FoodB

I had my first lamb shank about 6 months ago when we tried Catal Restaurant in Downtown Disney. Since then I have noticed they had shanks at Plowboys, but for some reason we never got around to trying to make them ourselves.

So Jenn set out last week and ended up finding a shank recipe and I was more than down with that. Here is the recipe she found:

North African-influenced Lamb Shanks

4 (1 pound) lamb shanks
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons olive oil plus 1 teaspoon
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced yellow onions
1 cup large diced carrots
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
2 cups dry red wine
1 cup peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes
4 cups lamb stock, or chicken stock
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon grated orange peel

1. Season the shanks generously on all sides with the salt and black pepper, and lightly with the turmeric. Place the flour on a large plate. Dredge the shanks in the flour and shake to remove any excess.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a Dutch oven or large, heavy sauté pan over high heat. Add the shanks and sear until well-browned on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the shanks. Add the remaining teaspoon of oil, then the cinnamon, cumin, ginger, and cayenne, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the onions and carrots and cook, stirring, until the onions are starting to color, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 minutes.
3. Add the potatoes and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine and stir to deglaze the pan, cook until reduced slightly, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Return the shanks to the pot, add the stock, cilantro, parsley, orange juice, and orange peel, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover with the lid slightly ajar, and simmer until the shanks are tender and the meat starts to fall from the bones, 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours, skimming occasionally to remove any scum that forms on the surface.
4. Remove from the heat. Plate them and drizzle with the sauce and serve immediately.

This recipe take a good while to cook so you really need to prepare for making this. When it was done cooking the meat was just falling off the bones. The lamb was very tender and very tasty as well. I think if we try this one in the future I might have Jenn play with the sauce recipe a little. Not that it was bad, just the opposite in fact, I just think that it could be perfected with a little experimentation. Maybe adding some spices at the end could just boost it to the next level.