Tag: lamb shanks

Lamb Shanks with Cassoulet Beans

Lamb Shanks and Cassoulet Beans

Slow-Braised Lamb Shanks
Smoky Cassoulet Beans
With Kalamata Olives and Cherry Tomatoes
Gremolata Condiment

This is the second of two quick, slow-braised lamb shank dinners. QUICK and SLOW? Yes, as the lamb shanks are already slow-braised, from the refrigerated section at Costco. Are they as good as home-cooked braised shanks that take 2 1/2 hours? Of course not, but for a fast impressive meal, they rock. And the beautiful beans here are cooked one day ahead so assembling the entire dish takes less than 30 minutes.

The beans from Rancho Gordo are grown in California from classic French Tarbais seed stock. This white runner bean was developed over generations by French farmers to be the foundation for a traditional cassoulet. The combination of beans, olives, and tomatoes simmered with smoked paprika and red wine paired with lamb is heavenly.

Gremolata – a mix of chopped fresh parsley/lemon zest/garlic – adds an invigorating freshness and brightness to most braised meats. It builds another interesting layer onto this outstanding dish.

Lamb Shanks and Cassoulet Beans

Lamb Shanks and Cassoulet Beans Recipe

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Slow-Braised Lamb Shanks, Boursin Cheese Polenta

Slow-Braised Lamb Shanks, Boursin Cheese Polenta

Slow-Braised Lamb Shanks
Pomegranate-Fig Sauce
Over Boursin Cheese Polenta

As an old magician friend of ours used to say, “I’m going to blow your mind!”

How about a mouth-watering, restaurant-quality dish of braised lamb shanks with a pomegranate-fig sauce over boursin cheese polenta on the table in about 10 minutes?

Is it magic?

Slow-Braised Lamb Shanks, Boursin Cheese Polenta

Start the Clock

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Smoky Braised & Grilled Lamb, Anise Ginger Sauce

Cross-cut Lamb Shank braised until tender
in tamari, water, ginger, star anise, garlic, and sugar.

Finished on the grill and served with
a velvety aromatic sauce made from the braising liquid.

We are still in “test kitchen” mode, preparing a menu for our upcoming Sunken City Supper Club dinner affair. We serve ingredients that reflect the season at our events, so this one in Spring will include lamb. And, folks, we have a winner here! Back in September of ’08 Father Adam and I cooked Mark Bittman’s “Braised and Grilled Lamb Shanks.” That was a dish we haven’t forgotten, please take a look here to see exactly why that is.

We’re making that idea work for a large party by having our butcher cross-cut the shanks as we did for the Roman-style Orange Peel and Sage Osso Buco at our Sunken City Supper Club winter event.

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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!