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Cooking beef shank. Beef shank - description with a photo of this part of the carcass; its properties (benefits and harms); the use of beef in recipes

Beef shank is a meat that is healthy in its composition, which, when correct preparation will be delicious. The product itself is the lower part of the front or hind leg of a cow or bull. Its feature is a significant number of tendons and attachments. Cutting such meat, pieces are obtained (usually on the bone, although there is also a boneless shank). Often this product is considered low-grade, but housewives continue to actively use it in all countries where beef is consumed. Most cuisines in the world have at least a couple of dishes based on beef shank.

Interesting! “Shank” is the name of the legs of a cow. But the same part in the pork carcass is called the knuckle.

The price of the shank is low. This also increases the demand for this product. And the list of recipes for dishes that turn out to be delicious and satisfying from this meat is truly huge. We invite you to find out what is useful beef shank, what is its composition and what dishes can be prepared from it.

Calorie content and composition

The calorie content and composition of meat will be useful for everyone to know. There are few calories in this product. There are only 156 kcal per 100 grams. This makes the product available for use by children and those who follow a diet.

Such meat contains fats, proteins, ash, microelements (manganese, zinc, iron, selenium, copper) and macroelements (magnesium, potassium, sodium, calcium, phosphorus). All of these supplements are vital for the human body, but their use should still be dosed. In addition, the product is considered a real treasure of natural gelatin.

Benefits and contraindications

It is imperative to familiarize yourself with the benefits and contraindications of the use of this product. To the main useful properties product include the following:

  1. Normalization and maintenance of the gastrointestinal tract due to the significant content of B vitamins in beef meat.
  2. Ensuring the full growth and reproduction of body cells.
  3. Improving the functioning of the nervous system due to the content of B vitamins.
  4. Formation and strengthening of bones and teeth thanks to the content of vitamin A.
  5. Active fight against viruses and bacteria due to the unique composition.
  6. The ability to slow down aging due to the significant content of vitamin A.
  7. Formation and growth of new cells due to the presence of vitamin D.
  8. Hematopoietic effect, due to which meat is indicated for consumption by people who have recently been on the operating table or have problems with hematopoiesis.

Contraindication to the use of such meat is individual intolerance. The meat of a cow that was raised in poor conditions will not bring any benefit to the body. The quality of a product is influenced by: methods of gaining weight for animals before slaughter, habitat and food. It is worth limiting the use of this meat to people suffering from diseases of the cardiovascular system, digestive tract, urolithiasis, osteochondrosis and gout during an exacerbation.

Choice of beef shank

The choice of beef shank must be correct. The meat should have a deep dark pink or light red hue. White fatty layers are also required. All this indicates that in front of you is the meat of a young (up to 20 months) bull or cow. It is such a shank that is considered useful, delicious dishes are obtained from it. But the dark red and brown shade indicates that the animal was slaughtered at an advanced age. There will be no benefit to the body from the use of such a product.

In addition, you need to pay attention to the smell of the legs. It should be pleasantly meaty, very light and slightly sweet. It is recommended to purchase chilled meat and start cooking immediately. Before the start culinary process it is imperative to wash the meat under running water.

It is important! Store chilled beef legs for no more than three days in the refrigerator. But in freezer the shelf life can be extended up to one year while maintaining a suitable temperature.

The use of beef shank in cooking

The use of beef shank in cooking is very common. It is a good meat that can be used in a variety of dishes. The presence of the bone indicates that this portion of the beef is ideal for preparing first courses. Boneless meat can be stewed or baked, but it will take a lot of time (usually 3-4 hours) due to the fact that there are many tendons in the shank.

In addition, the shank:

  • stew;
  • boil;
  • bake;
  • fried;
  • pickle;
  • smoked;
  • dried.

You can prepare such a product in any convenient way: in a mutilvar, in a frying pan, in an oven, on a grill, on a grill, on a stove, in a pressure cooker and even in a microwave. You can highlight a huge number of dishes that are prepared from beef shank, in particular, these are first courses (broths, soups, hodgepodge, borscht, cabbage soup), jellied meat (traditional or with the addition of gelatin), meat salads, steaks, chops.

Worth knowing! Before cooking, the shank must be soaked in cold water for three to four hours. Stewing, boiling or frying should also take at least two hours to make the meat juicy and appetizing.

And also this product is used as an independent dish or supplemented with any side dishes or vegetables. You can make a boneless shank in dough, bake it in foil or a sleeve, create own dish by experimenting with additives. On our site you can find numerous recipes for cooking this meat, which will tell you what you can cook from beef shank.

Advice! Don't be afraid to combine the shank with other meat products. For example, for jellied meat, you can use not only beef drumstick, but also pork knuckle... In this case, the dish will turn out to be richer and more appetizing.

