Go ahead and try to find this special cut in the grocery store!
Our whole beef shanks are true winners when cooked to perfection. Oven roasted or smoked, or smoked and then braised in liquid, the meat will fall off the bone and become meltingly tender.
A whole beef shank consists of a grass fed, grass finished, dry aged, shin bone surrounded by lean, richly flavored muscle meat. The lean meat is full of protein and omega fatty acids, while the bone marrow adds fat and flavor to any recipe.
Because this is a leg bone surrounded by muscle that gets constant use out in the field - there is a lot of connective tissue and collagen to break down. This requires a long, slow, low temp cook in order to break down all the connective tissue and become fall-of-the-bone tender.
Fire it up! Traeger, Big Green Egg, or Weber - have your meat thermometer handy and be prepared to wait for this to come out of the oven or off the smoker; or give this cut some smoke for a couple hours and then braise to finish in your oven. You won't be disappointed.
The end result is rich, robustly beefy, and exceptionally tender. Definitely worth the effort and time it takes to prepare.
Each "hammer" weighs about 6 pounds and will feed four to six people.
