Lovely Lamb Shank Recipe Anyone?

[Rhona]

Inspired by the earlier lamb/tagine/slow cooking thread, I have got a pair of lamb shanks and the tagine out, and the whole day to create something lovely for Mr R, who's had a busy old week.

I'd like it be dead special, and I have most ingredients and Waitrose nearby for anything missing, so fire away and hit me with your ideas???


(p.s. when my sis and I lived together, we had an idiotic long-running joke with a pair of vacuum-packed lamb shanks. We'd take it in turns to hide them somewhere for the other to find - in the shower cubicle; under my pillow, etc. It ended when my sister had a really important meeting and unpacked her briefcase of papers etc. and yep, there was a grisly, swollen pack of greying lamb shanks in there. She followed that one up with sending them Recorded Delivery to my office and then the pack exploded and it was all over.)

[shirlthegirl43]

Okay, here goes. I have found 2 recipes in my 'Slow Cooker, One Pot and casserole' cookbook. I haven't tried them so can't vouch for them, but they look nice.

Braised lamb shanks (slow cooker but could be adapted)

To serve 4
4 lamb shanks
1 red onion, very finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
sprig of fresh thyme
5ml / 1tsp chopped fresh rosemary
5ml / 1tsp ground paprika
15ml / 1tbsp balsamic vinegar
60ml / 4tbsp olive oil
175ml / 6fl oz red wine
150ml / 1/4pint lamb or vegetable stock
chopped fresh parsley
salt and ground black pepper

1 Using the point of a sharp knife, gently prick the shanks at intervals all over
2 Ccombine the onion, garlic, thyme, rosemary, paprika, vinegar and 30ml / 2tbsp of the oil. Brush over the shanks, place in a shallow, non-metallic dish, cover and leave to marinate for 2 hours at room temperature, or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. (Marinating starts the tenderising process, but is not essential)
3 Brish the marinade off the lamb and set aside. Heat the remaining 30ml / 2tbsp oil in a frying pan and lightly brown the shanks all over. Transfer to the ceramic cooking pot and season with salt and pepper.
4 Add the reserved marinade to the frying pan and pour in the wine and stock. Bring almost to the boil, stirring, then pour over the shanks.
5 Cover with the lid and switch to high or auto, cook for 1 hour then leave on auto or reduce to low and cook for a further 6-8 hours, or until very tender, turning the meat halfway through,.
6 Using a slotted spoon, transfer the lamb shanks to a warmed serving plate. Skim off any fat from the cooking juices then check the seasoning. Stir in the parsley and spoon over the shanks.

[shirlthegirl43]

Second recipe - same book:

Lamb Shanks with Beans and Herbs

Serves 4

175g / 60z dried cannellini beans, soaked overnight in cold water
150ml / 1/4pint water
45ml / 3tbsp olive oil
4 large lamb shanks about 225g /8oz each
1 large onion, chopped
450g / 1lb carrots, cut into thick chunks
2 celery sticks, cut into thick chunks
450g / 1lb tomatoes, quartered
250ml / 8fl oz vegetable stock
4 fresh rosemary sprigs
2 bay leaves
salt and ground black pepper

1 Soak a large clay pot in cold water for 20 minutes, then drain. Drain and rinse the cannellini beans and place in a large pan of unsalted boiling water and boil rapidly for 10 minutes, then drain.
2 Place the water in the soaked clay pot then add the drained cannellini beans.
3 Heat 30ml / 2tbsp of the olive oil in a large frying pan, add the lamb shanks and cook over a high heat, turning the lamb shanks occasionally until brown on all sides. Remove the lamb shanks with a slotted spoon and set aside.
4 Add the remaining oil to the pan, then add the onion and saute for 5 minutes, until soft and translucent.
5 Add the carrots and celery to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the quartered tomatoes and vegetable stock and mix well. Transfer the vegetable mixture to the clay pot and season well with salt and pepper, then add the fresh rosemary and bay leaves and stir again to combine.
6 Place the lamb shanks on top of the beans and vegetables. Cover the clay pot and place it in an unheated oven. Set the oven to 220c/425f/gas7 and cook for about 30 minutes, or until the liquid is bubbling.
7 Reduce the oven temperature to 160c/325f/gas 3 and cook for about 1.5 hours or until the meat is tender. Check the seasoning and serve on warmed plates, placing each lamb shank on a bed of beans and vegetables.

Variations

1 Dried butter (lima) beans or the smaller haricot (navy) beans can be used in place of the cannellini beans
2 If you prefer, two 400g/ 14oz cns of cannellini beans can be used in this dish - simply place the drained beans in the soaked clay pot with the wate3r and continue from step 3
3 A variety of other root vegetables would work well in this recipe - try chopped swede, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, parsnips or celeriac inbstead of the carrots. In spring a mixture of baby turnips and baby carrots would also be good.

[Birdie Wife]

Another good recipe for roasted/slow roasted lamb is to rub it all over with a mixture of half Colemans English mustard powder and half salt, then make little cuts in the meat all over and put a little bit of rosemary and a sliver of garlic in each. Brown off the meat really well, take out and fry a finely chopped onion in the residue, with a little more oil if necessary. Add a glass of white wine, put the lamb back and cook as required. Simple and really really tasty, have done it with roast leg and slow roasted shoulder so shanks should be fine too.

[shirley]

another good one is instead of the red wine use guinness and serve with champ

[Wren]

Whatever you do, make sure you add a splosh o red wine an some red current jelly. There is no finer mate than lamb with red current jelly an a splosh o red wine.

[toastie]

It may be a bit late and you've already chosen your recipe but the only thing we do to cook ours is wash the lamb shanks, put in a roasting tin with sprigs of rosemary and cover tightly with several layers of tin foil. Cook for about 3 hours at electric 180 degrees (sorry don't know gas marking - may be gas mark 6 but not sure). May seem a long time but meat will just fall off the bone. Serve with whatever veg you like, mashed potatoes and mint sauce (homemade if possible).

[Rhona]

Thanks everyone! Loads of great tips stored for future use! In the end I did lamb shank tagine; cooked it for about four hours; stripped the meat from the bone, then whizzed the sauce with a little bit of potato I'd cooked in it, and served with basmati! It was pretty good!

Will be trying the bean and herb one this weekend I think!