If you ask any housewife what dishes are prepared from beef shank, then with a high degree of probability she will name the following:

  1. Selts. The dish is prepared by boiling all the meat products that make up the composition. This allows the finished dish to keep its shape, which means that it can be cut into portions.
  2. Aspic. It is a broth strongly cooked on beef meat and bones. Sometimes meat offal (tail or head) is also added to it. The use of a beef shank is explained by the fact that this meat is saturated with sticky substances.
  3. Jelly. The principle of cooking is similar to jellied meat, and the combination of beef with pork (usually ears and legs) in this dish becomes a distinctive feature.

Dishes are prepared according to a similar recipe, based on prolonged simmering over low heat. This ensures the ability of the cold broth to hold its shape and solidify.

Advice! Vegetables, cereals, dried fruits and berries, mushrooms, pasta and flour products. Among alcoholic beverages Wine and beer will help to shade the taste, and any of the non-alcoholic ones will do.

Beef shank is a meat that opens up wide culinary prospects for any housewife. The choice of possible dishes is significant, and the cooking process is simple, but time consuming. The main advantage of such meat is its significant benefits for the body due to unique composition and low calorie content.

To prepare delicious and tender meat you will need following ingredients:

  • Beef shank - weight ± 1.5 kg, can be with bone,
  • Roasting bag.

For the marinade:

  • Olive oil - 3 tablespoons
  • Ketchup or BBQ Sauce - 3 tbsp spoons,
  • Garlic to taste
  • Onion - 1 small onion
  • Nutmeg, paprika, salt and pepper.

If desired, you can add half sweet to the marinade bell pepper and one tomato. Onions and garlic can be used as dried ground herbs.

Marinate the shank:

1. Finely crumble Bell pepper, tomato, onion, garlic and mix with olive oil and tomato sauce.

2. Add spices and seasonings.

3. Lubricate the shank with prepared marinade, cover with a lid and keep for a couple of hours at room temperature.

1. Preheat the oven to 150 °.

2. Place the meat in a baking bag. We close the bag, leaving the air inside, and put in the oven.

3. Bake for 1 hour, then increase the temperature to 200 ° and wait another 50 minutes - 1 hour.

Appetizing beef on the bone, stewed with vegetables and aromatic herbs - this is ossobuco, a steak Italian recipe... In fact, it is customary to cook this dish from the so-called third grade beef - shanks. In Russia, the drumstick is often used only for broth or jellied meat, while in fact, you can make a real delicacy from it!

Ingredients

  • Beef shank - 1 kg;
  • salt to taste;
  • pepper to taste;
  • nutmeg - 1 pc .;
  • vegetable oil - 200 ml;
  • fresh rosemary - 1 sprig;
  • garlic - 4 cloves.

For garnish

  • Carnation - 4 pcs.;
  • onions - 2 pcs.;
  • celery stalk - 2 pcs.;
  • carrots - 2 pcs.;
  • dry red wine - 200 ml;
  • butter - 100 g;
  • beef broth - 500 ml.

For Gremolata sauce

  • Parsley - 1 bunch;
  • red chili pepper - 1 pc.;
  • mint - 1 bunch;
  • olive oil - 100 ml;
  • lemon - 1 pc.;
  • garlic - 2 cloves;
  • salt to taste;
  • pepper to taste.

Recipe

1. For ossobuco you need a beef shank cut into thick pieces with a marrow. Correct cuts of beef should be 4-5 centimeters thick.

2. Season the meat on both sides with salt, pepper and freshly ground nutmeg and roll in wheat flour- we are panning. This is necessary so that when frying, the meat seals faster and retains its juiciness.

3. Tie the breaded pieces of beef shank with culinary thread or twine to hold the shape.

4. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan, add fresh rosemary, garlic and cloves to make it fragrant.

5. Fry the ossobuco pieces on each side until an appetizing, golden brown crust is formed.

6. Carrots, garlic, celery stalk and onion cut into small cubes.

7. Put the fried beef steaks on a separate plate. We do not drain the fat from the meat, fry the chopped vegetables in it so that the side dish is saturated with meat juice and the aroma of seasonings. As soon as the onion acquires a golden color, pour in red dry wine, completely evaporate the alcohol so that only a pleasant grape sourness remains in the finished dish.

8. Add a piece of butter and melt, stirring constantly. The butter will make the garnish thicker, like a sauce or gravy.

9. Put the finished garnish in an even layer on a baking sheet, put three pieces of meat on top, pour out 500 grams of pre-cooked beef broth, tightly cover the baking sheet with parchment, and on top also with foil.

10. We send the meat to the oven preheated to 180 degrees for two hours.

11. Separate the parsley leaves and mint from the twigs, free the chili pepper from the seeds to get rid of excessive pungency. Combine all the ingredients in a blender bowl, add garlic there, olive oil and lemon zest, grated on a fine grater. Grind until smooth and add salt and pepper to taste.

