"Asian" BBQ Braised Beef Shanks

Ain't much to look at but that's sex on toast, friends.

A few weeks ago shopping at Duc Loi I noticed they had in stock these gorgeous cross-cut beef shanks, osso-bucco style.

It's the cross cut of the beeves legs above the knee, through the femur - a bone that is packed with delicious marrow.

I threw them in the freezer knowing I wouldn't have immediate use for them (I was heading out into the beautiful Tahoe National Forest - truly another piece of California's Gold).

Then, some time later, I took them out and left them on the counter to thaw - roughly 5 lbs of the the stuff, three 1 1/2" thick slices about 1.5-2lbs each. Then, I went to sleep.

I woke up and realized that I now had no choice but to cook the bastards (which were still frozen in the center) but I didn't have the braising ingredients I would have preferred (a Texas chili preparation with dried chiles from Rainbow).

But I did have ketchup, beer, BBQ sauce, molasses, mustard, vinegar, Madras curry and fresh ginger.

And lots of time.

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Bones removed after cooking.

Haphazardly Thrown Together Beef Osso Bucco Braise:

• 1/4 cup of ketchup.
• 1/4 cup of mustard.
• 1/4 cup of mollasses.
• A few tablespoons of red wine or cider vinegar to deglaze.
• 1 tablespoon of smoked paprika.
• 1 tablespoon of Madras curry powder.
• 1/3 cup of a good Texas or Carolina BBQ sauce.
• 2 teaspoons of Everglade's Seasoning.
• 1 full can of cheap domestic (you guessed it, PBR).
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped.
• 1 finger of ginger, peeled and chopped.
• 1/2 jalapeño, chopped seed-in.
• 5 lbs of beef shank, 1 1/2" cross cut.
• Kosher salt.

Pre-heat oven to 275ºF.

Mix everything but the beef in a mixing bowl.

Salt beef on both sides with kosher salt.

Open up the stove and get a large casserole or oven-safe pot hot. Sear beef.

Cover with sauce, cook covered for 3 hours, then reduce heat to 220ºF and cook uncovered for another 3-4 hours.

Sexy time.

Note - I pulled out the meat and onions and stored those in a small amount of the reserve liquid. The remaining liquid I freeze for upcoming BBQ-type events (for instance, next weekend's annual Aries bash!).

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Duc Loi Supermarket
2200 Mission Street,
San Francisco, CA