Bear Shank Osso Buco

Bear Shank Osso Buco. It is a meal so commanding that just the name is a sentence of its own. I can’t think of a dish that I feel more comforted by and calm while preparing, but at the same time have zero patience as I wait for it to finish in the oven. It is, to me, the definition of comfort food.

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Bear Shank Osso Buco Final Plate

Translating from Italian to English, Osso Buco literally means “bone with a hole” because the dish is the braising of the shank from an animal. The shanks are crosscut, exposing the marrow hole of the bone, and the meat surrounding the bone is tough. Osso Buco takes these two unique aspects of the cut of meat, the still intact marrow of the bone and the ligament filled tough meat, to create a very flavorful, hearty, and tender dish.  

Though not a traditional Osso Buco, this Bear Shank Osso Buco is packed with a full flavor experience! The bear shank is tender and savory, the sauce is rich and silky from the bone marrow but also incredibly flavorful from the spice mixture, and the polenta is creamy and cheesy. It also isn’t too hard to pull off!

The hardest part of preparing Bear Shank Osso Buco is the wait. You brown your shank, chop up your vegetables, put all the kids in the dutch oven swimming pool, and then…you wait…for hours.

The wait is definitely worth it, but man-oh-man does it feel like forever.

Osso Buco’s story starts from Celtic origins and the culinary tradition of Lombard cuisine. Lombard cuisine, developed mostly in the Lombardy provinces of Italy, but this cacophony of cooking influences across centuries of cultures is a collection of rices, pastas, soups, risottos, and polenta. The cuisine is extremely varied, but utilizes a lot of butter, oils, and other cooking fats. It is also known for dishes that are “low and slow” such as braised meats and stews. 

A traditional Lombard cuisine Osso Buco is a veal shank slow braised in white wine and broth with carrots, onions, and celery. With this simple presentation, the marrow is the star of the show.

This Bear Shank Osso Buco recipe has a little bit more going on than a traditional Osso Buco, but it was built using the blocks of a traditional Osso Buco with a little “adjusting” to help the bear shank shine a little more.

Let’s Make Bear Shank Osso Buco

So, let’s get started. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, preheat your dutch oven over medium heat. Once the dutch oven is hot, add about a half cup of chopped pancetta and brown until just crispy. Remove the pancetta and set to the side, but reserve the fats left behind for cooking the rest of the dish.

Lightly dust your bear shank in a mixture of flour, salt, and black pepper. Place the coated bear shank into the pancetta fat and brown five minutes per side. If your pancetta didn’t leave enough fat behind for browning your bear shank, add a little oil or butter to the pan.

Remove the browned shank and set aside. To the dutch oven, now add one large diced onion, four diced carrots, four diced stalks of celery, and a large minced shallot. Coat everything in the leftover fats and oils and let cook for five to seven minutes, or until the onion starts to turn translucent. 

Braising liquid flavoring: diced carrots, celery, onions, and minced shallot.

Deglaze the dutch oven with a cup of white wine. I always take a minute to bask in the steam from the white wine hitting the hot pan. It smells amazing. I also do that when I put onions into butter. Nothing smells better than onions in butter. Anyway, let the wine cook down for a few minutes to release some of the alcohol, and then add the cup of vegetable stock.

This next step is where we will leave the familiar trail that leads to Osso Buco and add a little flair of our own. Traditionally, Osso Buco does not include tomatoes, but I was just feeling the need to have some tomatoes. I added a pint of cherry tomatoes to the dish. Season to taste with a little salt and pepper. It is also time to add our little bundle of spice joy.

To make your own little bundle of spices, cut a square from cheese cloth and get yourself some twine. You can leave the spices whole because you will pull the entire little bundle from the pot at the end of cooking. My little bouquet bundle included a few sprigs of fresh thyme, a stem of fresh rosemary, a little piece of mace, two bay leaves, a full star anise, and five whole cloves. Tie it up, take a moment to say “Awww” at how cute it is, and drop it into the pot.