12. Serve the finished ossobuco in portions with a vegetable garnish and sauce.

Despite the fact that beef shank is not considered the first type of meat, you can find many delicious and interesting dishes with her participation. This meat product has its own characteristics, its use can have a beneficial effect on the human body.


What it is?

Beef shank is the part of the leg of cattle that is adjacent to the knee joint. It differs from other meat parts of the carcass by the high content of connective tissue, as well as tendons, marrow, gelatin. This shank structure provides good taste.

The benefits of this product are due to its origin, since beef is considered one of the most essential for the normal functioning of the human body. The use of a shank promotes the daily supply of complete protein, collagen, elastin and iron into the body. The number of calories in meat per 100 g of product is 147 Kcal. In addition, it also contains the following elements in grams:

  • proteins - 20, 6;
  • fat - 7, 1;
  • carbohydrates - 0;
  • water - 71.4;
  • ash - 0, 9.


With all this, beef shank can be attributed to low-calorie foods. At the same time, in terms of saturation, the cooked shank belongs to nutritious dishes.

This type of meat leads to the normalization of acidic processes in the stomach, and also does not contribute to the occurrence of putrefactive processes in the intestines.

The meat that is in the shank is characterized by high stringiness and the presence of a large percentage of connective tissue, so eating from the shank is often not a method of saturating the body, but a means to get rid of many diseases. That is why it is recommended to use the knuckle in a constant diet for those who suffer from problems in the musculoskeletal system and joints.

This type of meat has a hematopoietic effect, therefore it is simply necessary for those people who have had profuse blood loss. Beef shank is an indispensable product for overweight people. The effect of losing weight through the use of low-calorie meat is achieved by the ability of the product to quickly saturate the body. Zinc, which is contained in the shank in large quantities, strengthens the immune system and protective functions of the body.


Features of choice

When the beef carcass is butchered, the result is front and back shanks, the choice of which should take into account many nuances. The part of the animal's carcass that is freshly cut should be purchased. It is better to opt for pieces with small round bones. In this case, you can be sure that the meat was located in close proximity to the central upper body. Coarse and tough fibers are less concentrated in these areas.

If there are large and deformed bones in a piece of a shank, then this indicates the proximity of the meat segment to the articular bones. It is worthwhile to beware of goods that are distributed in packages, since there you can find a large percentage of bones in relation to boneless beef.


When purchasing meat products of industrial origin, do not consume excessive amounts of them. Recently, the practice of feeding animals with the help of all kinds of additives harmful to the human body. Therefore, an excessive amount of beef shank in the diet is a factor that can provoke gout, osteoporosis, and blockage of blood vessels.

Beef shank should be dark pink or light red. It should visually contain layers of fat that have a white color. If the product has a brown tint, then it is better not to buy it, since it most likely belongs to an old animal.

Do not ignore the smell of the meat product - it is characterized by sweetness and meaty aroma. The product must be purchased chilled.


Cooking rules

The beef shank is a large cut. In order for the meat to acquire tenderness and softness, it must be cooked for a long time over low heat. Only in this way can each vein be able to melt and turn into jelly. This type of meat is often used in cooking and is used to prepare various dishes.

If there is bone in the lower leg, then it is best used for the first courses. The boneless pulp is ideal for stewing, baking, but these processes require at least three hours of time. The beef shank is used for the following purposes:

  • extinguishing;
  • boiling;
  • baking;
  • frying;
  • pickling;
  • smoking;
  • drying.


This type of meat is prepared using a multicooker, frying pan, oven, grill, barbecue, pressure cooker, microwave. The menu of each family may include soups, jellied meat, borscht, hodgepodge, meat salads and shank steaks.

it original version for an independent dish served with any side dish or salad. The shank can be made in dough if it is boneless, or it can be baked using a sleeve.

In order for the dishes to be richer and more aromatic, it is worth trying to combine beef with other types of meat and products.


Recipes

Beef shank is the type of meat with which every housewife can reveal her culinary possibilities. With a large selection of recipes special efforts and there are no difficulties during cooking.

Beef shank "Beef-brese"

Shearing is a method of cooking meat, during which a small fire is used and the product is partially immersed in liquid. This method is akin to stewing, as it takes place without roasting the meat. This method softens even the toughest pieces. The boneless part of the lower leg is used to prepare the dish.

Before starting cooking, you will need to do vegetables. Several small onions, a little garlic and one carrot need to be peeled, chopped large chunks. Meat product must be washed, blotted with a paper towel and lightly fry in hot oil. In a roaster or a cast iron cauldron, you should put butter and melt it. Add garlic and onions there and fry everything a little. Then the carrots are added and frying is carried out for about three minutes.


