Beef shank substitutes

Cross-cut sections of the tail, equally full of collagen and bone, and the traditional partner to shank in many of the same dishes.

Best for

pho broth, beef noodle soup, braises and stews, rich gravies, Caribbean and Chinese braises

The closest substitute there is, and in broth it is arguably better: oxtail gives even more gelatin, so the finished stock sets firm in the fridge and coats the mouth heavily. The differences are meat yield and price. Oxtail is mostly bone, so buy about a third more if you need meat on the plate, and it usually costs considerably more than shank. The flavor is slightly sweeter and more richly beefy.

Meaty rib sections with plenty of connective tissue and bone, widely available where shank is not.

Best for

osso buco style braises, stews, beef noodle soup, red wine braises, Sunday dinner

Considerably fattier than shank, so a braise made with short ribs comes out richer and slicker on the lips, and you will want to skim a real layer of fat off the top before serving. The meat is more tender and shreds sooner, often in two and a half hours rather than three and a half. Body from the gelatin is nearly as good. For a clear soup like pho, the extra fat is a genuine drawback.

The most practical supermarket answer, because it splits the shank's two jobs and sources each one separately.

Best for

pho and beef noodle soup, stews, pot roast, any long braise

This is the swap to make when your store has no interesting cuts. Chuck supplies meat that shreds beautifully after three hours, and the bones supply the gelatin and marrow that give the liquid body. On its own, chuck without bones makes a broth that tastes fine but feels thin and watery in the mouth, which is exactly the failure most people cannot diagnose. Roast the bones at 425 F for thirty minutes first for a deeper, browner flavor.

The same cut from a young animal, and the original cut for Italian osso buco.

Best for

osso buco, delicate braises, risotto alla Milanese partner dishes

Milder, paler and more delicate than beef shank, with a softer, almost creamy texture and just as much collagen, so the sauce still thickens the way it should. It also cooks faster, often two to two and a half hours. If your recipe is a robust Chinese or Vietnamese braise built on star anise and soy, veal can get lost. If it is osso buco with gremolata, it is an upgrade.

The same anatomical cut from a lamb, with the same collagen structure and marrow bone.

Best for

braises, stews, Middle Eastern and North African dishes, rich sauces

The texture and body are a near-exact match, but the flavor is unmistakably lamb: sweeter, grassier and more assertive. That is wonderful in a tagine or a tomato and rosemary braise, and wrong in pho, where it fights the star anise and cinnamon. Lamb shanks are smaller, so a portion is often one whole shank rather than a disc, and they finish half an hour or so sooner.

A common and very good option specifically for Vietnamese pho, where sliced brisket is a standard topping anyway.

Best for

pho, beef noodle soup, boiled beef dishes, sliced beef in broth

Brisket gives you clean sliceable meat with a satisfying grain rather than shank's silky shreds, which is the traditional pho experience. It contributes less gelatin than shank, so on its own the broth stays thin. Add knuckle or marrow bones and it works properly. Use the point end rather than the flat if you can, since it carries more fat and flavor.

Named honestly because it is what most people reach for, and because it explains why so many homemade broths disappoint.

Best for

stews where the liquid is already thickened with flour, quick weeknight braises

It will give you tender meat and a beefy-tasting liquid, and in a floury stew nobody will notice. In a soup or broth it falls flat: without collagen the liquid has no body, so it tastes correct but feels like water. If this is genuinely all you can get, thicken the finished liquid with a cornstarch slurry or a tablespoon of powdered gelatin per quart, which is a crude but effective imitation of what the shank would have supplied.