Lambshanksbraisedintomato Recipes

LAMB SHANKS & ORZO

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Combine the flour, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper in a bowl and dredge the lamb shanks in the mixture, shaking off the excess. In a large (13-inch) Dutch oven such as Le Creuset, heat 3 tablespoons of the grapeseed oil over medium-high heat. Add 2 lamb shanks and cook for 10 minutes, turning every few minutes, until browned on all sides. Transfer the shanks to a plate, add more grapeseed oil, and brown the remaining 2 shanks.
• Wipe out the Dutch oven with a paper towel, add the olive oil, and heat over medium to medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, and rosemary and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute. Add the tomatoes, beef broth, wine, 4 teaspoons salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper. Add the lamb shanks, arranging them so they're almost completely submerged in the liquid. Tuck in the bay leaves and bring to a simmer on top of the stove. Cover the pot and place it in the oven for 2 hours, turning the shanks once while they cook.
• Stir in the orzo and return the lamb shanks to the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until the orzo is cooked and the lamb shanks are very tender. Discard the bay leaves, stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons of white wine, and taste the orzo for seasonings. Serve hot.

LAMB SHANKS BRAISED IN TOMATO

Steps:

• Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat the pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle the lamb with salt and pepper. Add lamb to the pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove from the pan.
• Add garlic to the pan; saute 15 seconds. Add the wine to the pan; cook 2 minutes, scraping the pan to loosen browned bits. Stir in tomatoes; cook 2 minutes. Return the lamb to the pan. Cover the pan, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour. Turn the lamb over; simmer 1 hour or until the meat is done and very tender.
• Place the lamb on a plate; cover loosely with foil. Skim the fat from the surface of the sauce. Bring to a boil; cook 10 minutes or until thickened.
• Return the lamb to the pan; cook 4 minutes or until the lamb is thoroughly heated. Stir in chopped parsley.

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400˚F.
• Season the lamb generously with salt. Coat a large sauté pan with olive oil and bring to medium-high heat. Add the lamb to the pan and brown well on all sides; this may take up to 20 minutes. This is an incredibly important step-it's where all the big brown flavors start to develop-DON'T rush it.
• While the lamb is browning, put the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic in a food processor and purée to a coarse paste; reserve.
• When the lamb shanks are very brown on all sides, remove them from the pan and transfer to a roasting pan. Ditch the fat, add a bit of fresh olive oil to the sauté pan, and add the puréed veggies. Season generously with salt, and cook until the veggies are very brown and a crud has formed on the bottom of the pan, 8 to 10 minutes. Scrape the crud and let it reform. Don't rush this step.
• Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently, until it starts to brown, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add the wine, bring it to a boil (BTB), and stir frequently to scrape the crud from the bottom of the pan (this is the big-money flavor). Continue cooking until reduced by half, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add 3 to 4 cups water to the pan and stir to loosen the mixture. Taste to make sure it's delicious and reseason if needed. It will by no means be done, but it should taste good. Pour this over the shanks in the roasting pan. The liquid should come two-thirds of the way up the shanks; if it doesn't add more water. Toss in the rosemary, bay leaves, and thyme bundle, cover with aluminum foil, and cook in the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Check the shanks every 45 minutes, turn them, and if the liquid has reduced significantly, add more water. When the meat is done, it will be very tender but not falling off the bone.
• Remove the foil for the last 30 minutes of cooking time for maximum browning and to allow the liquid to reduce and thicken up. Serve with lots of sauce.
• BROWNING AND BRAISING: Because Brown Food Tastes Good!
• When I was in culinary school, I didn't get braising; it seemed like a pain in the neck. I had to go through so many steps to get started and I just didn't think it was worth the trouble. Now that I get it, it's my favorite cooking technique by far. Trust me: Braising is the technique that will showcase your skill as a cook! It doesn't matter what you're braising-if you follow my method you will make a beautiful, brown braise every time.
• First, season generously and brown your protein well-whether it's a shank or a short rib, take your time. This is where the first big brown flavors develop and it takes patience-so don't rush it. What's important at this point is what's happening in your pan, not on the clock.
• Once your meat is nice and brown, remove it, ditch the fat, add a splash of fresh olive oil to the pan, add your puréed veggies, and season again. These vegetables are what we call soffritto and they're the base of almost all braised dishes. Like the meat, you want to brown the crap out of the soffritto. Cook it until you see a crud start to form on the bottom of the pan, then scrape off the crud and let it form again. This is where we take things to the edge of disaster and yank them back. Food is the most flavorful one step before disaster!
• After the soffritto is nice and brown, add your wine and tomato paste. Let the wine reduce by half, toss the protein back in the pan, and add enough water to cover it by about two-thirds-it should be nice and soupy. Then toss in a thyme bundle and bay leaves, bring it to a boil (BTB), reduce it to a simmer (RTS), and cook until things are nice and tender, usually a couple of hours.
• Properly braised food should be very tender but still maintain its integrity and shape-it should NOT be falling off the bone. So check your braise along the way, and if the liquid level gets low, add a bit more water until the meat is perfectly tender and the sauce is super-flavorful. Follow this basic braising technique and your brown food will taste great . . . every time!