make the best "Philly's". Usually oxtail (when I can find it) runs between $5-6 per lb.


Alesia.. I bet the oxtails are good for that.. They looked delicious at the butcher.   Time for more experiments))


----------



## fwismoker (Aug 6, 2013)

thoseguys26 said:


> Nice work. I've thought of flavor boiling them for an hour to break them down and render the fat out. Then smoke em good! Looks like a successful smoke!


Thanks.. I couldn't get myself to boil, did think about it though lol. If you're smoker gets low heat it'll work for sure. 





RHNewfie said:


> That looks great!


Thanks! 





kingfishcam said:


> I was not sure what to do with these other than make soup.  Great idea!


Thanks King.. Not looking good on coming up to Michigan.. Sure wish I could!


----------



## reinhard (Aug 6, 2013)

Well today while i was shopping [i do all the cooking], guess what, i found some sliced shanks. Picked up a nice pack of two. 3.49lb. Put them in the freezer and i will do them soon on a long smoke/grill day.  I think the reason people like myself never tried to grill these cuts is because most people have been told they are  for soups and stews by people like me [retired butcher]LOL.

Years ago when i stared in the buisness we cut nothing but hanging beef. Lot's of bone in items including shanks, neck bones, soup bones. Bone in arm roast, chuck roast, and bread and butter roasts [arm roast with those tasty ribs hanging on the bottom].  As time went on hanging beef left for the most part and boxed beef came in.  Bone-in beef roast gradualy dissapeared [although some places still have a few on display, cut from boxed beef] and boneless beef roasts have the great majority of the shelf space. It's mostly about labor costs.

So people have come accustomed to boneless items generaly and the old fashion ways of cooking also gradualy drifted away. Not by all, but for the most part. Congradulations to FWLsmoker for breaking ground in new ways of preparing a piece of meat that 99.9 percent of folks thought was for soups or stews only. Reinhard


----------



## foamheart (Aug 6, 2013)

Mdboatbum said:


> And the best part is they're cheap!! Looks like a great meal. I bet oxtails would work much the same way. The grocery store in my neighborhood usually has one or the other for around $.99 a pound.


I don't know about your house but here someone told the butchers that oxtail like flank steak was good to eat. so now if you find any its usually about the same as sirloin.

.


----------



## fwismoker (Aug 6, 2013)

Foamheart said:


> I don't know about your house but here someone told the butchers that oxtail like flank steak was good to eat. so now if you find any its usually about the same as sirloin.
> 
> .


I checked today on the oxtail..  2. 20 lb. Not sure if that's high or not.


----------



## foamheart (Aug 6, 2013)

LOL.. Oxtail here runs 5.99/lb


----------



## mdboatbum (Aug 6, 2013)

Foamheart said:


> LOL.. Oxtail here runs 5.99/lb


I'll have to go look. Maybe I'm confusing oxtail with neck bones, but I thought the last time I saw it it was really cheap. Next time I'm there I'll check.


----------



## foamheart (Aug 6, 2013)

They used to be cheap, so did flank, and wings then someone figured a way to make 'em popular and the prices went thru the roof. On sale I get chickens for .99/lb, and on sale chicken wings are 2.59/lb. Lucy, you got some 'splainin to do!


----------



## reinhard (Aug 7, 2013)

Two wings per bird and not only popular at home but at resturants.  You can probably buy whole oxtails by the box. The one's we used to cut up came in smaller boxes of 10 to 15 pounds.  Only problem is that two thirds of the tail is meaty but the rest can be used for stock [soups] along with the meaty parts.  Most are sold cryovaced now and you do get the meaty part of the tail mainly. Some small meat shops and some stores do still cut them by hand. Yes around here they are around 5 bucks a pound as well. Reinhard


----------



## fwismoker (Aug 7, 2013)

Mdboatbum said:


> I'll have to go look. Maybe I'm confusing oxtail with neck bones, but I thought the last time I saw it it was really cheap. Next time I'm there I'll check.


The oxtail looks like a spin wheel.. definitely a unique look. I'm going to give it a whirl, smoke it braise it and part goes to pull and part possibly to soup.   Love experimenting!


----------



## fwismoker (Aug 7, 2013)

Making stew with it after some smoke sounds good also.


