BRAISED LAMB SHANKS
With rosemary and port wine sauce.
Learn to braise lamb shanks the easy way and serve them with a delicious rosemary and port wine sauce. With this recipe, you will learn the braising cooking method and how to use this technique at home to make lots of delicious dishes.
INGREDIENTS
1.2 kilos (roughly 2.5 lb) lamb shanks
1 white onion.
1 medium sized shallot
1 carrot
2 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
1 heaped teaspoon tomato paste
Salt and pepper to season.
600 ml (20 fl oz) brown lamb stock or beef stock
150 ml (5 fl oz) ruby port wine
2 small twigs of rosemary
25 g (0.9 oz) plain unsalted butter
2 tbsp grapeseed or sunflower oil
NOTES
I have cooked this at 170 °C (340 °F) for 2 hours 30 minutes in a fan forced oven in the middle shelf and it worked fine for me. However, depending on your oven, things may be different, so keep an eye on the reduction of the sauce during cooking and if needed, add more stock (or water if you run out of stock).
You can also just use a lower temperature of 160 °C (320 °F) instead of 170 °C.
PROCEDURE
Oil and season the shanks and brown them well on all sides on a medium heat in a tablespoon of oil in a pot.
Reduce heat slightly and saute the vegetables, bay leaf, rosemary and tomato paste (add more oil if necessary).
Deglaze with the port wine.
Return the shanks to the pot and pour the stock over them. The stock should only cover a small portion of the shanks.
Cover the pot and place in an oven preheated to 170 °C (338 °F) fan forced.
Cook in the oven for 2 ½ – 3 hours until done. NOTE: The oven temperature you need to use may vary depending on the size of you shanks and can be as little as 160 °C (320 °F) or as much 180 °C (356 °F) with the oven time adjusted as necessary.
Keep an eye on the shanks while they are cooking. If the liquid reduces too much add some stock or water.
Remove the shanks and place them with a little of the sauce on a tray and cover with foil and keep warm in a slow oven at around 70 °C (158 °F).
Reduce the sauce in a pan and boil on a medium to high heat with the lid off until it thickens – maybe 5-10 minutes.
Sieve the sauce into another pan ensuring the vegetables are not pureed into the pan.
Bring the sauce back to the boil, season to taste, add a tablespoon of the port wine, turn off the heat and add the butter. Gradually mix all together until the butter is melted.
Serve on a bed of mashed potato with the sauce generously poured over the shanks.