Spice bouquet bundle: star anise, whole cloves, thyme, rosemary, mace, and bay leaves

Finally, nestle the bear shank back into the liquid and cover. The liquid should reach about halfway up the shank at all times, so you might check it throughout the braising process to ensure the liquid stays full enough. Shanks are a pretty tough cut of meat off most animals. They are also full of ligaments and tendons, which aren’t always the most appealing items to find in a dish; however, braising actually uses the “flaws” of a shank to the dish’s advantage. The slow cooking at a low temperature in basically a sauna of braising liquid takes the shank meat from tough to tender, sweet, and just a little caramelized from the initial browning. It also breaks down the tastier parts of the ligaments and tendons, releasing collagen into your braising liquid and thus laying the groundwork for a very flavorful and hearty gravy for your final dish.

Slide your dutch oven into a preheated oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Let the shank cook for at least three hours. The shank should be falling apart when you pull it out of the oven. It should be fork tender and shred easily.

Let’s Make Cheesy Polenta

About thirty minutes before your shank is ready to serve, start the polenta. I am in love with cheesy polenta. It is so creamy, a little salty, and soaks up the liquid of anything you top it with. It’s delicious!

You want to make sure your polenta cooks for about thirty minutes so you can start to really break down the corn bits. You want smooth and creamy here. If you do the quick cook recommended on the package, you will end up with chewier and even a bit hard polenta, which is fine, but trust me the slow longer cook is worth the time and effort.

Add three cups of water to a saucepan and a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil and then whisk in your cup of polenta. Stir constantly while the polenta thickens. Turn the heat down to low and let the polenta slow cook for up to a half an hour, the longer the better. Stir it frequently to keep it from sticking to the bottom. If it starts to get to dried out, add a little more liquid.

Right before you are ready to pull the polenta from the stove, pour in a cup of cheese. I used gruyere for this dish. The salty but tangy flavor of gruyere sounded perfect with the spice bouquet used to braise the bear shank.

Whelp! It’s time to plate up this bear shank Osso Buco. I can hardly wait! Put a heaping scoop of cheesy, gooey, creamy polenta in a shallow bowl. Add chunks of tender, savory bear shank meat over the top and then drench in the braising liquid gravy. Be sure to get plenty of carrots, celery, and tomatoes. Sprinkle with pancetta bits and fresh minced parsley.

Finally, time to dig in!

Happy Hunting

If You Enjoyed This Recipe, You’ll Also Like…

Sweet Barbacoa Bear Bowl

Elk Tenderloin with Chimichurri Sauce

Seared Deer Steak Medallions in a Cilantro Jalapeno Lime Sauce

Bomb Bear Burrito

For the past few weeks I have been thinking over and over in my head how to best describe bear meat. I have made a couple recipes with the intention of sharing with family and friends as an introduction to bear meat, and have felt their palpable resistance to giving it a try. Offer up a slice of deer or elk steak, people will most likely grab it from the plate with little hesitation. Share a new pronghorn recipe with a wild game greenhorn, and the pause is brief before they bite in. Say you’re latest recipe has bear meat, and you’re likely to hear crickets.  

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Once people’s initial shock has passed, the first question is usually: “Well, what does it taste like?” And that is a hard question to answer.

My gut reaction to the question is to simple say: “Pork.” And as soon as the word leaves my mouth it feels incorrect. So I go into correction mode.

“Well, it kind of tastes like pork. But the texture is nothing like pork. And actually it doesn’t taste like pork.”

So, that answers no one’s questions and we are back to square one. What does bear meat taste like?

Some of it depends on the region and time of year the bear is harvested in. The diet of a bear varies not only by the season, but also the terrain. At certain times of the year, bears’ diets can be up to 90% vegetation based from shrubs, brush, grasses, to berries, roots, and bulbs. They also fancy insects, fish, and other meats. So, needless to say, what they are eating is highly varied and this can affect the way the meat tastes.

The other factor affecting the meat’s taste and texture is the fat content of the animal. Bears in general are a fatty animal, and their meat is often described as greasy or oily.  A spring bear emerging from winter’s hibernation is obviously much leaner than a fall bear ready for the big nap, so the season a bear is harvested can also affect the taste and texture of the bear.

With those factors set aside, the most basic way to describe the taste of bear meat is it tastes like bear meat. It’s a unique experience. It slightly similar to domesticated beef in texture, but the meat grains are longer and a bit coarser.

Bear meat has a relatively mild flavor but also a touch of sweetness you won’t find in any other meat. It is a darker meat than beef or even deer or elk, but doesn’t have the slight iron taste you experience with dark red meats like from duck or geese.

