4 medium lamb shanks
1 package of lamb neck pieces
2 medium onions, chopped
1-15 oz. can tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
2/3 cup regular or converted white rice
1/2 cup frozen green peas
Kosher salt, black pepper
Garlic powder, sweet paprika
Briefly boil the lamb shanks in water to remove some of the fat. Drain and set aside.
In a Dutch oven, put a little of the tomato sauce to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the chopped onions and then arrange the lamb shanks and necks around the edges. Put a little more of the tomato sauce and some water in the center. Pour the rice over the liquid in the center. Season the meat and rice with the salt, pepper, garlic and paprika; pour the remaining tomato sauce over all. If the mixture looks dry, add a little more water. Cover and cook on medium low heat for 3 hours. Check periodically ato make sure the rice isn't drying out and sticking. If it is, add a little boiling* water to the rice and stir through, then re-cover the Dutch oven and keep cooking. About 15 minutes before it is done, taste the rice to adjust the seasoning, and then stir the peas into the rice. Cover and finish cooking. Serves 4.
*Why boiling water? Because otherwise the rice will become gummy and stick to the pan.
Lamb and garlic have a natural flavor affinity, which is why most recipes for leg of lamb include stuffing slivers of raw garlic into the meat before putting into the oven. Despite having a rather assertive flavor, lamb also plays well with all sorts of Mediterannean herbs, spices, mustards, tomatoes, and other fruit.
With that in mind, and always wanting to build layers of flavor, I first rinsed and patted dry the lamb shanks, and then trimmed off anything that resembled incipient freezer burn. Next I liberally sprinkled both sides with garlic salt, black pepper, and paprika, covered the meat and put it back into the refrigerator while I head out to the supermarket. I saw some beautiful organic eggplants the other day, and if they are still there I am picking up at least one to make this recipe for eggplant rollatini.
But first - the corned beef. There's no real recipe for this, but this is usually how I do it: place the corned beef in a large pot, and add water not more than an inch above the meat. You're not boiling pasta here, folks, and if you were going to cook potatoes or cabbage in the water, you would want to get as concentrated a flavor as you can. Add a couple of cloves of peeled garlic, 2 bay leaves, some whole peppercorns, and a sprig or two of whatever fresh herb you happen to have in the house. Today I had thyme, so in it goes.
If the corned beef came with a flavor pack, throw it in and just add the garlic cloves. Bring to a boil, skim off the frothy stuff on top if you want (sometimes its not that bad), lower the heat and simmer covered until the corned beef is tender, in other words, a fork will go through pretty easily. Maybe a couple of hours, it depends on the size of the beef. Take out of the water and let cool before slicing, and remember to slice against the grain. If you want to cook potatoes and cabbage to go with this dish, first scoop out the seasonings you threw into the water, then cut the cabbage into wedges, 6 to 8 to a head, and peel the potatoes, cut them into big chunks, and add carefully to the water. Cook uncovered until done to your liking, and serve on a big honking platter with slices of corned beef.
I like to put the slices of corned beef into a serving dish, and then spoon a good amount of the cooking liquid, which smells divine, over the meat to keep it moist. Cover and refrigerate leftovers until a certain vacuum cleaner with teeth makes a stealth attack.
Finally, onto the Sticky Braised Lamb Shanks, my riff on Tyler Florence's recipe for short ribs:
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (plus more, if needed)
8 medium lamb shanks
Garlic salt, black pepper, sweet paprika for seasoning the lamb
2 large onions, chopped
6 carrots, chopped
8 large cloves fresh garlic, smashed and chopped
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
6 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup wildflower honey
2 cups cabernet sauvignon, or other dry red wine
4 cups beef stock
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Preseason the meat as described above. When ready to start cooking, take the lamb out of the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat, and in batches, brown the meat on all sides. Add a little more oil if needed. As they are browned, place them into a roasting pan large enough to hold them all in one layer. Keep the meat warm in the oven while browning the remaining lamb and preparing the sauce.
