Deer shanks?

[Biathlonman]

Looking for some advanced butchering here.  I've read a lot about how wonderful shanks are for slow braising, but I can't find directions on how to go about butchering.  Are we to saw through the bone into tiny rounds, leave whole?  Pictures would really help...

[LBshooter2]

Saw a reciepe by fred Eichlers wife. She mad BBQ with them that looked pretty good. She place the shanks in a crock pot whole cover with pplain water and cooked on high for hours. After that she pulled them out and shredded  the meat with two forks similar to pulled pork, and then put it all in a pan and covered with BBQ sauce. Seemd real simole and looked great.

[JockC]

I leave them hole and shrinkwrap them for freezing in a foodsaver unit.  Then, before I cook, I take a bone saw and cut them into 3-4 inch lengths so that the marrow can render out.  You likely want to de-fat it going that route, but the marrow itself creates a great deal of flavor.  Look up "osso buco" online, and you will get the idea.

[NittanyRider]

I was processing a deer this weekend and after coming across this thread last week, I decided to try braising the shanks.  I honestly wasn't expecting much at all, but, holy smokes did they come out good!  The meat was moist and tender and really delicious.  For now on, I will always remove and save the shanks for braising.

Here's what I did... removed each shank at the joint with a knife, then I cut them roughly in half using a bone saw.  From here, I browned the shanks in olive oil and a little butter for about 10 minutes, then removed them from the dutch oven.  Next, I sauteed 2 onions, 2-3 carrots and 2-3 celery stalks for about 8 mins, threw in some garlic for about a minute and then added 1cup of dry white wine.  Reduced the wine then added a 28oz can of diced tomatoes, ~1cup of chick stock, the browned shanks, and a couple sprigs of thyme.  Covered and simmered for about 2.5 - 3 hours.  Removed shanks to cool.  Added two cans of canellinni beans (approx 3+ cups).  Picked meat from shanks and added it back to the pot.  Heat and serve!  Sooo good!