Braised Beef Shanks with Grape Sauce

Beef shanks are big, and while the front shank is a little smaller than the hind shank, it is still too big to consider cooking whole. I ask my butcher to cut the shank into thick pieces. You may be able to find four smaller pieces for this recipe, but most often, I use two big ones. Once cooked, the meat can be divided and so there is only the argument over the marrow bones to deal with. But after the long, slow cooking, the marrow will slip out of the bones, so it too is easily shared.