----------



## snorkelinggirl (Aug 7, 2013)

FWIsmoker said:


> Making stew with it after some smoke sounds good also.


Since you haven't cooked oxtail before I'll just let you know...you definitely need to braise for quite a while until the meat is very easily pulled away from the bones (it takes 4-5 hours of braising).  Everything except the bones can be eaten, including the tendons which will get soft and gelatinous if you braise the oxtail long enough.  The meat is tucked up all around the bones, so it is easiest if you use your hands to pull the meat away.  If you need a knife, you didn't braise them long enough! 

Have fun!  
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Clarissa


----------



## fwismoker (Aug 7, 2013)

Clarissa no problem.. You saw how long the shanks took,  I'm patient lol.  I'm really looking forward to doing beef gravy from the drippings and making the shank more of a roast beef with gravy. Mmmmmm I love me some beef some thick home made beef gravy!


----------



## foamheart (Aug 7, 2013)

Oxtail = the richest beef stock, makes the most excellent beef barley veggie soup. Hocks for pork, Turkey necks are the same for fowl broth, and of course my butcher laughs whenever she hears me ask for some.


----------



## smokinhusker (Aug 8, 2013)

Foamheart said:


> Oxtail = the richest beef stock, makes the most excellent beef barley veggie soup. Hocks for pork, Turkey necks are the same for fowl broth, and of course my butcher laughs whenever she hears me ask for some.


When I can get them for less than $4.00 lb, I buy lots cause they make the best stock. I add them to Chef Jimmy's Smoky Au Jus!


----------



## fwismoker (Aug 8, 2013)

SmokinHusker said:


> When I can get them for less than $4.00 lb, I buy lots cause they make the best stock. I add them to Chef Jimmy's Smoky Au Jus!


Alesia if I make stock about how much can I make per oxtail?


----------



## Bearcarver (Aug 8, 2013)

I don't know how this thread avoided me for 3 days, but those Sammies look AWESOME!!!

Looking Very Tasty!!!

Bear


----------



## bdskelly (Aug 8, 2013)

FWI

Very informative. A great post on a piece of meat that otherwise would be passed by. I just might take a swing at shank myself.  Thanks for the info Pal. Brian


----------



## fwismoker (Aug 9, 2013)

BDSkelly said:


> FWI
> Very informative. A great post on a piece of meat that otherwise would be passed by. I just might take a swing at shank myself.  Thanks for the info Pal. Brian


Thanks Brian, next time I'm doing it the same way except I'm trying a beef gravy from the drippings like roast beef in gravy.. Sounds good with mashed potatoes. Mmmm





Bearcarver said:


> I don't know how this thread avoided me for 3 days, but those Sammies look AWESOME!!!
> 
> Looking Very Tasty!!!
> 
> ...


Thanks Bear,  just wanted to try something different


----------



## suie (Aug 9, 2013)

Wow, those sammies look great!! Always love hearing about new things to cook on the smoker!

I'm curious what the flavor of the meat was like? Some shanks I've had before were kind of funky but maybe that's just the way they were prepared. Is it similar to a brisket or chuck roast?

Suie


----------



## fwismoker (Aug 9, 2013)

Suie said:


> Wow, those sammies look great!! Always love hearing about new things to cook on the smoker!
> 
> I'm curious what the flavor of the meat was like? Some shanks I've had before were kind of funky but maybe that's just the way they were prepared. Is it similar to a brisket or chuck roast?
> 
> Suie


I'd have to say chuck roast. Some folks have have boiled them, is that what you did?


----------



## suie (Aug 9, 2013)

FWIsmoker said:


> I'd have to say chuck roast. Some folks have have boiled them, is that what you did?


My father used to cook them, and I think they were braised in red wine with a whole bunch of other stuff. He also used to cook lamb shanks, so that could be the flavor I'm remembering. 

Anyway, I love smoked chuck roast, so these will be on my list of things to try.  Thanks!


----------



## shtrdave (Nov 2, 2013)

The sammiches looked great, growing up woman would buy them and pressure cook them, I remember she would not make any slices down the membrane on the outside and they would come out all curled up but be tender and very good eating, I haven't seen any for quite a while I may need to go look for a few.

Maybe smoke to 140ish and then into the pressure cooker.


----------

