Braised Venison Shanks (Osso Buco Style)

A versatile venison recipe for braising tougher cuts of meat such as shanks, venison roast, leg and shoulder. Use ingredients traditional in German cooking for a scrumptuous deer meat dish.

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Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 2 20

Total Time: 2 40

Servings: servings

Calories: 671kcal

Author: Milena Perrine

Ingredients

4 venison shanks cut osso buco style*
coarse salt and pepper enough to generously season the venison
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 onion diced
4 garlic cloves roughly chopped
16 oz German black lager or porter or stout
1 tablespoon beef base**
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
4 cloves the spice
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon juniper berries a bit more if you really like them
small bunch fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
1 lb blackberries

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 275-300 F depending on how strong it is.
In a Dutch oven, appropriately sized to provide a snug fit for the venison, over medium-high heat add 1 tablespoon olive oil and the butter. Season the venison generoulsy with salt and pepper and working in batches brown it nicely on all sides. Set aside and lower the heat to medium.
Add the remaining olive oil and saute the onion and garlic until transluscent. Deglaze with a bit of the black lager and scrape off all the brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the rest of the beer and allow it to come to a boil. In the meantime add the beef base, brown sugar, cloves, bay leaf, juniper berries, thyme and in the very end, once the liquid is boiling, the blackberries.
Return the venison to the Dutch oven, cover and transfer to the oven. In about 15 minutes check it to see if the liquid is gently simmering (it should be). If you notice it to be boiling, lower the oven's temperature by about 15 degrees and check again a little later.
After 2 hours of braising the venison should be fork tender or almost there. If needed, braise a bit longer to reach the desired tenderness.
Remove the venison carefully (a combination of a slotted spoon and tongs works well) and keep warm. Strain the braising liquid*** and return it to the Dutch oven. Bring it to simmer and allow it to reduce until your desired thickness for the sauce is reached. Alternatively, once it simmers thicken it by adding 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water. Transfer to a gravy boat or simply ladle it over the venison as you serve it.

Notes

*average weight would be just over 10 oz each. Alternatively, use venison shoulder, leg or roast (tri tip, rump, sirloin, neck or rib) portioned into 10 oz pieces.

**substitute with 1 cup of beef stock, but simmer to reduce once you add it to concentrate the flavor

***because venison is such a lean meat you will not need to skim any fat from the top of the braising liquid

NOTE: for alternative flavor combinations venison has affinity for review the section of the post above this recipe card

Nutrition