Anise-Ginger Lamb Shank

Braised and Grilled Lamb Shanks
with Tamari,  Star Anise, Ginger, Garlic

The braising liquid is made with tamari, water, star anise, garlic cloves, sliced fresh ginger and sugar.

The shanks are simmered for over 2 hours in my Le Creuset covered French Oven.

The shanks are then seasoned with salt and pepper, grilled for about 15 minutes, until nicely browned. Meanwhile to prepare the sauce: use a fat separator to remove most of the fat, return the sauce to the pot and heat on high. Dilute 1 T. cornstarch with 1 T. cold water and whisk into the sauce to thicken just slightly. Add a splash of rice vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.
Many recipes for shanks use red wine as the braising liquid, like this one with Zinfandel. Last weekend, we were quite pleased with the exotic combination of tastes of tamari, anise, ginger and garlic. Whatever liquid/sauce you choose, I highly recommend the method of braising and grilling the lamb shanks, as this technique gives the meat an added dimension of flavor.
This recipe was adapted from Mark Bittman. The original recipe can be found here. After picking up four beautiful shanks from the butcher, I was searching the internet for a recipe for “braised and grilled” lamb shanks and came across his. It’s a winner!

16 thoughts on “Anise-Ginger Lamb Shank”

  1. Thanks for the shout-out.

    Oh, those lamb shanks look gorgeous! Call me down for some grilled lamb shanks: yummy!

  2. that look really beautiful! the lamb and that sear. i’d love to try this if i can get my hands on some fatty lamb shanks.

  3. These look great, the braising and grilling method sounds like it would add so much flavor, and the spicing… yum… 🙂

  4. Your braising liquid really caught my attention, so unique. I bet it tasted wonderful. I love the way they look on the grill!

  5. Lamb is just about one of my favorite things in the whole world. I’ve never tried cooking up a lamb shank though. That combination of flavors sounds delicious!

  6. Love mark bittman! nice recipe and adaptions! I love anise! not many ppl I know, use it in their food, but I grew up eating it in all kinds of food!

  7. Looks wonderful. I think it’s interesting how you grill it after you braise it. I guess it gets tender from the braising, then crusty from the grilling? Crusty in a good way.

  8. Wow I have never heard of grilling than braising, but this technique sounds amazing, I mean so does the sauce. I have to try this.

  9. Hi JS – Come on down!

    Hi Maryann – thanks to the grilling!

    Hi WANF – let me know if you do 🙂

    Hi Tom – my new favorite method for sure.

    Hi Marie – I got some good grill shots. My brother was the grill master.

    Hi Zita – yummy indeed!

    Hi Lori – the shanks are the easiest to cook, you can’t really overcook them, like a rack or a chop.

    Hi Bren and Maria- I am going to search out more Mark Bittman now.

    Hi Lore – definitely unique and quite tasty.

    Hi Emiline and Manger- two hours of braising cooks the meat, it is tender, then gets that nice crust on the grill.

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