Guinness braised beef shank
“A showpiece with flintstone-like charm: the beef shank.”
A showpiece with flintstone-like charm: the beef shank. Often cut into slices straight through the bone and doomed to a life in broth, here we give it the spotlight it deserves. The breed of cow and how it was raised determine the tenderness of the end result, so make sure to score a shank of a nicely marbled race
The ingredients:
(8 – 12 serves)
Beef shank:
- 1 beef shank (about 9lbs / 4kg)
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp granulated onion
- 2 tsp granulated garlic
- 10½ oz (300g) butter
- 5 onions. peeled and quartered
- 1 bulb garlic, cloves separated and crushed
- 1 bunch thyme
- 5 sprigs rosemary
- 4 cans of Guinness
- 2 beef stock cubes
- 34 fl oz (1L) Smokey’s Original BBQ Sauce (see recipe)
Gear:
- Large BBQ with cover for indirect grilling
- 9 oak, beech, or hickory wood chunks for smoking (2 x 2 inch pieces)
- Large roasting tray, enough to hold the shank and a good amount of sauce
- Core thermometer
How to make:
Duration: 5 hours
Cooking about: 9 hours
Prepare a BBQ for indirect grilling and heat to 110 ˚C (230 ˚F).
Coat the shank in the olive oil. Mix together the pepper, salt, and granulated garlic and onion and sprinkle the shank on all sides. Place three of the smoking wood chunks in the hot coals and place your shank on the BBQ grate. Cover and smoke for 4 hours, while adding the rest of the wood chunks in phases.
Heat the butter in a roasting tray over medium heat and fry the onions and garlic until browned. Add the thyme and rosemary and cook for another minute. Add the Guinness. Dissolve the stock cubes in the liquid and add the BBQ sauce.
When the shank has been smoking for 4 hours, place it in the tray with the sauce and wrap with tin foil. It’s crucial to make the entire tray 100% airtight so no liquid can get out and the meat can get braised to perfection. Place the tray back on the grate, cover and heat the BBQ to 160 ˚C (320 ˚F). Cook for about 5 more hours. Every hour, carefully open the foil and ladle some of the moisture over the meat, then fold back the foil so it’s airtight again. The shank is cooked when the core temperature reaches 94-96˚C (201-205 ˚F) and easily comes off the bone.
