Mule Deer Osso Buco

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For the annual North Shore Fish and Game Christmas party I decided to cut up a couple mule shanks and make some osso buco. I’ve done it before with moose shanks, but that time I made the recipe up as I went along. This time I’m taking some guidance from Kevin Gillespie and the MeatEater crew. Here’s the link to his video.

This dish starts with two shanks from a 3-31 mule deer. I usually vacuum seal these, freeze them and then, while frozen, cut them on a band saw.

Salt and pepper. Pretty straightforward.

Cover in flour prior to braising.
Braise them in a cast iron pot. Make sure you have enough hot oil to get up the sides of each piece. Don’t let them touch each other.
Brown all sides completely. You’re going to need some tongs to pull that off. When they’re done remove them from the pot, but leave the oil and juices in place. You’ll use that for the veggies.
Pretty simple – onion, carrots, celery. You can add whatever other veggies you like.
Throw the mix in the pot and caramelize everything.
Don’t forget garlic.
Can you find cheaper dry red wine to cook with? I couldn’t. Toss in 1 cup.
1 can of tomato paste.
One of these. If you make your own stock from bones it’s even better.
Finish up with some sage, rosemary and thyme (frankly, you can use whatever herbs you like).

Cover this and let it simmer for at least 4 hours. The longer you leave it the more tender the otherwise tough shank meat gets. The only thing you have to watch out for is simmering it too long, in which case the meat falls right off the bone and starts migrating through the sauce. Try to avoid that, as the bones are a bonus (marrow is good, right?)

This is a really simple recipe that allows for lots of variation in ingredients. It’s worth watching Kevin on the video because he’s got some good tips.