Port Braised Beef Shanks

There are certain cuts of meat I always pick up when they are available, like beef shanks, which are relatively inexpensive and very tasty. The first time I had these was in a Baltimore hotel during merger discussions in 2012 and I’ve enjoyed them since. This dish is inspired from New Scandinavian cooking’s Braised Lamb Shanks” by Andreas Viestad, and is excellent as leftovers.

Ingredients
2 lbs beef shanks
2 cups vegetable stock
½ cup port wine
1 red onion sliced
1 carrot peeled and chopped
2 bay leaves
4 oz mushrooms
2 cloves garlic chopped
2 rosemary sprigs
½ tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp fresh grated horseradish
handful dried chanterelle mushrooms (optional)
1 tbsp peanut oil
1 tbsp butter

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven, add onions, carrots, mushrooms, and rosemary, sweat for a few minutes. Add the port wine, and cook for about 2 minutes. Preheat oven to 325°F.
Add the stock, shanks, salt, pepper, bay leaves, pepper flakes, and garlic; bring to a boil. Cover, then bake 90-120 minutes, stirring every 30 minutes.
Remove the shanks, and let rest. Add the dried mushrooms to the Dutch oven, then reduce the broth until brown and thick. Stir in butter, adjust salt and pepper at the end.
Debone the shanks, then slice into 3/8”-1/2” thick pieces, serve over mashed root vegetables, potatoes, or rice. Spoon gravy over the top, sprinkle with grated horseradish.