This is a diary of what I cook and what I eat.

Wednesday 19 May 2010

Lamb Shank


I was in the Butchers the other day and saw some lamb shanks and thought I'd get them and see what I could do with them.  Here is my really simple way of making roasted lamb shank with a red wine gravy.

serves 2

2 lamb Henrys/shanks
unsalted butter
beef stock cube dissolved in 500ml hot water
a bottle of robust red wine
sea salt
pepper
Cinnamon stick
1 tsp redcurrant jelly
olive oil
2 carrots chopped into chunks
1 onion roughly chopped

  1. Make sure the lamb shanks are dried with paper towel before you start and then season the meat. Then fry them in some olive oil so that all of the sides have browned off. Use a heavy based large pan as this will be sufficient Remove the lamb shanks from the pan and add the onion and carrot and fry gently over a low heat.  for all of the liquid to fit in.
  2. Add the bottle of red wine and then the beef stock and add the lamb shanks to the pan.  They should be half covered by the liquid.  Now here is the bit that can be altered by you.  If you want to cook it on the hob this is possible and just add the lid and turn the heat to low.  If you want to cook them in the oven then place them into a casserole dish or heatproof pan and place the lid on and cook them in a low heat.  They will take 2-3 hours depending on the size of the Henrys but essentially what you are looking for is a real softness and tenderness to the meat.  If you try to get meat off with a fork it should come away with some ease.  For the last 20 minutes of cooking, throw a cinnamon stick in.

  3. Now remove the lamb from the dish/pan and allow to rest while you drain the liquid through a sieve and then a muslin cloth to remove the impurities and the carrot mixture.

  4. Set the cooking liquor aside and place the lamb Henrys into a roasting dish.  Pour a little of the cooking liquor over them, around 2-3 ladles full, and place them into the oven in a moderate oven for roasting, around gas mark 4.

  5. Reduce your cooking liquor so that it becomes thick and glossy.  I found that it needed some extra water at the end and then I added the redcurrant jelly to give the sauce its sweetness but also because it thickens the sauce up.  Finish with a few knobs of butter for a silky sauce.

I served mine with crushed potato but mash, cous-cous or just some asparagus would be lovely; especially as its in season.

19 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing this.I've been looking for a good lamb recipe since my in-laws are coming over and they love lamb meats...
    I might try this recipe.. again, thanks! :)

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  2. I've been looking for a good lamb recipe since my in-laws are coming over and they love lamb meats,I might try this recipe.

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  3. I've been looking for a good lamb recipe i found your blog from google,thanx for the recipe I might try this recipe.

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  4. I might try this recipe, it looks so delicious, love your blog.

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  5. I've been looking for a good lamb recipe since my in-laws are coming over and they love lamb meats. Thanx for sharing.

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  6. This is amazing! I've never made lamb shanks before, but this came out perfect, nice and full-bodied.

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  7. This was an amazing meal. The sauce was as flavorful and rich as any I'd ever made before. The lamb shanks were fall-off-the-bone delicious and it was all so simple to make! I made minor adjustments.

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  8. This was FANTASTIC!!! When you reduce the sauce properly it`s nice & thick. I followed the recipe as written. This is a keeper for my recipe box. Thanks for sharing.

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  9. Well, i found your blog from google,thanx for the recipe I might try this recipe. thanx for sharing your talent.

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  10. The lamb shanks were fall-off-the-bone delicious and it was all so simple to make! I made minor adjustments, thanx for the post.

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  11. This is really interesting to cook. great idea of sharing this recipes.Thank you.

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  12. I followed the recipe as written. This is a keeper for my recipe box. Thanks for the post.

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  13. I'm going to bookmark this recipe, I think I might try this then If i get the perfect taste, I will prepare this recipe for Christmas. Thanks!

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  14. i found your blog from google, thanx for the recipe I might try this recipe for my friends, and hope that they like it.

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  15. I am trying to feed my dog raw. I need bones to clean his teeth though. One company sells Raw Lamb Shank Bones and it says they are softer and easy to chew. What are shank?

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  16. I just say that I might try this recipe. thanx for sharing your talent with us, keep it such kind of hard work.

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  17. This was FANTASTIC!!! When you reduce the sauce properly it`s nice & thick. I followed the recipe as written. This is a keeper for my recipe box. Thanks for sharing.

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  18. Very nice recipe. Divided it all by 3 so it would serve 2 and it cooked up very nicely. It's always nice to put something on the stove and "forget" about it for a couple of hours! Easy prep also.

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  19. Very tender meat and savory sauce. I am sensitive to all milk products so I used non-dairy 'sour cream.'

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