Cold Cut Venison Shank with Chili Crisp Recipe

Thinly sliced venison shanks. Would you like some? Yes, please, and thanks.

November 01, 2025 By Adam Berkelmans

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Before making this dish first ensure that your whole shank will fit into your biggest pot or Dutch oven. If not, you may have some sawing to do, or, you could cut the meat in one piece off of the bone and continue on with the recipe.

This recipe was inspired by the Chinese fu qi fei pian, a spicy Sichuan dish of thinly sliced beef shank and/or offal in a numbing chili oil sauce. The name translates to "married couple's slices of lung" as it used to be made primarily with lungs and was originally created by a street vendor couple in Chengdu.

This is one of my favorite Chinese dishes and I use it as a bellwether when trying out new Sichuan restaurants. If their fu qi fei pian isn’t up to snuff, the rest of the menu probably isn’t worth exploring.

I simplified the traditional recipe by replacing many hard-to-find ingredients with easier ones. I did list some options if you have them in the pantry that will make the dish even better.

Serves: 4 as an appetizer
Prep Time: 5 minutes + cooling time
Cook Time: 2-3 hours

Ingredients:

1 large venison shank, on the bone, or whole off the bone (not cut osso buco style)
1 2” piece ginger smashed
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 whole green onion
1 tablespoon Chinese 5-spice
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
Optional: bay leaves, cinnamon stick, star anise, Sichuan peppercorns
(For the Dressing) 2 tablespoons chili crisp or chili oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce

plated cold cut venison dish — (Photo courtesy of Adam Berkelmans)

Directions:

Place shank in a large pot. Cover with plenty of water and add the ginger, garlic, green onion, 5-spice, sugar, soy sauce, and any optional aromatics you may have on hand.
Bring to a strong simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce to a low simmer. Cook covered for 2-3 hours, or until the shank is tender, but isn’t able to be shredded apart. Timing will depend on how large the shank is and how old the deer was that it came from.
Remove the shank and let cool. Carefully remove from the bone in one piece if you haven’t already.
At this point, you can either put the meat back into the liquid and set it in the fridge overnight, where it will become even more flavorful, or you can wrap the meat tightly in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for an hour or two. Save the strained liquid as a broth for cooking if desired.
Once chilled, take the shank meat and slice thinly, either with a sharp knife or a deli slicer. Mix together the chili crisp and soy sauce in a bowl, then take each piece of meat and slide it through the dressing so that both sides are coated (alternatively, you can just drizzle the dressing over the meat). Arrange artfully on a platter and let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving to allow it to come to room temperature. Garnish with thinly sliced green onion or chopped cilantro if desired. Eat on its own as an appetizer, or with rice. Enjoy!

Adam Berkelmans

Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for wild food and a proponent of nose-to-tail eating. A Jack-of-all-trades, but master-of-none, he has spent a lifetime collecting knowledge and experiences, trying his hand at wilderness canoe guiding, whole animal butchery, hazard tree removal, riparian restoration, arborist work, organic vegetable farming, park operations, food blogging, recipe development, and education. Starting his brand, The Intrepid Eater, in 2020 as a response to the pandemic, he has since developed over 600 recipes, which can be found on his website, www.theintrepideater.com, and across hunting and outdoor media, both online and in print. With a heavy focus on wild foods, he derives inspiration for his recipes from international flavors and techniques and looks to make his plates pop with bright natural colors and flavors. He also works closely with Harvesting Nature, providing support as managing editor, podcast host, writer, cooking and butchery instructor, and recipe contributor. A Canadian, Adam spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario, with his partner Kathy and small münsterländer Arrow. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food.

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