Smoked Beef Shank (aka Thor’s Hammer)

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This smoked beef shank goes by many different names, like Thor’s Hammer or a volcano shank, but I just call it delicious! A cross-cut beef shank is simply seasoned with an all-purpose barbecue rub, and smoked to perfection on the grill or smoker for tender, rich and beefy meat that’s perfect for tacos, sliders, or even pot roast!

Every barbecue pit master, whether an amateur backyard cook or a seasoned BBQ vet, has a grilling bucket list. Meats and dishes that they want to try cooking on their back porch, adding another notch to their culinary belts and earning a little extra “pit cred” along the way.

I’ve already crossed a few unique cuts off my own BBQ bucket list, including homemade smoked pastrami and smoked pork belly porchetta.

So today, it’s all about Thor’s Hammer (or the volcano shank) – technically a beef shank, but the proper name just doesn’t do this impressive looking cut of meat justice!

And while it looks ridiculously hefty and maybe a bit daunting, this rich and beefy cut is incredibly easy to perfect.

What is the “Thor’s Hammer” Cut of Beef?

Chances are, if you walk into your local meat shop and ask for “Thor’s Hammer”, they’ll know what you’re talking about – this cut of beef has been slowing gaining in popularity over the last few years. But just in case your meat man looks at you funny, what you actually want is a cross-cut french trimmed beef shank.

The beef shank comes from the shank primal, or the leg of the cow. For the “Thor’s Hammer” beef shank, the bone is frenched giving it that signature impressive, stone-aged look. When I picture the rustic, meatiness of the Thor’s Hammer, I imagine something that would be served up on Fred Flinstone’s dinner plate.

As far as taste and texture, the beef shank has an incredibly rich and beefy flavor, but because it’s lean and comes from a heavily-used muscle of the cow, it can be tough if not cooked properly. That’s why it’s often braised, or smoke-braised, in moist heat to keep the meat tender. Osso bucco is a great example of this, and it’s probably the most popular dish that uses this cut of beef.

Where to Buy Beef Shank

Beef shank is not readily available at most grocery stores. You can’t just walk up to the meat case to get one. So a specialty butcher shop is the way to go.

My beef shank came from Simpson’s Meats, a family farmer-owned specialty butcher local to my area. We’ve gotten all sorts of amazing cuts from them like this top blade roast and the most amazing outside skirt steak that I’ve ever had. They also ship nationwide, just in case you’re thinking “Hey, I’m in the middle of Nebraska and my butcher thinks Thor’s hammer belongs in an Avengers movie”.

Not sponsored, but we’ve been really impressed with the quality and unique cuts that we’ve gotten from Simpson’s Meats.

Ingredients Needed

If you’re just smoking the beef shank to shred for tacos or other dishes, then the ingredients are very simple.

• Beef shank (Thor’s Hammer, bone-in): This is a show-stopper of a cut, meaty with connective tissue that’ll break down to tender, rich beefy goodness.
• Worcestershire sauce: Acts as a binder for your seasoning and brings out those savory beef notes.
• All-purpose rub: We used our Texas-style rub recipe – a simple blend of Diamond Crystal kosher salt, coarse black pepper, Lawry’s seasoned salt, and garlic powder. Perfect for classic Texas BBQ smoked meats.
• Barbecue seasoning: We used a light dusting of our ‘Que That Barbecue Rub for a bit of sweetness and BBQ flavor. The barbecue seasoning is optional, however, as you can just stick with the AP rub.

How to Make Smoked Beef Shank

Step 1: Score the fat and silver skin on the beef shank. There will be a bit of fat and silver skin around the entire shank, but because the shank cooks low and slow and then braises in foil, you really don’t need to remove the silver skin.

Instead, my go-to method is to score the fat and silver skin in a crosshatch pattern. I do the same thing with the membrane on ribs, and in side-by-side blind taste tests, we can’t tell the difference in the ribs that have the membrane scored vs the ones that have it removed completely.

I also find that the fat and silver skin actually help to hold the “hammer” shape together during smoking.

Step 2: Season the shank. Next, add a thin layer of Worcestershire sauce as a binder, and season liberally with our Texas-style rub recipe. Remember, this is a big piece of meat, so it can handle a heavy-handed seasoning. We also added a light dusting of our ‘Que That Barbecue Rub for a bit of sweetness and BBQ flavor.

Step 3: Smoke the Thor’s Hammer beef shank. Place the Thor’s Hammer directly on the grill grates, and smoke at 250°F until the internal temperature reaches about 165°F – for me, it was about 5 hours to reach that temp. *We used the Traeger Ironwood XL for our smoked beef shank, with our go-to pellets Smokin’ Pecan pecan shell pellets.

Step 4: Wrap the beef shank in foil and braise. Because the beef shank is a tougher cut, I chose to wrap in aluminum foil to help to break down the connective tissue. Once your shank hits the 165°F mark, time to wrap!

Place the smoked beef shank on two long sheets of aluminum foil, overlapped by about half to make the wrapping wider. Then add a good bit of beef tallow to the shank, wrap it up with the foil, and return to the smoker. Bump up the grill temp to 300°F, and continue to cook until the internal temp hits 200-208°F. For me, this took another 2.5 hours.

Step 5: Rest the meat and then shred. Allow the shank to rest for about 45 minutes, then shred or chunk the beef depending on how you’ll be serving it.

Optional Pot Roast-Style Instructions

Because the shank cut is best braised with moist heat, we decided to prepare ours pot roast style with a beef tallow gravy, homemade mashed potatoes, and roasted root vegetables.

The beefy, rich gravy is spot-on and perfectly compliments the richness of the beef. Not to mention, the presentation of this dish with the smoked shank resting on top of buttery mashed potatoes has a real “wow” factor!

Here’s how we served our smoked Thor’s Hammer:

1. Prepare the pot roast-style vegetables – While the beef shank is smoking, cut celery, carrots, and an onion into large pieces (similar to how you would for pot roast). Add the vegetables to a large oven-safe pot or pan with about 3-4 cups of beef stock or bone broth. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375°F for about 45 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
2. Reserve the beef stock – Transfer the vegetables to a serving plate, and reserve the remaining beef stock to make a gravy with the beef tallow drippings from the shank.
3. Make the tallow gravy – When the beef shank is done braising in the foil, carefully pour the tallow drippings into a large skillet. The smoked tallow will act as the fat component for your roux. Add an equal amount of flour to the skillet with the tallow. Then whisk and cook until lightly browned. Whisk in the beefy vegetable broth made with the root vegetables. Simmer until you reach desired thickness. Don’t season the gravy with salt and pepper until the very end – the gravy may already be plenty seasoned since it’s made with the drippings from the smoked beef shank.
4. Make your favorite mashed potatoes recipe – Boil peeled potatoes in salted water until fork tender. Mash with a good amount of butter and your favorite mashed potato mix-ins.
5. Serve the smoked beef shank pot roast-style – Serve hunks of shank meat over mashed potatoes with carrots, onions, and a ladle of rich smoked gravy.

Serving Suggestions

Once you’ve smoked the beef shank, the possibilities are only as limited as your imagination. You can shred the beef and use it for any dish, from beef shank tacos to beef shank chili. But since the texture of the shank reminds us of a smoked chuck roast, we decided to go full-on pot roast style with our beef.

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