Well, that is a mouthful of a title. There are several takeaway items from it though. Beef shanks are a tough cut of meat, usually requiring long cooking. In the electric pressure cooker (maybe you have an InstaPot), that time is cut down to less than an hour. Also, crispy crunchy chili oil…if you haven’t discovered it yet…run out and buy or order it. It’s addictive and can transform a simple bowl of rice or pasta into something special. Here I use it to flavor the beef shanks. This idea and most of the recipe comes from a wonderful post by Petra. She hosts the blog Food Eat Love and you will find her original version here for beef short ribs. I would recommend clicking over to it, her food is really 5 star restaurant quality and the pictures will have your mouth watering.

Myself, I spent too long in the garden getting ready for an impending rain storm and needed to cut some corners. Lacking the 4 hours needed to cook the beef slowly in the oven, I turned to my pressure cooker. I don’t use it much in the summer when we rely on the outside grill, but come the cooler wet weather I use it often.

Don’t have an electric pressure cooker? Don’t worry. See the variation at the end for instructions for cooking in a standard Dutch oven.

Beef Shank with Crispy Crunchy Chili Oil

In Italy veal shanks are called Osso Bucco. You will find numerous recipes on line and in Italian cookbooks. Here in the U.S. veal shanks are difficult to find and costly if you do. I used budget friendly beef shanks instead and gave them an Asian twist.

I served it with a sweet potato that had been cut in half, rubbed with sesame oil and roasted at 425 degrees F (in the toaster oven) for 50 minutes. It was a wonderful combination.

Beef Shanks with Crispy Crunchy Chili Oil (in the electric pressure cooker)

serves 4 -6

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of neutral oil such as grape-seed
• 3 to 4 thick slices of beef shank with the bone and marrow
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 1 large onion, cut into half moons
• 1 leek, chopped (if you have a spare one that needs eating as I did)
• 2 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 2 peeled slices of fresh ginger
• 2 cups of fresh shiitake mushrooms, tough stem ends trimmed, cut in half if very large
• 3 tablespoons of crispy crunchy chili oil
• 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons of rice wine, I used Shaoxing
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 to 3 teaspoons of cornstarch, optional if you want to thicken the sauce
• chopped cilantro for garnish, optional

Method:

1. Select saute mode and add the oil to the pressure cooker. Cook the carrot and onion (maybe the leek as well if you had one laying around in the crisper) until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
2. Add the ginger, mushrooms, chili oil, soy sauce, rice wine and water. Stir to loosen any browned bits from the bottom of the pot and mix everything together.
3. Nestle the beef shanks in the liquid, trying to get everything in one level if possible. The liquid should just cover the shanks.
4. Put on the lid, close the vent, and choose high pressure cooking for 40 minutes.
5. At the end of the 40 minutes let the pressure release naturally for another 15 minutes.
6. Put a tea towel over the vent and release the pressure manually.
7. Remove the shanks and mushrooms from the pot and skim off any fat from the juices. Or pour the sauce into a fat separator, let it rest for ten minutes for the fat to surface, then pour the degreased sauce into a serving boat. (Or put everything in a large bowl and refrigerate overnight. The fat will be easy to remove when it solidifies.)
8. If you would like to thicken the sauce, pour the degreased liquid into a small saucepan and heat until just simmering. Dissolve the cornstarch in 2 tablespoons of water and stirring into the hot liquid until it is thickened to your liking.

Beef Shank with Crispy Crunchy Chili Oil

No pressure cooker? No worries. Use a heavy bottomed dutch oven with a lid, and increase the amount of liquid to 2 cups. Follow the instructions right up until step 4 above. Then, instead of pressure cooking, bring the pot to a simmer, cover with the lid, and move it to a preheated 300 degree F oven. Bake for 3 to 4 hours, until the beef shanks are tender and falling off the bone. Continue from step 7.

Leftovers were turned into a swoon worthy beef soup by adding some chicken broth and extra vegetables. This is cold weather cooking at its best.