Braised Beef Shanks in the Dutch Oven

Braised beef shanks served over yellow rice and garnished with fresh herbs.

These braised beef shanks in the Dutch oven make for a hearty and comforting dinner. We serve ours over saffron yellow rice, a side salad and a glass of wine.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword braised beef shanks, braised beef shanks in the dutch oven

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 3

Total Time 3 20

Servings servings

Calories 604kcal

Author Sonila

Equipment

1 Dutch Oven
1 pair of tongs for cooking

Ingredients

2 beef shanks they tend to be about 1 lb each give or take
2 carrots
3 celery ribs
1 white onion
4 tbsps all purpose flour please note that not all of it will coat the beef shanks but you need enough on the plate to coat on both sides. Shake off the excess.
1 cup red wine
4 tbsps olive oil (divided 2 tbsps for searing and 2 tbsps for sauteing) extra virgin
4 garlic cloves
2 rosemary twigs fresh
6 thyme sprigs fresh
1 tsp sea salt adjust to taste
1 tsp black pepper adjust to taste
14 ozs crushed tomatoes use 4-5 fresh tomatoes or 1 can of crushed tomatoes
8 ozs beef broth
2 tbsps fresh parsley (for garnish)

Instructions

Peel, wash and dice the carrots. Dice the celery ribs too. Chop the onion and set the vegetables aside. Also, mince the garlic and set that aside as well. If using fresh tomatoes, use a food processor to crush them or if using a can, open the can and set aside as well.
Start heating up the Dutch oven in medium heat. In the meantime, season the beef shanks thoroughly with sea salt and black pepper on both sides. Then dredge the beef shanks in all purpose flour and make sure all sides are coated.
Add 2 tbsps of olive oil to Dutch oven. When oil is hot, add the beef shanks, use tongs for better access. Let the beef shanks sear until golden brown on one side and using the tongs, flip them to sear on the other side as well. Once seared on all sides, remove the beef shanks and place them on a plate and cover them.
Add the remaining 2 tbsps of olive oil to Dutch oven. Add chopped onions and minced garlic. Saute until translucent. Add carrots and celery to pot as well. Use a wooden spoon to stir occasionally to vegetables don't stick to bottom of pot.
Add red wine and let it evaporate for a minute or two, stir to deglaze. Add broth and crushed tomatoes.
Transfer the beef shanks back into the pot. Add any liquid from the plate into the pot as well. Tie rosemary and thyme together with a kitchen twine like a small bouquet and add that to pot. Leave it in medium heat until it bubbles, then lower heat to medium-low (about 3 in a scale of 10) and cover the Dutch oven with its lid. Check occasionally that it doesn't run out of liquid, but this dish will take about 2.5-3 hrs to cook to perfection. At the end, just check that you have enough salt and pepper and adjust to add more if needed.
Serve beef shanks with yellow saffron rice, polenta, mashed potatoes or orzo. Of course a glass of wine goes really well with this meal as well. Enjoy:))

Notes

You can add Dutch Oven to the oven, covered instead of cooking over stovetop. In the oven, I'd cook at 300 degrees F for about 2.5 hrs and then check every 15 minutes or so until you get the desired tenderness.
If doubling this recipe, please adjust liquid amounts accordingly so the dish doesn't become dry as it cooks. Cooking time will increase some too but not double so you'll have to monitor the beef shanks as they cook. If the Dutch oven base is not big enough, they'll rest on top of each other which will affect how long it takes to cook.
You can sear the beef shanks in butter instead of olive oil, in that case you'd use 2 tbsps of butter for searing. Then 2 tbsps of olive oil for sauteing the onions. However, I try to use 4 tbsps of olive oil, 2 tbsps for searing and 2 tbsps for sauteing the vegetables to keep the dish closer to the Mediterranean Diet.

Nutrition