Beef Shank

Beef Shank and Sausage Ragù with Whole Grain Spaghetti* As much as we love eating at old-school red-sauce joints, we're craving the updated regional Italian cuisine we’re seeing at restaurants across the country. In this dish, instead of marinara, we've got a rich, meaty ragù (a staple in Bologna) made with flavorful bone-in beef shanks and hot Italian sausage. Hearty whole grain pasta is the perfect vehicle for the sauce (and it's a great way to add nutritional value). The long-cooked sauce is the ideal thing to make on a lazy weekend and fills the house with delicious aromas.

Inspired by Vietnamese pho (pronounced "fuh"), this soup creates its own broth as meaty short ribs and beef shank simmer with ginger, garlic, chile, and the sweet spice of star anise and cinnamon—supermarket ingredients that come together with slippery rice noodles to produce a wonderfully fragrant and authentic-tasting dish. It’s a great choice for a party, because everyone gets to customize their bowl to their own taste with a spritz of lime, some fiery Sriracha sauce and sweet hoisin, and a scattering of mint and cucumber.

The reduction can stand in for some of the beef stock in French onion soup, pot roast, and beef stew, where it will add flavor and richness.

The curries that are sold in the markets of southern Thailand inspired this heavily spiced dish. Chef Boetz says this delicious main course is a hybrid of an Indian and a Thai curry. The use of dried spices (coriander, cardamom, cumin) is common in Indian curries; coconut milk and fresh, aromatic ingredients (cilantro, lemongrass, galangal) are often used in Thai curries.

This soup gets a rich, earthy flavor from dried porcini mushrooms, which are available in the produce section of many supermarkets and at Italian markets and specialty foods stores.

Talk about comfort food. This traditional stew combines all manner of meat with two different kinds of tubers. Sour orange lends a uniquely Caribbean flair. We like to brighten our sancocho by pairing it with avocado, rice, and cilantro, and to inject a little heat with a splash of hot sauce. We would not turn down an accompanying plate of crunchy tostones (twice-fried green plantains).

In this luxurious dish, the marrow from slow-simmered beef shanks combines with pan juices and aromatic vegetables, creating a silky gravy perfect for serving with potatoes. Tender roasted garlic adds a deep, caramelized background note.

Pho Bo Vietnam's favorite convenience food is usually purchased at street stands, where the quality of his or her broth can make or break a cook's reputation. The secret ingredients in ours are meaty beef shanks, charred ginger, and onions.

Having broth as a tapa is an old custom that's becoming popular again in both Spain and the U.S. Food editor Ruth Cousineau set out to make just the broth, but the resulting short rib meat was so delicious (even after cooking in broth all that time) that she didn't want to waste it, so she came up with a use for it in a short rib terrine. This recipe is traditionally made with oxtails, but we substituted short ribs and beef shanks because they're easier to get in most supermarkets. If you'd like to try it with oxtails instead of ribs and shanks, use 6 pounds of oxtails (preferably from grass-fed beef, such as Niman Ranch).

Beef stock (often called brown stock) is no more difficult to make than chicken stock, and just a small amount of it can be used to great effect in all sorts of dishes.

This stew should be made in a large soup kettle measuring at least 10 inches in diameter. If the kettle is any smaller, you may need to cook the meat in three batches. I like mashed potatoes with my stew. If you prefer potato chunks in your stew, boil them separately and add them to the pot with the carrots and peas.

It's worth the extra effort to make this rich stock; the slow-simmered taste produces a sauce that far exceeds any made with canned beef broth. This recipe is an accompaniment for Standing Rib Roast with Rosemary-Thyme Crust .

This recipe yields enough to have leftovers the next day. Serve with glasses of beer or Zinfandel for a warming autumn supper.