Braised Lamb Shanks

Two posts in one day. Not quite a record but the first post today was done by my other half. I've been telling him for months to feel free to post and finally he did. His Chorizo breakfast was yummy. And he spoiled me by also cooking dinner tonight .....braised lamb shanks. We saw the shanks on sale a couple of weeks ago and he got the bug to cook with them so I picked up two nice ones. I mentioned making Scottish Broth soup with them but he had other ideas....other yummy ideas.

We got the recipe from a Food TV cookbook I got for Christmas last year. It was a simple uncomplicated recipe that let the lamb shanks really show their stuff.

Sophie was especially happy to get a bone to gnaw on. She quickly ducked under the table right after we took this picture and made quick work of stripping every bit of meat off it. Although Jim seemed to rather enjoy gnawing on one himself.
Braised Lamb Shanks2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 whole cloves garlic
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 lamb shanks (about 1 1/2 pounds each)
About 2 cups chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
2 cups of red wine

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or deep ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and season with 2 teaspoons salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and just beginning to brown, about 20 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato paste, mix well and cook until the tomato paste darkens, about 3 minutes.

Salt and pepper the lamb shanks and lay them in a single layer, over the vegetables in the Dutch oven. Add the wine and enough stock to surround but not cover the shanks and bring to a simmer. Transfer to the oven. Braise the shanks, uncovered, turning every 30 minutes or so, until the meat is fork tender, about 2 hours. (The meat will brown during the final stages of braising.) Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for about 15 minutes to allow the fat to rise to the surface of the sauce. Transfer the meat to a plate.

Skim the fat from the surface of the braising liquid. Strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl, pressing down on the vegetables with a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the vegetables. Degrease the sauce again if necessary and return to the Dutch oven. Simmer the sauce until reduced by about half. Return the shanks to the sauce, and warm gently over low heat. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a warm serving dish and serve.

It's a wrap. Thanksgiving dinner, Day 2

This afternoon, I put the barbacoa back in the oven. After cooking it for another 2 hours, it was FINALLY done! Total cooking time: 9 1/2 hours. We tried some for lunch and had more for dinner.

So, was it worth it? The jury is still out on that one. Biscuit Boy would say yes. Biscuit Pup gives it two paws up. Me? It was good, but I know it could be better. And armed with this notion in mind, I'll give it one more try. We'll probably make it again for Christmas, but I'm going to go into negotiations with Biscuit Boy about making something else as well. Perhaps the barbacoa can be a lunch time dish.....hint, hint. That gives me the opportunity to make something I'm more confident in for dinner. Like my family's traditional Christmas lasagna, hint, hint.

This tradition began in 1976 and was our first Christmas in Tennessee after moving from New York. Keep in mind, Tennessee in 1976 did not know of yummy NY foods like bagels, bialy's, REAL pizza (not pizza hut), ect. So when mom realized that she couldn't get her favorite brands of pasta or tomato paste in the local stores, she saved enough of our recently moved from NY stock to make up a big ol' pan of lasagna for Christmas dinner. To us, it was the best meal we could have asked for. Good home cooking. And ever since, it has become our traditional Christmas dinner.

One memorable Christmas Eve, mom just finished making up her lasagna and realized that she didn't have any room in the fridge to store it overnight. Thankfully it was very cold outside, freezing to be exact, so mom wrapped up the pan and set it out in the enclosed deck on the table. The next morning, I woke up before anyone else and being the good daughter, brought in the lasagna and set it in the oven so it could thaw a little before it needed to be cooked. However, I forgot to tell mom what I had done. She wakes up about an hour later, shuffles into the kitchen, let's the dogs out (we had four at the time) and goes about getting coffee started. A few minutes later, we hear a blood curdling scream. It's mom and she's standing outside on the deck frantic because her lasagna is missing! She's yelling at the dogs thinking one of them dragged this huge, heavy pan of lasagna out into the backyard. We're all standing at the door trying to calm her down when it dawns on me..... Sheepishly I say, "Hey mom, I already put the lasagna in the oven." Silence for about 5 seconds before we all start laughing while we try to get the thought of one of the dogs dragging about an empty lasagna pan around the back yard. But for some reason, the dogs failed to see the humor in it........ their thoughts.... "so close, soooooo close."

Thanksgiving Dinner - Plan B

We usually have my in-laws drive up from Tennessee for Thanksgiving. This year they are coming for Christmas instead. And looking ahead we decided to make a Mexican lamb dish called Barbacoa for Christmas dinner. Since we've never made barbacoa before, we decided to make a trial run of it for Thanksgiving. This way we would know how to tweak the recipe or decided to make something else all together.

Barbacoa is a Mexican version of barbeque. This one calls for a pan of veggies and water set underneath the roasting lamb. As the lamb cooks, the drippings go into the pan beneath it creating a soup that is served on the side. We first tried this dish at Andale, one of our favorite restaurants. It's what inspired us to try to make it at home.

My better judgement told me to put the lamb in the oven early, like before noon. But after consulting two of the three recipes I found, I decided to wait until about 2 this afternoon to begin cooking. Big mistake, BIG. It's now almost 8:30 and the lamb is STILL not done. Not even close. This is what it looked like as we put it in the oven.

So we rummaged through the freezer and are making stuffed grape leaves, a leftover hamburger and some Chinese noodles. Not what I had planned but at least it will be ready to eat before the lamb.

I guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow to see how it actually tastes. Then decide if we're going to still make it for Christmas or not. And if we do, you better believe that baby's going in the oven much earlier......say about day break.

Maybe tomorrow I'll let you know what we decided.