beef/featured/recipes

Instant Pot Beef Shank

Shank is my favourite beef cut for winter meals. Meat that’s absolutely bursting with flavour surrounding a gorgeous marrow bone – what could be better? But you can’t just toss a couple shanks on the bbq and expect excellent results – this cut requires slow cooking to break down those walking muscles and produce the perfect shredded-beef texture.

This recipe is dead-simple and yields amazing results. I love using my instant pot for slow-cooking cuts like this, but you could also use a slow-cooker or any pot with a tight-fitting lid on your stovetop. Try it out and let me know how you like it!

Ingredients:
2 packs beef shank (short ribs also work well)
4 large carrots – cut in thick slices
2 large onions – cut in thick slices
5 large cloves of garlic – coarsely diced  
2-inch piece of ginger – coarsely diced  
Dried or fresh hot Peppers to taste
2 tablespoons of Spray Creek homestead lard (or any high-temp cooking oil)
Soy Sauce (or Braggs)
Seasoned Rice Vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar
White Pepper
2 green onions for garnish – thinly sliced 

Method:

  1. Salt the meat and allow them to come to room temperature on your counter top.
  2. Coat the bottom of your instant pot in lard or oil and brown the shanks using the ‘saute’ setting (you can also do this in a pan on the stove top). Depending on the size of your pot you may need to do this in a few batches.
  3. Once the meat is all browned, deglaze the pot with a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (or white wine). Once you’ve released any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot switch to the ‘slow cook’ setting.
  4. Put the meat back in the pot (if you removed it to deglaze), and add in all the veggies.
  5. Add just enough soy sauce & seasoned rice vinegar to cover the bottom of the pot in 1-2 cm. of liquid. This might not seem like enough, but the meat will produce lots more of it’s own stock as you cook it. Give a few shakes of white pepper.
  6. Slow cook until the meat is falling off the bone (about 6 hours). If possible, stir every hour or so to coat everything in the juice.
  7. Scoop out the marrow from the bone and enjoy yourself – you did the cooking – you deserve it!
  8. Shred the meat, remove the bones, and serve over rice or noodles alongside your favorite green. Garnish with green onion.
Chopped veg ready to join the beef in the instant pot
Brown the beef shanks and/or short ribs in the instant pot on the saute function.
Add vegetables to the browned meat and switch to the slow cook setting.
Slow-cook for about 6 hours, or until the meat is falling off the bone. Open the pot and stir a few times during the cooking to keep the top layer from drying out.
As the cook I usually enjoy the marrow myself, but if you’re generous you can share it with your family 🙂
Serve alongside a green vegetable – I stir-fried some cabbage with soy sauce, fish sauce, rice vinegar, and topped with sesame and poppy seeds.
Scoop over rice or noodles, garnish with green onion and enjoy!