Beef shank is located at the leg portion of a cow, just above the knee. It is commonly sold as boneless beef shank. A bone-in beef shank will include a circle of leg bone.
Beef shank is also known as beef shin.
Beef shank is a tough meat cut as it is the part of muscle that is well exercised. It is also sinewy due to the high levels of connective tissue. Hence it is ideal to be cooked for a long time in low heat.
In China and Taiwan, beef shank is used for the popular beef noodle soup (niu rou mien). Here, beef shank is braised together with soy sauce, scallions, ginger and wine for a couple of hours before it is left overnight in the refrigerator. After storing overnight, the braised beef shank is used to make delicious beef noodle soup.
In Korea, bite-sized chunks of beef shank meat is used in traditional braised dish called sataejjim. Also, beef shank is a popular meat cut for braised dish such as jangjorim.
In Australia, it is commonly sold as gravy beef for bone-less shanks or as osso buco with bone-in shank.
Beef shank is also used to prepare ground beef as it is very lean with low fat content.
