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Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks
Answer
You're quite right - lamb shanks are popular everywhere these days, and not just in Gastropubs, but home-cooked recipes are few and far between. This recipe for braised lamb shanks cooks beautifully in the Aga Simmering Oven. The long gentle cooking allows the gently persistent heat there to really coax out the true depth of flavour and produces a meltingly tender result. There are also two progressively spicy variations below for you to try as well.<bR>
Serves 6 (or 4 greedy people)
3 lamb shanks
4 tbsp sunflower oil
24 shallots, whole,
or 2 large onions, roughly chopped
3 cloves of garlic, skinned and quartered
½ a cinnamon stick, broken into three
1 pt vegetable stock (made with Marigold bouillon powder is fine)
¼ pt (150ml) red wine
3 tbsp redcurrant jelly
A little dried rosemary
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the beurre manié
1 oz (25g) soft butter
1 oz (25g) plain flour
(a little cornflour or arrowroot slaked in a little
cold water may be used to thicken, if preferred)
For the garnish
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Arrange the shanks in the large Aga roasting tin with the shallots or onions, add the oil and turn until everything is well coated. Slide onto the runners near the top of the Roasting Oven. Allow the shanks to brown, turning twice over 25-30 minutes. Lift them out and drain off the fat and transfer to a deep Aga cast-iron casserole dish large enough to take the shanks plus the vegetables.
Add the garlic and the remaining main ingredients and arrange the shanks so that their thickest parts are submerged with the bones standing upright. Bring to the boil on the Boiling Plate and cover with a lid. Transfer to the Simmering Oven for about 3 hours or until the meat is exceedingly tender and falling off the bone.
Check and correct the seasoning of the liquid. Off the heat thicken with beurre manié (soft butter and plain flour mixed 50:50 into small pellets), dropping small pieces into the sauce. Stir until dissolved into the liquid then return to the Simmering Plate and allow to cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring so that the flour is thoroughly cooked and the sauce is thickened to your satisfaction, but be careful not to break up the tender meat.
Sprinkle the parsley over each shank when serving with the vegetables and juices. Serve with creamy mashed potatoes and a dish of wilted spinach, dressed with butter, black pepper and just a little freshly grated nutmeg.
Variations
Easy Hot & Spicy Shanks
For a zooshed up spicier version, replace the cinnamon, wine, redcurrant jelly and rosemary with the following:
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp turmeric
¼ tsp dried chilli flakes
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp Kikkoman's soy sauce
2 fl oz (50ml) dry sherry
For the garnish
3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
Serve with Puy lentils home-cooked in stock or butter beans.
Easy Balti ShanksThis is my quick-and-easy interpretation of the delicious sauce I often enjoy at my favourite Indian restaurant in Wellington, Telford, a stone's throw away from where the parts of Aga cookers are hand-made. Replace the cinnamon, wine, redcurrant jelly and rosemary with the following:
2-3 tbsp of Mrs Patak's Balti spice paste
6 cardamom pods, bruised
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato purée
½ pt (300ml) thick Greek style yoghurt, added just before serving
For the garnish
3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
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Question
Do you have any recipes for Lamb Shanks? There seems to be an abundance of this meal in our local country pubs but I can't seem to get hold of a decent Aga recipe.