Cinnamon and Star Anise Braised Beef Shanks with Apple Cider Braised Cabbage

The Little Girl and I went on a mission Monday. It was such a beautiful day, we decided a trip to the Farmer's Market was in order. getting out of the apt. is an adventure in itself these days...why do babies require so much stuff? I had some gorgeous beef shanks just chillin' out in the fridge and I wanted to make them for dinner, I needed to pick up cabbage, turnips, (turnips are such wonderful vegetables, don't you think?), carrots, apple cider and chervil. The chervil is for a recipe I'll be making for the Is my Blog Burning? event this coming Sunday March 7th started by the wonderful Alberto and being hosted this time around by the ever fabulous Clotilde.

The farmers market was a little bit of a let down, it was still not quite bustling with vendors because the growing season hasn't really gotten into full swing. Normally I take my time, going from table to table, looking, touching, sampling, and just taking it all in, but since there were only a handful of vendors we were in and out pretty quickly. We purchased the cabbage, turnips and carrots and Ellie saw her first primrose...ok, it was actually my first primrose too (what a beautiful flower). I forgot the chervil though, we got distracted by a pleasant gentleman who struck up a conversation with me about Ellie and the weather, his parting advice...enjoy Ellie while she is still little because once they start talking, they ask too many questions and give you headaches. umm...thanks for the advice, I think

I wanted to prepare the beef shanks a little differently from the more classic osso buco (which traditionally uses veal shanks). Meg made lamb shanks this week, braising them with olives tomatoes and winter vegetables and I almost followed her lead, but then I found a recipe at Epicurious, (my old standby) that caught my eye.

I've been having a run of bad luck with the recipes I've been getting off the site recently and I was a little skeptical about using this recipe for fear that I'd ruin everything and end up having to throw out expensive meat. I was further thrown off by having to buy “lite" soy because the supermarket was out of regular soy sauce. I followed the recipe to the letter, although I did simmer the meat for closer to 3 hours rather than the suggested two. I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome, the "lite" stuff ended up working out really well, I think if I had used the regular soy sauce the dish would have been too salty. I decided not to serve the braised shanks with the noodles as the recipe suggests but with cabbage that had been braised in apple cider. The cabbage recipe is bland; it definitely needed a hearty pinch of salt to bring out the flavor of the cabbage and the apple cider. I'm pretty sure my cabbage was larger than the 2 pounds the recipe asked for but that's cool, I like leftovers for lunch. I ended up using 2 tablespoons more apple cider vinegar and a full cup of cider to bring out the flavor of this dish. I had sliced the cabbage more like the way you see it in slaw rather than the way the recipe suggested of just quartering it, this made it a lot easier to sauté. The final result was a sweet/salty tangy/buttery cabbage that was quite yummy and went really, really well with the beef shanks. I was happy with both recipes, they were pretty straightforward and easy, so my faith in Epicurious has been restored…for now.

Beef Shanks Braised In Soy Sauce With Cinnamon And Star Anise

• 8 cups water
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup Scotch
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 6 slices fresh gingerroot, each about the size of a quarter, flattened with flat side of a heavy knife
• 4 scallions, flattened with flat side of a heavy knife
• two 3-inch cinnamon sticks
• two 4-inch strips fresh orange zest, removed with a vegetable peeler
• 2 tablespoons star anise*, crushed lightly with flat side of a heavy knife
• 4 meaty cross-cut sections beef shanks (about 4 1/4 pounds total)
• a 7- to 8-ounce package dried rice-stick noodles (rice vermicelli)*
• 3/4 pound carrots, cut diagonally into 1/4-inch slices
• 3/4 pound turnips, peeled, halved, and cut into 1/4-inch slices

Garnish:fresh coriander leaves

*available at Asian markets

In a 9-quart kettle combine water, soy sauce, Scotch, sugar, gingerroot, scallions, cinnamon, zest, and star anise and simmer mixture 10 minutes. Add beef shanks and cook, partially covered with lid 1/2 inch ajar, at a bare simmer 2 hours, or until meat is very tender.

About 15 minutes before meat is done, in a large bowl soak noodles in warm water to cover 5 minutes and bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Drain noodles in a colander and boil them 5 minutes. In colander drain noodles and rinse under cold water. Drain noodles well and transfer to large bowl.

Transfer meat with a slotted spoon to cutting board. With slotted spoon remove gingerroot, scallions, cinnamon sticks, zest, and star anise from broth and discard. Add carrots and turnips to broth and simmer until just tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer vegetables with slotted spoon to noodles. Boil broth until reduced to about 7 cups. While broth is reducing, discard bones and gristle and cut meat across grain into thin slices.

Divide noodles, vegetables, and meat among 8 bowls and ladle broth over them. Sprinkle mixture with coriander.

Serves 8 as a main course.

Gourmet

February 1996

CIDER-BRAISED CABBAGE

Braising the cabbage in cider gives it a light but distinct apple flavor

• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1 2-pound head green cabbage, quartered, cored, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup apple cider
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Melt butter in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add cabbage; sauté until slightly wilted, tossing frequently, about 6 minutes. Stir in apple cider. Reduce heat to medium; cover and cook until cabbage is tender, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes. Uncover; simmer until almost all liquid in pot evaporates, about 3 minutes. Stir in vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.

Makes 4 servings.

Bon Appétit

November 1999

Flavors of the World

Written by Deb on March 3, 2004 01:20 AM