moroccan braised lamb shanks
May 11, 2008
I have now made this dish three times in the last couple months. I originally, set out to find a better lamb shank recipe than just doing the same braised, red wine reduction that I do for short ribs. As usual, I did my fair share of cross referencing and found two interesting recipes. One from Chocolate and Zucchini and one from Epicurious, which is actually from a restaurant in Chicago, Bistro 110.
Following is an adaptation of these two recipes. I omitted the potentially messy red wine overnight marinade and the vegetable potato stew feel in the second recipe was replaced with serving the shanks with a creamy polenta and a reduction sauce.
The dish was such a success at girls’ night that I made if for my brother in SF and then for a group of friends at my place for an impromptu Sunday evening supper. The one in the photos was the most recent, which I topped with raw, fresh English peas from the Hollywood Farmers’ Market for a nice crunchy, fresh texture.
Lamb shanks, among, other cheap cuts of meats are so wonderful to cook. They make your whole house smell good for the few hours it needs to sit in the oven and won’t break the bank at the market to feed a small group of 4-6 people.
Moroccan Spiced Braised Lamb Shanks- serves 4-6
Plan ahead:
Spice rub needs to be made at least 12 hours ahead and rubbed on shanks, refrigerated overnight.
SPICE RUB:
2 tbs cumin seed
2 tbs coriander seeds
2 tbs fresh thyme
1tbs fresh rosemary
1 tbs curry powder
1/2 tspn kosher salt
4 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
1/2 c olive oil
4-6 lamb shanks - depending on size. about 8-9 lbs. total is good.
FOR BRAISING:
2 tbs olive oil
5 sprigs of italian parsley
2 onions- diced largely
2 cloves of garlic
1 fennel bulb or stalk (optional, I happened to have some stalks handy from the roasted fennel salad I was making for the same meal)
1 bottle red wine (cote du rhone)
6 c chicken broth or other stock is fine. (Beef or veal stock will give you a much richer sauce so dilute it with half water and half broth.)
Grind the first 7 ingredients (spices and herbs) together in a small coffee grinder dedicated for this purpose, or a tiny food processor. If doing it in a food processor, you will need to add the oil in during the grinding. If these are not available, a mortar and pestle might work but will be a much coarser rub. Once the spice rub is ground fine, combine it with the olive oil. Rub the lamb shanks and cover and refrigerate overnight.
NEXT DAY: start at least 5 hours before you are planning to serve, 3 of which are oven time.
Take the lamb shanks out of the fridge to temper it (at least 30 minutes). Temper is to bring the meat to room temperature before adding heat. Heat the olive oil on high heat. You will now be browning the shanks on all sides. Lower the heat to medium. The spice rub can start to burn and you don’t want it too charred. This can take a few minutes per side so don’t rush it or crowd them in the pot. It might take have to be done in batches.
Preheat the oven to 350˚.
I like to use my Le Creuset large round pot for this, so once it’s all browned you can just put it in the oven, a one pot wonder. Enamel cookware is known for even heating and stove to oven ease.
side note: There are so many options for cast iron enamel cookery available these days. I have even come across some great ones at Marshall’s and Ross for super cheap. If you don’t have a pot similar that can go from stove top to oven, you could still make this dish by browning everything and making the liquid portion on the stovetop in a large skillet or stock pot, but then placing the meat in a oven-safe roasting pan and covering them sufficiently with liquid and covering with foil. There is always a way.
After the lamb shanks are all browned nicely and put aside, put the diced onions in the pot and saute till brown on medium heat. Gently scrape the pan to get all the nice brown bits. Once onions are browned, add in the liquid (wine and broth) and reduce by a third over medium-high heat. Turn off heat. Add the remaining ingredients and the lamb shanks, making sure they are mostly covered by liquid.
Place the lid over the pot and put in the 350˚preheated oven on the middle rack for 3 hours. You want the meat to be fall off the bone tender. Check it at 1.5 hours and flip the meat if you want. I don’t always do this but it depends on the type of pot you are using and how immersed in liquid the shanks are.
It takes about 3 hours for it to be really tender, but cooking for 2.5 hours is ok too.
OPTIONAL STEP:
Once it’s done, remove the shanks from the liquid and brown them at 425˚ for 10 minutes on a pan. I say this step is optional because most home cooks would just serve the shank as is, like a pot roast or stew over egg noodles or potatoes.
This is equally as tasty but straining the broth and reducing it and drizzling it over a nicely browned, crispy, slow-cooked shank is so much more elegant. Also a pain in the a**.
Strain the broth and degrease it. Return it to a pan and on the stovetop, reduce it to a thick sauce consistency over low heat. Serve the shanks bone in or removed from bone. I served them every time with creamy polenta. This combo seems to work well by omitting the typical meat and potatoes feel.
Like all braised meats, this dish can be made a day ahead of time as well, allowing the flavors to mellow and meld.
Simply Recipes has a great Creamy Polenta recipe, though I cut the cream cheese and butter amount by half the second time I made it and it was just as good.
The last time i ordered a lamb shank at a new swanky, French inspired restaurant in LA, comme ca, I was so disappointed by the chewiness of it that I can barely say it was a challenge to top that. For God’s sake, I had to cut it with a knife. It needed AT LEAST another hour in the oven. Really no excuse since the entire restaurant was full and at my table alone, we had 3 lambshank and 2 beef bourguignon orders, all which were barely passable as braised meat. If i can’t eat it with a fork alone then there is a problem.