Add the onion, carrot, garlic, paprika, caraway and thyme to the Dutch oven and cook until softened, 10 to 12 minutes. Pour in the honey, wine, and stock and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer, add the balsamic vinegar, and taste to adjust the seasoning. I used a little kosher salt, black pepper and granulated garlic to get the taste I wanted.
With a ladle, transfer the liquid into the roasting pan with the lamb shanks. Do not overfill; you will have some sauce left. Cover the roasting pan with aluminum foil loosely, to allow steam to escape and the sauce to thicken. Cook until the meat is very tender about 2 hours, turning the meat after an hour.
If the sauce is still thin, carefully remove most of it to the Dutch oven that still has the excess sauce, and cook down until it reduces by about half. You still want enough sauce to well-coat the lamb shanks, so don't reduce too much. Taste and reseason after reducing the sauce, not before. Pour the sauce over the lamb shanks and invite your family to dig in. Serves 8
These days shanks of any kind are currently "en vogue" in the food community. Whether it is veal osso buco or a pork shank the size of your head, this type of cooking is being served in the finest restaurants. So if you have some of those non lamb lovers at your table, present these with a flourish, served with polenta or risotto or garlic mashed potatoes and explain you have prepared "agnello ossobuco" (the actual Italian translation for lamb shank is "stinco di agnello" so we're going to take a little literary license here) and just watch them shkoff it up.
Cook like there's nobody watching, and eat like it's heaven on earth.
I like to put the slices of corned beef into a serving dish, and then spoon a good amount of the cooking liquid, which smells divine, over the meat to keep it moist. Cover and refrigerate leftovers until a certain vacuum cleaner with teeth makes a stealth attack.
Finally, onto the Sticky Braised Lamb Shanks, my riff on Tyler Florence's recipe for short ribs:
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (plus more, if needed)
8 medium lamb shanks
Garlic salt, black pepper, sweet paprika for seasoning the lamb
2 large onions, chopped
6 carrots, chopped
8 large cloves fresh garlic, smashed and chopped
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
6 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup wildflower honey
2 cups cabernet sauvignon, or other dry red wine
4 cups beef stock
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Preseason the meat as described above. When ready to start cooking, take the lamb out of the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat, and in batches, brown the meat on all sides. Add a little more oil if needed. As they are browned, place them into a roasting pan large enough to hold them all in one layer. Keep the meat warm in the oven while browning the remaining lamb and preparing the sauce.
Add the onion, carrot, garlic, paprika, caraway and thyme to the Dutch oven and cook until softened, 10 to 12 minutes. Pour in the honey, wine, and stock and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer, add the balsamic vinegar, and taste to adjust the seasoning. I used a little kosher salt, black pepper and granulated garlic to get the taste I wanted.
With a ladle, transfer the liquid into the roasting pan with the lamb shanks. Do not overfill; you will have some sauce left. Cover the roasting pan with aluminum foil loosely, to allow steam to escape and the sauce to thicken. Cook until the meat is very tender about 2 hours, turning the meat after an hour.
If the sauce is still thin, carefully remove most of it to the Dutch oven that still has the excess sauce, and cook down until it reduces by about half. You still want enough sauce to well-coat the lamb shanks, so don't reduce too much. Taste and reseason after reducing the sauce, not before. Pour the sauce over the lamb shanks and invite your family to dig in. Serves 8
These days shanks of any kind are currently "en vogue" in the food community. Whether it is veal osso buco or a pork shank the size of your head, this type of cooking is being served in the finest restaurants. So if you have some of those non lamb lovers at your table, present these with a flourish, served with polenta or risotto or garlic mashed potatoes and explain you have prepared "agnello ossobuco" (the actual Italian translation for lamb shank is "stinco di agnello" so we're going to take a little literary license here) and just watch them shkoff it up.
Cook like there's nobody watching, and eat like it's heaven on earth.
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