I’m always looking for shortcuts to deliciousness, so even though my last slow cooker experiment was an abject failure, I was determined to undertake a new experiment this morning.
I’d defrosted a couple of 2-inch center cut grass fed beef shanks, and was looking forward to chucking everything into the slow cooker so I’d have a tasty cabbage and beef shank stew ready to devour when I woke up in the evening. (Well, I was hoping it’d be tasty…)
Time to make Slow Cooker Grass Fed Beef Shanks and Cabbage Stew!
Serves 6
Ingredients:
- ½ pound organic baby carrots
- 2 medium onions, roughly chopped
- 1 small cabbage (about 2 pounds), cored, and cut into 8 wedges
- 8 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
- 2 Turkish bay leaves
- 2 center-cut grass fed beef shanks (about 2″ thick)
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1 (15-ounce) can of organic diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 cup organic chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
Equipment:
- All of my recommended kitchen tools are listed here.
Method:
I dumped the baby carrots and chopped onions into the bottom of my slow cooker…
…and layered the cabbage wedges on top.
I threw in the smashed garlic cloves and bay leaves, and seasoned the beef shanks with salt and pepper to taste (by the way, feel free to be pretty heavy-handed with the S&P).
Then, I plopped ‘em on top of the cabbage.
The last step was to pour in the diced tomatoes and broth…
…before putting on the lid. I set the slow cooker on low and let it do its thing for 9 hours while I hit the sack. (Ah, the nocturnal life of a night shift worker…)
When I woke up, the house was suffused with a rich, beefy aroma. I couldn’t wait to peek at the stew. Lifting the lid off the slow cooker, I saw that the meat had pulled away from the bone and the marrow was perfectly cooked. Score!
I removed and plated the bones (and delicious marrow), shredded the meat, and tasted the stew for seasoning. The pot liquor was exploding with flavor, but it was a bit on the sweet side for my taste from all the onions and carrots, so I added a couple of tablespoons of coconut aminos and some more salt and pepper.
In the meantime, I oven-roasted some cremini mushrooms tossed with Tabil seasoning and macadamia nut oil (400 F on convection roast for 25 minutes) and quickly whipped up some garlic cauliflower mashed “potatoes” (this time, substituting extra virgin olive oil for the grass-fed butter).
Here’s my dinner plate:
All in all, not too shabby for a simple dump-and-cover slow cooker meal. Because the meat was grass fed, it wasn’t quite as meltingly tender as your typical crappy (but admittedly yummy) grain ‘n corn-fed stuff. Nonetheless, it was TONS better than the grass fed “beef stew” that crawled out of my slow cooker a few days ago. Plus, bone marrow is just so damn tasty –- mouth-filling, fatty, and full of umami goodness. I’m really happy I joined our meat CSA; left to my own devices, I never would’ve thought to buy beef shanks. Now, I’m gonna order them as extra items when I get next month’s box o’ animal parts!
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013) and Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017)!
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Slow Cooker Grass Fed Beef Shanks & Cabbage Stew
Ingredients
- ½ pound baby carrots
- 2 medium onions roughly chopped
- 1 small cabbage about 2 pounds, cored and cut into 8 wedges
- 7 garlic cloves peeled and smashed
- 2 Turkish bay leaves
- 2 center-cut grass fed beef shanks about 2-inches thick
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 15-ounce can of organic diced tomatoes drained
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
Instructions
- Dump the baby carrots and onions into the bottom of your slow cooker and layer the cabbage wedges on top. Throw on top the smashed garlic cloves and bay leaves.
- Season the beef shanks with salt and pepper. Feel free to be pretty heavy-handed! Then, plop them on top of the cabbage.
- Pour the drained diced tomatoes and chicken broth into the slow cooker. Put the lid and program the slow cooker to low. Let everything cook for about 9 hours.
- When it's done, the meat should have pulled away from the bone and the marrow is. perfectly cooked. Remove and plate the bones (and delicious marrow), shred the meat, and taste the stew for seasoning. Add some coconut aminos if you think the stew is too sweet. Enjoy!
Nutrition