Starting to sound like a meat you would like to experience? Here is a recipe for a Bomb Bear Burrito that is the perfect introduction to bear meat.

Preparing the Bear Meat

While there are many cooking methods available for wild game that conclude with delicious results, my favorite method for bear is low and slow. Slow cooking bear meat allows the flavors to really meld together but also results in a delightfully tender texture.

For this Bomb Bear Burrito, I rubbed the bear with a very simple spice blend: cumin, coriander, chili powder, cayenne, oregano, salt, garlic powder, and onion powder. I used a tablespoon of each and rubbed it on both sides of my chucks of bear. From we head to the crock pot.

Place the seasoned bear chunks in the crock pot and pour over about two cups of vegetable stock. You could also use chicken or beef stock if that is what you have on hand. Water would also work, things just might be a little less flavorful.  Cover the pot, set it to low, and let the crock pot work its magic for seven hours.

During the seven hour wait for my crock pot bear meat, I usually do things like go to work, clean the bathroom, go grocery shopping, work in the yard, eat snacks (but not so many snacks I get to full for dinner), and watch Netflix marathons of long forgotten TV series from my childhood. Basically, the nice thing about the crock pot is it frees you up for the other important things going on in your life.

Fast forward to seven hours in the future and the bear meat should be tender, juicy, and flavor soaked. Pull the meat from the crock pot and place on a cutting board. Remove the liquid from the crock pot. Shred the bear meat into bite size pieces and return to the crock pot.

The Guava Barbeque Sauce

This sweet and tangy barbeque sauce is the perfect pairing for bear meat. Like bear meat, it has this subtle sweetness to it that you can taste but it doesn’t overwhelm the entire profile of the dish. It is also extremely easy to pull together and would be great over pork or shredded beef as well in other eating situations.

To start, in a medium sauce pan over medium heat add a cup of diced up guava paste. To the paste, pour over a 1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar and a quarter cup of whiskey (your choice there on the brand). Also add in three tablespoons of tomato paste. Stir everything the best you can, it might be a bit difficult at this point since it takes a bit for the guava paste to break down, but just do your best.

Mix in a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, a tablespoon of coconut aminos (or soy sauce if you don’t have coconut aminos and aren’t interested in adding them to your pantry), two teaspoons of ground ginger and cinnamon, a teaspoon of garlic powder, a teaspoon of ground mustard, and salt and pepper to taste.

Let the guava barbeque sauce simmer for five minutes so it will breakdown the guava paste and everything can be mixed to a smooth texture. Then, pour the sauce over the shredded bear meat in the crock pot, turn the pot to high, and let things warm while you prepare the rest of the ingredients for this Bomb Bear Burrito.

The Caramelized Onions

Continuing with the theme of slightly sweet, next on the agenda is to make some caramelized onions. Before we go through the very simple task of caramelizing onions I want to first say that I love them. They are fantastic! Sweet and just a little bit salty, caramelized onions make everything better. Having a bad day? Boss getting ya down? Kids climbing the walls? Make some caramelized onions and things will suddenly be better. Life can suddenly be viewed through rose colored glasses, and all it took was some slow cooked, caramelized onions.

Okay, so enough on that weird tangent, in a decent sized pan over medium heat add a few tablespoons of olive oil. While the oil is heating, thinly slice two large yellow onions. Place the onions in the pan, coat them in the oil, sprinkle with a teaspoon or so of salt, and let them slow cook, stirring occasionally for five minutes.

At the five minute mark, sprinkle over a tablespoon of sugar and add a quarter cup of balsamic vinegar. Stir everything and let them continue to slow cook. You want the onions to be slowly cooking but the heat to not be so high they are burning. They should start to brown because of time, not too much heat. After another five minutes or possibly a little more, you should have a beautiful, browned pile of caramelized onions.

The Cheese Sauce

This creamy, silky cheese sauce is quick and easy to make. In a medium sauce pan, add two tablespoons of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter. Over medium heat, melt the butter. Once it is melted down add a minced shallot to the pan.

Cook the shallots for three to four minutes then sprinkle three tablespoons of flour over the butter and shallot. Whisk the flour into the oils until a mellow yellow paste is formed. Slowly whisk in two cups of vegetable (or chicken if that is what you have on hand) into the paste. Whisk until the paste has completely broken down and dissolved into the liquid.

