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This braised beef shank recipe is a mouth-watering hearty dish made with one of the most underrated cuts! It’s deceptively easy to make, and the meat falls off the bone.
Love cozy beef recipes? Try my beef tips and gravy, homemade Salisbury steak, Instant Pot chuck roast, and sirloin tip roast next.
Ever tried cooking with beef shanks before? When cooked correctly, they can yield fall-off-the-bone meat that simply melts in your mouth. Although they are a lean and tough cut of meat, I love to use them in stews and dishes that are set-and-forget. My braised beef shanks, though, are a weekly staple during the cooler months, and it’s so easy to make.
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Affordable. Shanks are one of the cheapest cuts of beef and can be found at any basic grocery store or butcher.
- Easy to make. You only need one Dutch oven or soup pot to make this dish.
- Healthy. With protein, vegetables, and a low-sodium broth; this recipe has it all.
- Naturally gluten-free. Beef shanks are a fantastic addition to gluten-free and even low-carb diets.
★★★★★ REVIEW
“Best beef shank recipe ever. Meat melted in my mouth.”– Caroline
Ingredients needed
- Beef shanks. For this recipe, I use 2-3-inch thick shanks. I recommend choosing cuts that have visible marbling throughout because the fat renders into the rest of the meat, making it fall off the bone once cooked.
- Onion, celery, and carrot. Chopped vegetables to create a flavor base for the dish.
- Tomatoes. Fresh tomatoes create a hearty sauce. Canned crushed tomatoes will also work.
- Beef stock. To make the sauce more flavorful. Chicken stock will work too.
- White wine. Choose a light-bodied wine like Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc. Don’t want to use alcohol? Just add more beef broth.
- Flour. To dredge and brown the shanks. Doing this helps create a richer flavor. You can skip this step if you are trying to eliminate carbs.
- Olive oil. To saute the vegetables.
- Herbs. Fresh thyme and bay leaves are my favorites when working with tough cuts of meat.
- Salt and pepper. To taste.
How to cook beef shanks
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Prep the meat. Pat fry the shanks with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Tie kitchen twine around the meat to secure it to the bone. Season the shanks with salt and pepper and dredge them in flour.
Step 2- Brown the meat. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven pot. Shake off the excess flour from the beef, then brown them evenly on all sides.
Step 3- Cook the vegetables. Add diced onions, carrots, and celery sticks to the same pot. Saute for a few minutes, and add the sprigs of thyme and bay leaves. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes.
Step 4- Simmer. Add the white wine to the cooked vegetables along with the shanks. Let everything simmer, then cover the pot with the lid and place it in a preheated oven for at least 45 minutes or up to 2 hours.
Step 5- Remove from the oven and serve. Cut off the kitchen twine and discard it. Serve immediately.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Deglaze the pan. When you add the white wine, scrape off any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. These food particles add immense flavor to the dish (I promise!).
- Serve shanks with something creamy, like cauliflower mashed potatoes, polenta, and risotto. The braising liquid acts like an almost gravy.
- Use tomato paste. If you don’t have fresh tomatoes, use a small amount of tomato paste instead to build a rich tomato flavor. I find one tablespoon is plenty.
- Adjust the cooking time. The time the shanks need to become fork tender may vary slightly depending on how thick they are. Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature. Fully cooked shanks should reach at least 160F.
- Change up the herbs and use rosemary, parsley, or sage.
Storage instructions
To store: Place leftovers in an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator for up to five days.
To freeze: Once the Osso Buco has cooled to room temperature, place them in a shallow container and store them in the freezer for up to two months.
Reheating. Reheat shanks in the microwave for 30-40 seconds or in a small saucepan.
Frequently asked questions
If you are aiming for fall-off-the-bone tender beef shanks, cook them in a hearty sauce for 3 to 6 hours. Low and slow cooking is the key to turning tough shank meat into something tender and juicy. Cooking the shanks in wine helps further tenderize the meat.
I don’t recommend frying shanks, as the meat will remain tough and chewy. Instead, fry the shanks lightly to give them color and extra flavor, and continue to cook them on low heat for a few hours.
No beef shanks? You can replace them with veal shanks without affecting the cooking time or other ingredients.
More simple beef recipes to try
Braised Beef Shank Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef shanks appoximately 3 portions
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion dliced
- 1 cup carrots diced
- 1 cup celery chopped
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 3 bay leaves
- 200 mls white wine or more beef broth
- 1 1/2 cups canned tomatoes
- 1 3/4 cups beef broth
Instructions
- Pat dry the beef shanks to remove any excess moisture. Secure the meat to the bone with kitchen twine. Season each shank with salt and pepper and dredge them in flour, shaking off any excess.
- In a Dutch oven pot, add oil and place it over high heat. Once hot, Add the beef shanks into the pan and brown all sides, about 3 minutes each. Remove the shanks from the pot.
