Beef shank chili... amazing!

Hello,

I currently live in Beijing and I never would have thought to try this cut unless I was in China, where it's probably the most common cut of beef you can find everywhere. The meat grocer was almost out of every other kind of beef, so I asked for an end piece of the shank, about the size of a fist. It didn't look like much, pure red with not a speck of savory fat or stock-enhancing bone, streaked with inedible-looking white tissue, as tough and surly as the meat grocer's attitude, but I didn't really have a choice.

I did my usual routine, frying the onions, peppers, spices, and what little ground beef I had in the main pot and in a seperate pan I browned the shank piece in vegetable oil, deglazed with some Tsingtao beer, and added it to the main pot when I reached the simmer stage. Three hours later I went to stir the pot and the shank just fell apart into tender chunks and strands. I have never made a pot of chili so thick and rich. Whatever cooked out of that shank made this the best chili I have ever made. And it's cheap too!

I used to obsess about hunting down tri-tip to grind, or getting the coarseness and fat content just right, or mixing various concoctions of ground meat from different animals, but no more! I think next time I will cut the shank into smaller pieces before browning, and skip the ground meat altogether. (Random thought: I wonder if you could slow-smoke a beef shank? Hm..) Chili weather is more or less over, but give it a try when you get the chance!

I agree! Ground beef shank is one of my absolute favorite forms of beef. It's everything ground chuck is but better.

I, unlike you, have a hard time finding beef shanks where I live and need to grind it myself on the rare occasions that I find them. Lucky you!

You've discovered one of our not-neccessarily-best-kept secrets. Although traditionally whole beef shank is often braised then sliced and served cold, when served warm it is indeed very rich. All that "white" tissue you saw in the shank is highly desirable; When braised that rich tendon-y goodness makes the meat very gelatinous and soft; If you've ever had braised warm beef tendons, you'll know what I'm talking about. So instead of having meat marbled with fat, all that collagen when warmed and well-braised make a very tender cut of meat - akin to meat off the head of an animal as well (ie: barbacoa).

I made niu rou mian last week [film at 10! really...] using shank for the first time. Usually I've used chuck. 86 on the chuck from now on. Shank was everything you all have described, plus really really tasty.

But you've got me scratching my head on *ground* shank for burgers. How does the tough shank soften up enough in the short grilling time of the burger?

Geo
PS. Eating while Walking, how I envy you! This is the absolutely best time of year to be in Beijing! Walk down the street, get some fried bread sticks, oh yum! Are there still vendors on the corner selling yoghurt in British half-pint jars, or is that a thing of the past. It's been a long time for me...

Bridgestone, actually, I've got a tiny dorm kitchen with nowhere for a meat grinder, so I just browned the shank and simmered it whole without grinding, and it fell apart into perfect-sized, savory chunks with almost no effort on my part. I'll try ground shank at first opportunity though.

Jay K, it really is a lot like barbacoa. The rich texture is very similar and so is the way the meat holds the flavors of the simmering sauce.

Geo, my family is Taiwanese so I look forward to your niu rou mien post. I do like the food in Beijing but really tasty Taiwanese specialties are hard to find here. Yes, this is a good time to be in Beijing, as the long, polluted, gray winter is over and we're finally getting some greenery and sun! I have seen corner vendors selling yogurts, in little plastic crocks with paper tops that you punch a straw through. Is this what you're talking about?

Eating--

Back in the day, they sold the yoghurt in glass jars on the street corners outside the apartment buildings where all the beautiful working girls lived. [Since I had a red card, I was staying in an Overseas Chinese apart-hotel in the neighborhoods.] I'd watch them pick up a bottle on one corner, drink the yoghurt through a straw as they walked along, and then sell the empty bottle back to the guy in the stand at the entrance to the subway. A clever and sustainable system. It's gone now, of course, that system.

I'll try to get the nrm piece posted later today. But it's a warm, sunny, early Spring day in Montréal, so I may go for a bike ride. Ahhhh, if only I still had my Flying Pigeon!!

Geo

Back in the day, they sold the yoghurt in glass jars on the street corners outside the apartment buildings where all the beautiful working girls lived. [Since I had a red card, I was staying in an Overseas Chinese apart-hotel in the neighborhoods.] I'd watch them pick up a bottle on one corner, drink the yoghurt through a straw as they walked along, and then sell the empty bottle back to the guy in the stand at the entrance to the subway. A clever and sustainable system. It's gone now, of course, that system.

Hi Geo, after your post I starting paying more attention and you know what, those crocks are actually still here! I'll try one next time I see one.