Bring the liquid to a low boil so it will thicken. Once the sauce has started to thicken it is time to season the sauce. Add a teaspoon cumin, garlic powder, and half a teaspoon of salt. Also add in the half cup of sour cream.

For this recipe I used a quesadilla melting cheese. Quesadilla melting cheese is usually a little more dense in texture than other cheeses and less salty. It makes for a cheesy but creamy sauce. Diced up about a cup of the melting cheese and continue to stir the sauce until the cheese is fully incorporated and the sauce is thick and silky.

Compiling the Bomb Bear Burrito

Pile a large helping, I am thinking it probably works out to about a cup, of the guava barbeque sauce shredded bear meat onto the burrito size flour tortilla. Add a few spoonful scoops of the caramelized onions on top of the bear meat. Now, burrito fold that bear up.

Heat the skillet used for the caramelized onions to high heat. Place the burrito into the skillet seam side down and cook for one minute. Flip the burrito and cook the other side of another minute.

Plate the burrito and pour a healthy serving of the sour cream cheese sauce over the burrito.

And that is it for this Bomb Bear Burrito! Time to dig in for a sweet, savory, and cheesy burrito. Enjoy!

Happy Hunting!

Looking for other fun bear recipes to try? Check out this Barbacoa Bear Bowl!

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Author: a 12 Gauge Girl

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Bomb Bear Burrito

Hearty, slow cooked shredded bear is drenched in sweet and savory guava barbeque sauce with caramelized onions. The burrito is topped with a light and creamy cheese sauce.

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 8 HourTotal time: 8 H & 15 M

Ingredients

Guava Barbeque Sauce and Bear Meat Ingredients

• 2 to three pounds of bear meat chunks (or deer, elk, pronghorn, moose, beef, extra)
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon coriander
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 cup guava paste, diced
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup whiskey
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard seed
• Salt and pepper to taste

Caramelized Onions Ingredients

• 2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Sour Cream Cheese Sauce Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup quesadilla melting cheese

Instructions

Guava Barbeque Sauce and Bear Meat

1. Rub the bear chunks in the seasoning spices: the tablespoon of cumin, coriander, chili powder, cayenne, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt.
2. Place the seasoned bear chunks in a crock pot and pour in two cups of vegetable stock.
3. Place the lid over the pot and set to low. Allow to slow cook for seven hours. 
4. Once the bear meat is tender and cooked through, remove from pot and shred. Discard cooking liquid and return shredded bear to the crock pot.
5. To make the guava barbeque sauce, in a medium sauce pan, add the diced guava paste.
6. Heat the paste over medium heat and add in apple cider vinegar and quarter cup of whiskey. Stir to break down the guava paste.
7. Once the paste has incorporated with the vinegar and whiskey, add in a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, tablespoon of coconut aminos, and teaspoon each of ground ginger, garlic powder, cinnamon, and ground mustard seed.
8. Season to taste with the salt and black pepper.
9. Pour the finished guava barbeque sauce over the shredded bear meat and allow the meat to heat up in crock pot until the rest of the burrito ingredients are finished.

Caramelized Onions

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, add three tablespoons of olive oil and the two large thinly sliced onions. Allow the cook down five minutes, stirring to keep the onions from burning.
2. At the five minute mark, add the sugar and balsamic vinegar. Continue cooking and stirring for at least five more minutes, longer if the onions are not as caramelized as you desire.

Sour Cream Cheese Sauce

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt a tablespoon of butter with two tablespoons of olive oil. Add the minced shallot and cook for three to four minutes.
2. Sprinkle the flour over the shallots, and whisk until a light paste forms. Add in the two cups of vegetable stock and whisk until paste is completely dissolved.
3. Let mixture come to a light boil and slightly thicken.
4. Add in the cumin, garlic powder, and salt.
5. Stir in the half cup of sour cream and the cup of quesadilla melting cheese. Stir until everything is melted together and smooth.
6. To plate the burrito, add a cup or two of the guava bear meat to the tortilla. Top with the caramelized onions and fold closed. 
7. In the onion skillet over high heat, place the burrito seam side down and cook for one minute. Flip and cook a minute more. 
8. Drench the burrito in the sour cream cheese sauce and dig in to this Bomb Bear Burrito. 

Recommended Products:

Quesadilla Melting Cheese

Guava Paste

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