- In the same pot add onion, carrot and celery and saute until translucent. Add fresh thyme, bay leaves and tomato. Cook for 10 minutes then add white wine, beef stock and return the shanks in the pot. Once it boils, remove the pot from the heat.
- Preheat the oven to 170C/325F. Place the lid on the Dutch oven and cook in the oven for 20 minutes or up to 2 hours until fork tender.
- Carefully remove the cooked shanks from the pot and cut off the kitchen twine and discard. Pour all the sauce from the pot over the shanks and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published November 2022, updated and republished April 2024
I made this with elk shank in a slow cooker, turned out great, I used red wine instead of white
Turned out well. Took almost 2 hours to braise. Glad I tried it. So easy!
I’m trying recipe for Braised Beef Shank tonite… ..
This recipe is wonderful! A variation on this that is also amazing is use red wine instead of white and instead of stewed tomatoes roughly chop at least half a dozen regular sized mushrooms or 4 big ones for a rich mushroom-y flavour rather than a more acidic tomato-y flavour. 🙂
Love these so much!
Wow oh wow this is tender & delicious! My first time preparing this cut of beef and I couldn’t get enough. There’s not a chance you can this cut of meat is so inexpensive. Only changes I made were to add garlic, sautéed fresh mushrooms, and a can of Rotel tomatoes for a kick. Thank you for sharing a 5-star recipe
Loved the braised beef shanks but did it the same but added a little garlic and black and white pepper and half Sauvignon blanc and half beef broth was fantastic!
Thanks, Bob!
Do you have instructions for cooking this recipe in an instant pot?
Will update that 🙂
Looks great! Currently I only have a toaster oven. Would this do well if I left it low and slow on stovetop?? Thanks!
Yes, stovetop is fine 🙂
Yummy. And easy.
I have enjoyed your recipes for years. I started on Keto 4 years ago and have used you excellent resipe selection from sweets to savory. Thank you for all the work you have put into developing delicious meals what ever your food lifestyle is. You are part of our life with recipes and look on life.
Thank you. I look forward to see what is in the E-cookbook you will be sending for me to download. Thank you from a big fan of yours.
I bought a beef shank because it’s inexpensive. I GM figured I’ll find a recipe online and I’m glad I picked this one. It was soooooo delicious. I made a gravy with the juices and had some mashed potatoes and it was so good 😩
YAY!!! Love that!
I had to add garlic… It seemed sinful not to. Thanks for the recipe!
Best beef shank recipe ever. Meat melted in my mouth.
Soooooo delicious and super easy to make.
I’ve never cooked a beef shank before and this recipe was simple and straightforward.
Juicy and tender and flavorful. Thank you 😍
I am a little frightened to make this recipe because of the white wine and not red. What kind of white wine do you suggest? There is cooking white wine or bottled white wine which can be dry to sweet.
I love sauv blanc 🙂
Amazingly good
What should you serve the beef shanks on? Rice, noodles??
Rice is great, but mashed potatoes or some roasted veg is simple and delicious!
Used red and yellow bell peppers. Less tomato
And it was great
Was excellent, so flavourful. Left it in the oven for the two hours. Added some fresh minced garlic as well and a small can of tomato paste.
Didn’t have white wine so used some red. Also added a couple tsp of Dano’s seasoning. Whole family loved it! Great with mashed potatoes. We loved dredging fresh italian bread in the gravy. Just awesome.
Thank you, Pete!
First time making for a gathering and it was a HIT.
Love to hear that, Deb!
Made this in the crockpot and it was greatly enjoyed by everyone.
That is what I like to hear! thanks, Debora!
I would and did add the flour at the end. Use any root vegetables.
It’s not stables kipping cuting Off,all the times
wonderin if using red wine would be tasty?
Oh yes!! Swapping out some of the broth for it would be fabulous!
is there a substitute for wine as my wife is pregnant.
Yes! Chicken broth 🙂
To skip the red wine in pregnancy use 1/2 cup of quality tomato paste, and 2 tablespoons of a strong flavored vinegar -balsamic or other dark varieties-even good apple cider vinegar will work. Although the wine “enriches” the sauce, one of it’s major tasks is for the acidity to help break down the meat cut’s collagen. Lack of wine is not a recipe breaker.
Just a simple and delicious recipe! So glad I found an alternative to what do with beef shanks other than beef bourguignon. Everyone had seconds.
Amazing! Looks hard, but it’s a one pot wonder
This is an amazing recipe! The most tender beef shanks I have cooked thus far. I did tenderize with a baking soda rub first, and baked for about 2 1/2 hours.
I plan to make this shanks recipe again.
So flavorful! One of my new favorite recipes.
What are “canned tomatoes”? Diced, crushed, whole, etc.?
Yes, diced or crushed.
nice dish, and great inspiration for me to try another cut of beef than I’m used to, thank you!
Can this recipe be cooked in an instant pot? Thank you