Bear shank ossa buco

Buckskinbob

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Joined
Jul 12, 2022
Messages
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I wanted to make something good out of elk shanks, so I tried making ossa buco out of my bear shanks to practice and they came out awefull.

I have enjoyed everything I have made from bear so far, and it's all been slow cooker meals. This however had zero flavor in the end, it was odd. It was fall off the bone tender and all the connective tissue had been gelatinized, but it tasted like nothing just the texture of meat is all.

I shredded all the left overs, which was all of it, and mixed it with mayo for roast beef sandwiches which is my go to for all roast left overs, but I wish I could have enjoyed the shanks first. If you have any tips or can tell me where I went wrong, please do.

This was how I cooked it

Ingredients:

Bear shank sections cut about 4 inches long
Salt
Pepper
Flour
Peanut oil
Italian seasoning
Chopped carrots
Chopped celery
Onions
Bone broth

I salt and peppered the shanks then coated in flour and browned them in peanut oil.

I then put them in the crock pot, dumped in some bone broth that I mixed with a few tablespoons of Italian seasonings.

I threw the carrots, celery, and onions on top. Then I put the lid on the crock pot which was on low and cooked it for about 9 hours.
 

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Looks like it should have been fabulous. I would toss in lots more seasoning, crushed garlic cloves, more salt than just what you seasoned the meat with. You have lots of veggys that will take up the seasoning. salt is what brings out the flavor in lots of stuff. Not that you have to make salt water, but a teaspoon or two may make all the difference. Toss in some mushrooms next time also. Don't give up on Oso Buco.
 
Looks like it should have been fabulous. I would toss in lots more seasoning, crushed garlic cloves, more salt than just what you seasoned the meat with. You have lots of veggys that will take up the seasoning. salt is what brings out the flavor in lots of stuff. Not that you have to make salt water, but a teaspoon or two may make all the difference. Toss in some mushrooms next time also. Don't give up on Oso Buco.
Makes sense, I didn't think about the veggies taking up seasoning. I also have some dehydrated oyster mushrooms from this spring, those will definitely be going in with the elk when it is time.
 
Definitely throw the mushrooms in, but you will need to add extra liquid, those shrooms will soak up a bunch. Sometimes when I am experimenting, I think maybe I got it a bit hot, but when all is said and done, not overly hot at all. Lots of veggies and potatoes will absorb the seasoning.
 
Very nice, I made an elk shank roast tonight. Not quite osso bucco as I left it whole but still just as good. Served over grits. No pictures because we were hungry. I definitely agree with the comments about salt. You want to balance things because the broth should reduce, but especially if you're going to serve over a starch like rice or something, aggressively seasoning at the very end is the way to go.
 
Maybe brown a little more too. Brown your veggies a bit as well.
It definitely does something, I've been dredging and browning all my steaks lately before finishing in the oven and they have been coming out great.
 
Very nice, I made an elk shank roast tonight. Not quite osso bucco as I left it whole but still just as good. Served over grits. No pictures because we were hungry. I definitely agree with the comments about salt. You want to balance things because the broth should reduce, but especially if you're going to serve over a starch like rice or something, aggressively seasoning at the very end is the way to go.
It's been a long time since I had grits, cheesy with eggs in it. I'll have to get some and try it with a dinner meal. What did you season your elk shank with?
 
Like mentioned by others, I usually find that I flavors are less bold than I think they are going to be when braising. You can usually add the flavor ingredients you want pretty aggressively.
 
It's been a long time since I had grits, cheesy with eggs in it. I'll have to get some and try it with a dinner meal. What did you season your elk shank with?
Salt and pepper only. Whole head of garlic, red wine, onion, and tomato paste in the broth though. I don't like a slow cooker for braises for one main reason: browning. Throwing a Dutch oven in your oven at 275 and letting it go will reduce/concentrate the broth more and the meat above the broth gets that beautiful crust on it that nothing else can replicate.
 
I’d echo what most have said so far, season the holy sh!t out of it. Also, I usually go 1/2 broth 1/2 red wine one the liquid portion.
Wine was in some of the recipes I read. I will have to look into that for the next one as well.
 
I wanted to make something good out of elk shanks, so I tried making ossa buco out of my bear shanks to practice and they came out awefull.

I have enjoyed everything I have made from bear so far, and it's all been slow cooker meals. This however had zero flavor in the end, it was odd. It was fall off the bone tender and all the connective tissue had been gelatinized, but it tasted like nothing just the texture of meat is all.

I shredded all the left overs, which was all of it, and mixed it with mayo for roast beef sandwiches which is my go to for all roast left overs, but I wish I could have enjoyed the shanks first. If you have any tips or can tell me where I went wrong, please do.

This was how I cooked it

Ingredients:

Bear shank sections cut about 4 inches long
Salt
Pepper
Flour
Peanut oil
Italian seasoning
Chopped carrots
Chopped celery
Onions
Bone broth

I salt and peppered the shanks then coated in flour and browned them in peanut oil.

I then put them in the crock pot, dumped in some bone broth that I mixed with a few tablespoons of Italian seasonings.

I threw the carrots, celery, and onions on top. Then I put the lid on the crock pot which was on low and cooked it for about 9 hours.
Sounds amazing
 

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