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‘Tis the season for comforting, hearty meals! Braised beef shanks fit the bill, with their rich, robust flavor and tender, fall-off-the-bone meat. This slow cook Dutch oven recipe requires only 20 minutes of hands-on time for a truly crowd-pleasing dish.
The weather has finally started to turn cooler around here, and fingers crossed it stays that way, because I’m ready to embrace it with lots of Dutch oven recipes!
Especially all of those comfort meals that just aren’t as appealing when it’s hot outside — pot roasts, soups, stews.
I’ve been limiting these kinds of recipes over the summer, though to be honest, I make whatever I want any time of the year, haha.
Now that it’s fall, we are kicking off the cozy season with these delicious braised beef shanks! This Dutch oven recipe is so easy to prepare; then you just sit back and let it cook for around 3 hours.
The end result is amazingly tender beef that is brimming with flavor!
I thought this beef shank recipe would be such a great one to share with you, since it’s cheap, it’s easy, and it is absolutely delicious. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Comforting: Braised meat is such a cozy meal for fall and winter! These braised beef shanks are extra warming and comforting this time of year.
- Hands-off cooking: I love anything braised or slow-cooked — I just have to do a little prep work in the afternoon for us to have a hot meal on the table at dinnertime!
- Flavorful: Braising the shanks with aromatics, herbs, broth, and vinegar brings out a wonderfully rich beef flavor that my whole family craves.
- Budget-friendly: Beef shanks are one of the cheapest cuts of meat you can find, so you can save on your grocery bill without sacrificing flavor!
Ingredients
- Beef shanks: You’ll want about 2 pounds of meat, ideally cut 1 ½ inches thick. It should have a bone — we’ll cook it with the bone in to get all of that extra flavor and richness!
- Beef broth: A flavorful liquid is a must for braised meat! You can use store-bought or homemade broth. When I have it, I’ll even use homemade oxtail bone broth.
- Flour: This thickens the liquid a bit so you have more of a sauce or gravy (not a soup!) at the end.
- Red wine vinegar: If you don’t have red wine vinegar, you can actually use balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar. They all work perfectly and add their own unique flavor!
Find the full list of ingredients with their measurements in the recipe card below!
How to Make Braised Beef Shanks
Step 1. Heat the oven to 325°F. Pat the shanks dry and season all over with the salt and pepper.
Step 2. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear the shanks about 4 minutes per side, until deeply browned, then move them to a plate.
Step 3. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook 5 to 6 minutes, until softened.
Step 4. Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, and flour and cook 1 minute. Pour in the broth and scrape the bottom of the pot clean.
Step 5. Stir in the vinegar, thyme, and rosemary. Settle the shanks back in with any juices and bring to a simmer.
Step 6. Cover and braise in the oven 3 to 3 ½ hours, until the meat pulls away from the bone with a fork.
Step 7. Carefully remove from the oven and skim off any fat. Serve warm.
Tips + Notes
- I leave all the fat on the shanks when they go into the pot. It looks like an awful lot sitting there, but three hours of braising renders most of it away, and that is honestly where the flavor comes from.
- I have my butcher cut the shanks about an inch and a half thick with the bone left in. They will do it for you, and beef shank is one of the cheapest things in the whole case!
- Your liquid should come about halfway up the shanks in step 5. If yours got cut thicker than mine, you don’t need more broth; just use a smaller pot so the level still comes up halfway.
- I start checking mine at 3 hours, though every shank is a little different. When the meat gives way with no resistance at all, it is done, so go by the fork rather than the clock.
- You can absolutely make these in a slow cooker on low for about 6 hours. I would skip the pressure cooker, though; it rushes the beef, and it comes out more tough than tender.
- Chicken broth works in place of the beef broth; it just comes out a little lighter.
What to Serve with Braised Beef Shank
Braised beef shank is a lot like a good pot roast (such as my Mississippi pot roast), which means it tastes best served with a big scoop of mashed potatoes! There’s something so comforting about creamy mashed potatoes and tender braised beef.
You can also serve braised beef shank with a piece of warm bread. A rustic slice of whole wheat artisan bread, some freshly milled rolls, or Dutch oven cheese bread are great choices — slathered with lots of butter, of course!
Recipe FAQs
Leftovers keep in the fridge for 4 days and freeze for up to 3 months. Honestly, this one is even better the second day once the sauce has settled!
Yes, a slow-cooking method such as braising is necessary with beef shanks. Beef shank comes from the leg of the animal and is rich in muscle and connective tissue, which need to be cooked low and slow to break down. If you cook a shank the way you would cook a ribeye steak, it will be tough and impossible to chew, but braised beef shank is tender and delicious.
You can make this braised beef shank in any oven-safe pot with a lid, a covered casserole dish, or a slow cooker (see the notes above for instructions). I prefer using a pot or Dutch oven because you can sear and braise in the same pot, which saves me some dishes!
Related Recipes
- Braised Brisket
- Dutch Oven Pot Roast With Gravy
- Instant Pot Rump Roast
- Pikes Peak Roast
- Tender Sirloin Tip Roast
If you tried these Braised Beef Shanks or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Braised Beef Shanks
Equipment
- 5-7 quart Dutch oven
Ingredients
- 2 beef shanks bone in, about 1 ½ inches thick (about 2 pounds)
- 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion cut into large chunks
- 3 carrots cut into large chunks
- 2 celery stalks cut into large chunks
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 3 cups beef broth
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 325°F. Pat the shanks dry and season all over with the salt and pepper.
- Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Sear the shanks about 4 minutes per side, until deeply browned, then move them to a plate.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook 5 to 6 minutes, until softened.
- Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, and flour and cook 1 minute. Pour in the broth and scrape the bottom of the pot clean.
- Stir in the vinegar, thyme, and rosemary. Settle the shanks back in with any juices and bring to a simmer.
- Cover and braise in the oven 3 to 3½ hours, until the meat pulls away from the bone with a fork.
- Carefuly remove from the oven and skim off any fat. Serve warm.
Notes
- I do use red wine vinegar in this recipe. If you don’t have red wine vinegar, you can actually use balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar. They all work perfectly and add their own unique flavor!
- I leave all the fat on the shanks when they go into the pot. It looks like an awful lot sitting there, but three hours of braising renders most of it away, and that is honestly where the flavor comes from.
- I have my butcher cut the shanks about an inch and a half thick with the bone left in. They will do it for you, and beef shank is one of the cheapest things in the whole case!
- Your liquid should come about halfway up the shanks in step 5. If yours got cut thicker than mine, you don’t need more broth; just use a smaller pot so the level still comes up halfway.
- I start checking mine at 3 hours, though every shank is a little different. When the meat gives way with no resistance at all, it is done, so go by the fork rather than the clock.
- You can absolutely make these in a slow cooker on low for about 6 hours. I would skip the pressure cooker, though; it rushes the beef, and it comes out more tough than tender.
- Chicken broth works in place of the beef broth; it just comes out a little lighter.
