Shank meat....what do you do with it??

[PsoasHunter]

Butchering my elk now and will be saving shanks from the grind for the first time to slow cook instead. It's been hanging 6 days and has that dried outer layer. Do you trim that off the outside before cutting the shanks into 2" pieces, or just leave it on to cook down with everything else?

[jrebel]

leave it on.....heck you could leave the shank on the bone too.  I leave bear shank on the bone and cut elk off the bone, mostly so it will fit in the crock pot.  You could just cut the bone.

Regardless, you don't need to do a lot of trimming, the slow cooker will make it all tender. 

[High Climber]

I’ve always thrown the shanks in with the grind, but this thread opened my eyes! Braised all 4 shanks off my daughters deer today it was awesome, fork tender. I seared it in the pot on the stove top after I seasoned it, pulled the meat out and tossed in a diced onion for a bit then some baby carrots for a while. Threw in a couple garlic cloves and a couple chopped jalapeños for a few more minutes then I put the meat back in and added a few cups of beef stock and about a cup of red wine until the meat was about half covered. Into the oven, covered at 300 for about 3 1/2 hours. Served it over mashed potatoes it was a hit with the Family, no more grinding shanks for me, cheers fellas 

[DeerThug]

I used to hack the meat off the shank to just grind it.  Once I figured out what a shank was - now it is one of the best cuts off of the animal.  I simply take it and season it with onion and garlic, wrap in foil and put in oven at 6 am at 200 and cook till 6 pm.  Perfectly done and seasoned. Makes good taco meat or pair with a baked potato and vegies.

Just remember the joint is lower than you think it is.