Pour some wine with vegetables and cook until boiling. After that, meat is laid out to them, broth is poured, the dish is salted, peppered and covered with a lid.

The cooking process must be carried out over low heat and for two and a half hours. If necessary, it is worth adding a certain amount of broth. When softening meat, remove the vegetables and mix them with a blender. Add the liquid from the cauldron to the vegetables and continue to mix.

As a result, should be formed thick sauce... If desired, you can add salt, pepper, butter to it to your liking.

Serve the finished beef with the sauce.


Braised beef shank

To prepare this hearty dish the following foods should be prepared:

  • two beef shanks;
  • onion - chives to taste;
  • 1 white onion;
  • 1 red onion;
  • bay leaf;
  • 3 branches of fresh thyme;
  • 3 cloves of garlic;
  • 2 branches of rosemary;
  • half a glass of grated carrots;
  • celery stalk;
  • 2 cups broth on meat;
  • 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil;
  • pinch of salt and pepper.


Step by step recipe preparation consists of the following points.

  1. By using vegetable oil meat shanks are fried on both sides.
  2. Cut the onion, carrot and celery into small cubes.
  3. Add to the pan to the meat aromatic herbs, chopped garlic, vegetables. The dish is salted and peppery to taste.
  4. Chopped onion is laid out in the dish, the broth is poured, everything is mixed. The container is covered with a lid and extinguishing is carried out for three to four hours.
  5. The aromatic herbs should be removed, and the dish should be served, sprinkled with herbs, in conjunction with a side dish.

Beef drumstick with vegetables

To prepare a dish, you need to give preference to a shank with a lot of meat.


The bone must be removed, and the pulp must be cut into cubes. The shank needs to be boiled. Then prepare sauté using seasonal vegetables... Ready vegetable side dish put on a plate, make a depression in it, put the meat and pour over the sauce.

To prepare the sauce, you will need to chop the nuts, fry them in a pan, pour cream into the container. After stirring the sauce, pour over the dish and serve.


Using the beef shank, the hostess cooks delicious jellied meat, brawn and jellies, which are prepared according to a similar principle. Due to long-term simmering with the help of low heat, the dishes freeze well and hold their shape. The shank is considered one of the cheapest meat parts of cattle carcasses, but with the right choice raw product and competent preparation, it turns out to be amazingly tasty and quite healthy.

Recipe beef drumstick from Jamie Oliver, see the next video.

Shin, shank, shank, buldyzhka ... Whatever you call this part of the beef carcass, the content does not change. It is the part of the leg that is adjacent to the knee joint. The only caveat: the shank is a cut from the hind leg of the animal, and the shank is a similar piece, only from the front.

The hind leg contains tendons, connective tissues, and the medulla. This is a real storehouse of natural gelatin. This part of the carcass requires culinary processing using special technologies, is widely used for the preparation of strong broths, as well as such traditional dishes Russian cuisine, like jelly or jellied meat. As the saying goes, this classic version use of beef shank. In addition, many housewives stew meat from the hind leg, after removing the bone. It turns out not even bad!

It should be borne in mind that in terms of gastronomic qualities, the drumstick of cattle that has not reached the age of 20 months is attractive. Pay attention to the color of the meat. Intense shades of pink or red plus white layers of fat indicate that you are looking at the shank of a young cow or goby. If the meat is dark red, it means that the animal was slaughtered already at a respectable age - such a product will definitely not delight gourmets.

Looking at the hind calf from the point of view of chemical science, we find in each piece an impressive list of useful elements. In addition to natural proteins and fats, it contains sodium, magnesium, manganese, and selenium. These biologically active substances are vital for humans. However, you should not be zealous in their use, excessive enthusiasm for dishes from the shank is fraught with an increase in cholesterol levels and metabolic disorders. And in moderate doses, this type of meat has a beneficial effect on the digestive system, promotes the formation of bone tissue and hematopoiesis.

The back shank transfers ready meal special aroma and taste. The presence of gelatin provides a sticky sensation in the finished product. That is why this type of beef is most often bought for making broth and jellied meat. The lower leg gives the very rich yellow, and dense islands of fat always float on the surface of the broth.

If you separate the meat from the beef roll from the bone, you will get an excellent "material" for various dishes. You can twist it in a meat grinder - minced meat for meatballs or cutlets is ready, you can cut it into strips and fry with vegetables - a stew will come out. This part of the beef carcass is successfully combined with potatoes and legumes, mushrooms and dried fruits. A tasty drumstick will turn out in the process of stewing with wine or beer, berry or tomato sauce.

Usually, hind-shank dishes are self-sufficient and served without garnish with sauces or fresh herbs. Though vegetable salad, mashed potatoes Spicy buns can be a great addition to this variety of beef.