Rich with flavor, this recipe is so good, you won't mind the time it takes to develop the flavors. I recently ordered braised beef shanks at a very popular local restaurant. It didn't hold up to this recipe. Enjoy
Serves 8
Prep time: 30 minutes
Total time: 5 hours, plus 24 hours marinating
Ingredients:
1 bottle dry red wine
1 cup ruby port
8 large garlic cloves, minced
2 celery ribs, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 large onion, diced
2 large thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
8 meaty beef shanks (14 ounces each)
¼ cup cooking oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
6 cups low-sodium beef broth
Parsley for garnish
Instructions:
In a large roasting pan combine the wine, port, garlic, celery, carrots, onion, thyme and bay leaf. Add the beef shanks and turn to coat. Refrigerate 24 hours.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Remove the shanks from the marinade and pat dry. Strain the marinade into a bowl, reserving the vegetables and marinating liquid.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet. Season the shanks with salt and pepper and add 4 to the skillet. Cook over high heat until browned on each side. Remove to a large roasting pan. Add more oil, about 1 tablespoon and brown remaining shanks, remove and add to roasting pan. Add the remaining oil to the skillet and add the vegetables, cook over moderate heat until starting to brown.
Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add 3 cups broth to the skillet and bring to a boil, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom. Pour the vegetables, all 6 cups of the broth and reserved marinade over the shanks and cover the pan with foil. Braise the shanks for 2 ½ hours until just tender. Uncover and braise for 30 minutes longer, until the shanks are glazed on top.
Remove the shanks to plate and cover. Strain the braising liquid through a coarse sieve into a large saucepan, pushing the vegetables through. Skim the fat off the sauce and simmer the sauce over medium high heat until reduced to 4 cups. Season with salt and pepper. Return the shanks to the roasting pan and pour the sauce over them. Cover and simmer to rewarm the shanks.
Transfer the shanks to serving plates and spoon the sauce on top. Garnish with parsley and serve.