plenzmd1 Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 Yes Chef Jim, I am looking for advice on a message board! So cold day, natural for braising some meat. My wife wants to do Osso Bucco, which I am fine with....but I am thinking of using beef shanks instead . $3.99/lb vs $12.99 per lb. And to me, one of the great parts of braising is using the liquid over some egg noodles or celery root mash or similar ....so why not save $30 or so. She not so sure she wants to switch....any body have experience with using beef shanks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 is using the liquid over some egg noodles Pickle juice is good I hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 Only use beef shanks for stock. Have never braised them but they should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBillsForever Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 Yes Chef Jim, I am looking for advice on a message board! So cold day, natural for braising some meat. My wife wants to do Osso Bucco, which I am fine with....but I am thinking of using beef shanks instead . $3.99/lb vs $12.99 per lb. And to me, one of the great parts of braising is using the liquid over some egg noodles or celery root mash or similar ....so why not save $30 or so. She not so sure she wants to switch....any body have experience with using beef shanks? You can use the same technique. Beef shanks are a prime candidate for braising! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corp000085 Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 Pickle juice is good I hear. Don't forget to boil for an hour... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted November 25, 2013 Author Share Posted November 25, 2013 I did use the beef....not as good as the veal, but the sauce was awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 I did use the beef....not as good as the veal, but the sauce was awesome! If you're going to braise shanks use lamb. Fricken awesome!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted November 25, 2013 Author Share Posted November 25, 2013 If you're going to braise shanks use lamb. Fricken awesome!!! I almost did..they had them as well, but wanted to try the beef. Looks like this winter may be cold, may be doing a lot of braising, little smoking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 If you're going to braise shanks use lamb. Fricken awesome!!! This was a very (un)timely response! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 I almost did..they had them as well, but wanted to try the beef. Looks like this winter may be cold, may be doing a lot of braising, little smoking My favorite type of cooking. Slow braised dishes were my specialty when I cooked professionally actually. I made cassoulet at a restaurant in LA a number of years ago. Ruth Reichl was the LA Times restaurant critic at the time. She'd come in all the time and order two. One to eat there and one to take home which was pretty cool. Whenever it gets cold and rainy here and I ask the wife what I should make it's always "CASSOULET!!!" This was a very (un)timely response! Just giving him ideas for next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 My favorite type of cooking. Slow braised dishes were my specialty when I cooked professionally actually. I made cassoulet at a restaurant in LA a number of years ago. Ruth Reichl was the LA Times restaurant critic at the time. She'd come in all the time and order two. One to eat there and one to take home which was pretty cool. Whenever it gets cold and rainy here and I ask the wife what I should make it's always "CASSOULET!!!" Just giving him ideas for next time. My wife refuses to eat lamb. Beef is the only red meat she'll eat, basically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jauronimo Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 Yes Chef Jim, I am looking for advice on a message board! So cold day, natural for braising some meat. My wife wants to do Osso Bucco, which I am fine with....but I am thinking of using beef shanks instead . $3.99/lb vs $12.99 per lb. And to me, one of the great parts of braising is using the liquid over some egg noodles or celery root mash or similar ....so why not save $30 or so. She not so sure she wants to switch....any body have experience with using beef shanks? I would go that route regardless of price. You can't really screw up a braise and any cut of meat will wind up fork tender, so I would start with the toughest (most flavorful) cut I could find. No way a calf is going to have that rich beefy flavor. You need a cow thats seen some ****. Beef shank, oxtail, short rib, clod, beef cheeks, that is where its at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 My favorite type of cooking. Slow braised dishes were my specialty when I cooked professionally actually. I made cassoulet at a restaurant in LA a number of years ago. Ruth Reichl was the LA Times restaurant critic at the time. She'd come in all the time and order two. One to eat there and one to take home which was pretty cool. Whenever it gets cold and rainy here and I ask the wife what I should make it's always "CASSOULET!!!" I had cassoulet at some French joint in Vancouver (wifey loves French food). I hated it. Probably a bad cook but I've ingested better tasting dirt. Frankly, for being the "mother" cuisine my experience with French food overall has generally been poor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 I had cassoulet at some French joint in Vancouver (wifey loves French food). I hated it. Probably a bad cook but I've ingested better tasting dirt. Frankly, for being the "mother" cuisine my experience with French food overall has generally been poor. I've had **** cassoulet before and as a matter of fact I typically don't order it when I'm out because of that. Some that I've had you'd be better off opening a can of Campbell's pork and beans. I assume (and this is a major assumption) that the "French" food you've had is made by people who think they know what French food is and try to replicate the classices and fail horribly. I was heavily trained in classical French cuisine and I'm very skeptical about any restaurants serving French cuisine. I can spot the **** places pretty much just by looking at the menu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garion Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 I made a massive amount of cassoulet for thanksgiving last year rather non traditional but made sense for our family at the time. We had a gift set of ingredients from D'Artagnan from our sister in law which we supplemented with some good bits locally. Might have been my favorite thanksgiving meal ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 I can spot the **** places pretty much just by looking at the menu. Because they have macaroni et fromage as a main dish? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 I made a massive amount of cassoulet for thanksgiving last year rather non traditional but made sense for our family at the time. We had a gift set of ingredients from D'Artagnan from our sister in law which we supplemented with some good bits locally. Might have been my favorite thanksgiving meal ever. When made right there is nothing better. I think I need to make some duck confit now for the winter cassoulet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted November 27, 2013 Author Share Posted November 27, 2013 K, next question. I am in charge of appetizer for tomorrow..9 adults, 6 tween/teens....anybody have any interesting ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 K, next question. I am in charge of appetizer for tomorrow..9 adults, 6 tween/teens....anybody have any interesting ideas? Crudite. Please see Beerball for details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 K, next question. I am in charge of appetizer for tomorrow..9 adults, 6 tween/teens....anybody have any interesting ideas? Yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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