OK, so I'm sick of trying to mess with the shanks of deer and elk, so I did a bit of homework and found a 'recipe' for lamb shank that I've modified a bit over the last couple fo years and I feel like it is worth sharing.
Put this in the dutch oven, grab a porter (or three) and enjoy your day off when the hunting season ends. It is a tomato based recipe that goes well with rice or egg noodles.
Cut off as many shanks as you see fit...I bone mine in one piece and vaccuum seal until ready for use.
Brown the shanks in olive oil along with a chopped onion, chopped jalapeno and six or eight cloves of chopped garlic. Saute'.
Add a can of chopped tomatos, 1/2 can beef broth (or make a venison broth from the big bones), a porter, about a cup of red wine (heavy red, a zin or cab), 1/4 cup ketchup, 1/4 brown sugar, a good shot of mustard, a couple tbl. spoon of apple vinegar and worchestershierererere, whatever spices you like (a bit of rosemary and thyme, cumin and bay leaves perhaps).
Simmer until you are starving, use a bit less liquid if you want more of a chunky sauce. There is no screwing this up and I could probably train my lab to make this. Seriously good eats. I leave mine in 4-6 hours. I've done it in the crock pot too, and left it in for longer. Next year I'm going to cut off the shank (bone in) and see what happens.
I'm also thinking this would be great for neck roasts too.