cutting shanks for osso bucco....

[mabrams]

I have uses a sawsal a lot for this. Just make sure the meat is pulled back from the bone and its works great. I will also never put a shank into the grind pile again after learning about this cooking method.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I've had good luck pre-tying everything to hold the meat in place then cut as much meat as possible with a knife then sawing the bone with whatever saw you choose. Keeps the saw from tearing at the meat. Works way better than freezing and sawing with a sawzall.

Last year I pre-tied the sections and precut meat with a sharp knife. I clamped my Weston bone saw (stainless blade) in my vice covered by a towel. I sawed the shank across the blade (moving the meat, saw clamped in place) and the cuts were neat and clean. Bonus is the bone and marrow dust falls down away from the shank.

two things to remember:

1- don’t drop the piece you just sawed
2 - have a second towel to clean up the saw blade as you go.

 

[Poser]

Biggest issue with any saw, even a commercial band saw, is bone dust. Bone dust scraper costs $3 and works better than any other method short of thoroughly rinsing.

 

[JakeSCH]

Good stuff. When breaking down my elk this year I precut the shank meat in disks, then wrapped and froze. Been thinking about my sawzall or my meat bone saw....haven't decided which one to use.

 

[Hackleback]

Hand meat saw, freezing first will make it much easier.
Don't use your nice wood band saw, it will be a nightmare getting it clean again.

 

[cjdewese]

ha. Good to know. I’ll do it when my dad’s not home.

Just don't clean it afterwards or tell him. Hide a camera to get his reaction as he sees blood and bone all over his saw. Be sure to post here so that we know what might happen if we give that a try ourselves.

 

[tdot]

I definitely prefer freezing and then cutting with a meat saw or metal blade. I've used a silky on un-frozen shanks and it worked, I toasted a new Silky blade on a frozen shank. Frozen produces perfect results. I wash them quickly in warm water to remove all the bone dust, it's quicker/easier then the bone scraper I have.

 

[Tod osier]

I love cooking with shanks, but I've never crosscut shanks with the bone in and would like to.

Given the discussion, I bought these blades for my sawsall.

Amazon.com

Froze and cut the shanks. I wouldn't say cut like butter, but cut easily, quickly and accurately. Got the 8 TPI if the link is unclear - seemed about perfect. I've used the blade on frozen meat too. Washed the bone grit off in the sink while still frozen.

Shank slice seared.

Ossobuco over pasta and topped with gremolata.

 

[Trogon]

Freeze and cut on a chop/miter saw. You’ll have to clean the saw after but makes perfect slices any thickness you like. I can do all four shanks in a couple minutes.

 

[Holocene]

I’ve used the Weston bone saw and similar with success at home. It’s essential to have a vise or buddy to hold. Hasn’t been mentioned, but a true bone saw made from carbon steel is important. I never liked the idea of tool paint on my ossu bucco.

These days, I’ve got a butcher handle all my bone cuts since he puts them on his bandsaw, cleans up the bone dust, and packages and labels them beautifully in chamber sealed bags.

Like fried food and sushi, some things are easier outsourcing!

Check out this bone dust scraper if doing it at home:

Amazon.com

 

[Tod osier]

I like making my own fried food and sushi, (and have my own chamber vac) so it makes sense that I'd like cutting them myself. Blade I linked is stainless and no paint.

 

[doc holiday13]

I love cooking with shanks, but I've never crosscut shanks with the bone in and would like to.

Obviously a meat cutting band saw is the tool for the job, but I'm not buying one (I do have a very nice large wood cutting bandsaw, tho). Can it be done with a sawsall (have one) or other woodworking tool? I have tried it with the sawsall and it didn't go as planned, but I was tired and crabby already.

I was thinking frozen meat and sawing through with a sharp fine toothed blade. I'm pretty picky, so I'd want them pretty perfect looking.

Anyone have tips or suggestions???

a Butchers saw would work just fine

I have one i bought from Amazon and one I got from my wife's grandmother. Grandma's saw is about 80 or more years old and its all carbon.. It still had some "flesh" attached from it when last used. It probably hadn't been used for 20-30 years.

You can use a basic hacksaw getup and buy a SS butchers blade for it too

 

[Pro953]

I do love some traditional cross cut Osso Buco. That said if you do not have the time, or interest to cross cut the bones or do not want to pack them out. You can also butterfly open the Shanks.

When you get home. Tie off the sections with butchers twine and cross cut them without the bone. The bone in does bring a bit more richness with the marrow, but some elk marrow is quite strong so you can still enjoy a very similar dish without fighting the bones. Just something to consider as shank bones at f-ing HEAVY…..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[AK_Skeeter]

I butcher solo, so use a bench vise.
For moose I use a knife to the bone and hold on a bench vise, then cutting through it with a sawzall.

 

[Docpk]

What about using a jigsaw?

 

[ytlogger]

Makita makes stainless steel meat saw blades for recip saws. I have 9" and 12". They work great on frozen shanks or as others have said. cut to the bone then saw. Your OssoBuca looks delicious.

 

[doc holiday13]

If you use your wood working band saw, I'd freeze the shank first

 

[WRM]

For God's sake, don't use a painted sawzall blade! Use the link the guy posted above to a food grade blade-- Amazon is full of em.

I like to slice them frozen, but that's deer size game. Never had the luxury of trying on an elk or moose, but I might even eat that one cut with a painted blade.

 

[GDP]

Great comments here and those amazon blades look great. I'll add that a cordless sawsall is a great addition to have in camp or the truck. Helps a lot to do some butchering or cutting to get the legs or ribs in a cooler for the trip home.