Braised Lamb Shanks

Lamb can be a difficult meat to cook since it has a strong flavour and also can go very dry if overcooked. So the best way to cook it is either very quickly and serve it pink, or over a long time. In terms of the shanks, the long cooking time is the best. Braising lamb shanks involves searing the meat first to seal in the juices, then cooking over a period of 3-4 hours in liquid.

The flavour of the Shanks will depend on what you cook them in so this is the skill to this dish. We cook the shanks in a mixture of sweet fortified wine’s and beef stock to give richness and  sweetness. They do take a lot of time so this is really a weekend dish.

The results however are well worth the wait and the flavour has to be tasted. The lamb should just fall off the shank and one of our favourite parts  is the gravy which you get at the end. No need for gravy granules…this stuff is restaurant quality.

Sweetness is an essential part of this dish. Don’t worry, it wont taste sweet but a little sweetness will take the bitter edge of any tomato and beef stock which may make this too salty.

[important color=grey title=”Braised Lamb Shank Recipe“]

Rate this Recipe

Loading...

Ingredients

• 2 lamb shanks
• 50g bacon lardons
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 tsp tomato puree
• 1 cup Marsala wine
• 1 cup port
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1 tsp whole peppercorns
• 1 star anise
• 2 tsp apricot jam
• 1/2 garlic bulb, chopped down the middle
• 2 stalks thyme (or rosemary)
• 2 bay leafs

Method

For best results use a quality casserole dish.

• Season your lamb shanks with salt and pepper
• Heat a little oil in your casserole dish or frying pan then sear the lamb shanks on a high heat until browned.
• Remove from the pan and set aside. Remove the excess fat leaving 1 tbsp.

Pin It
• Add the lardons and fry for 2 minutes.
• Add the carrots, celery and onion and soften with the Lardons for 5 minutes
• Add the tomato puree and fry for 1 minute

Pin It
• Add the Marsala and port, stir everything and allow the alcohol to burn off for 1 minute
• Add the beef stock, star anise, garlic clove, bay leafs, pepper corns, thyme and apricot jam
• Add the lamb shanks and make sure the liquid covers half the shanks, if not add some extra water

Pin It
• Cover and place in the oven at 180 degrees C
• Leave for 30 minutes then turn the shanks over
• Repeat for another 2.5 to 3 hours turning every 30 minutes

Pin It
• When the shanks are done remove from the dish, set aside and sieve all the remaining ingredients through a sieve
• Add the strained gravy back to your dish (or a clean frying pan)
• Add a few nobs of butter and stir through to get a velvety gravy

Pin It
• Add the lamb shanks and stir through for a few minutes to cover with gravy and warm

Pin It
Serve with your choice of mashed or roast potatoes and vegetables

[/important]