I have given a few options for ease and workarounds so now you have no excuse! Thanks Reid, for bring the great pinot noir. This Sunday dinner was followed by a homemade mixed berry tart from resident pastry buddy, Wan. He will be posting his sweet creations here in the near future. We started the meal with an improvised salad of frisee, wild arugula, roasted golden beets, blood oranges and crumbled stilton and goat cheese, topped with a shallot vinagrette. A delicious way to say farewell to the weekend.
I have now made this dish three times in the last couple months. I originally, set out to find a better lamb shank recipe than just doing the same braised, red wine reduction that I do for short ribs. As usual, I did my fair share of cross referencing and found two interesting recipes. One from Chocolate and Zucchini and one from Epicurious, which is actually from a restaurant in Chicago, Bistro 110.
Following is an adaptation of these two recipes. I omitted the potentially messy red wine overnight marinade and the vegetable potato stew feel in the second recipe was replaced with serving the shanks with a creamy polenta and a reduction sauce.
The dish was such a success at girls’ night that I made if for my brother in SF and then for a group of friends at my place for an impromptu Sunday evening supper. The one in the photos was the most recent, which I topped with raw, fresh English peas from the Hollywood Farmers’ Market for a nice crunchy, fresh texture.
Lamb shanks, among, other cheap cuts of meats are so wonderful to cook. They make your whole house smell good for the few hours it needs to sit in the oven and won’t break the bank at the market to feed a small group of 4-6 people.
Moroccan Spiced Braised Lamb Shanks- serves 4-6
Plan ahead:
Spice rub needs to be made at least 12 hours ahead and rubbed on shanks, refrigerated overnight.
SPICE RUB:
2 tbs cumin seed
2 tbs coriander seeds
2 tbs fresh thyme
1tbs fresh rosemary
1 tbs curry powder
1/2 tspn kosher salt
4 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
1/2 c olive oil
4-6 lamb shanks - depending on size. about 8-9 lbs. total is good.
FOR BRAISING:
2 tbs olive oil
5 sprigs of italian parsley
2 onions- diced largely
2 cloves of garlic
1 fennel bulb or stalk (optional, I happened to have some stalks handy from the roasted fennel salad I was making for the same meal)
1 bottle red wine (cote du rhone)
6 c chicken broth or other stock is fine. (Beef or veal stock will give you a much richer sauce so dilute it with half water and half broth.)
Grind the first 7 ingredients (spices and herbs) together in a small coffee grinder dedicated for this purpose, or a tiny food processor. If doing it in a food processor, you will need to add the oil in during the grinding. If these are not available, a mortar and pestle might work but will be a much coarser rub. Once the spice rub is ground fine, combine it with the olive oil. Rub the lamb shanks and cover and refrigerate overnight.
NEXT DAY: start at least 5 hours before you are planning to serve, 3 of which are oven time.
Take the lamb shanks out of the fridge to temper it (at least 30 minutes). Temper is to bring the meat to room temperature before adding heat. Heat the olive oil on high heat. You will now be browning the shanks on all sides. Lower the heat to medium. The spice rub can start to burn and you don’t want it too charred. This can take a few minutes per side so don’t rush it or crowd them in the pot. It might take have to be done in batches.
Preheat the oven to 350˚.
I like to use my Le Creuset large round pot for this, so once it’s all browned you can just put it in the oven, a one pot wonder. Enamel cookware is known for even heating and stove to oven ease.
side note: There are so many options for cast iron enamel cookery available these days. I have even come across some great ones at Marshall’s and Ross for super cheap. If you don’t have a pot similar that can go from stove top to oven, you could still make this dish by browning everything and making the liquid portion on the stovetop in a large skillet or stock pot, but then placing the meat in a oven-safe roasting pan and covering them sufficiently with liquid and covering with foil. There is always a way.
After the lamb shanks are all browned nicely and put aside, put the diced onions in the pot and saute till brown on medium heat. Gently scrape the pan to get all the nice brown bits. Once onions are browned, add in the liquid (wine and broth) and reduce by a third over medium-high heat. Turn off heat. Add the remaining ingredients and the lamb shanks, making sure they are mostly covered by liquid.
Place the lid over the pot and put in the 350˚preheated oven on the middle rack for 3 hours. You want the meat to be fall off the bone tender. Check it at 1.5 hours and flip the meat if you want. I don’t always do this but it depends on the type of pot you are using and how immersed in liquid the shanks are.
It takes about 3 hours for it to be really tender, but cooking for 2.5 hours is ok too.
OPTIONAL STEP:
Once it’s done, remove the shanks from the liquid and brown them at 425˚ for 10 minutes on a pan. I say this step is optional because most home cooks would just serve the shank as is, like a pot roast or stew over egg noodles or potatoes.
This is equally as tasty but straining the broth and reducing it and drizzling it over a nicely browned, crispy, slow-cooked shank is so much more elegant. Also a pain in the a**.
Strain the broth and degrease it. Return it to a pan and on the stovetop, reduce it to a thick sauce consistency over low heat. Serve the shanks bone in or removed from bone. I served them every time with creamy polenta. This combo seems to work well by omitting the typical meat and potatoes feel.
Like all braised meats, this dish can be made a day ahead of time as well, allowing the flavors to mellow and meld.
Simply Recipes has a great Creamy Polenta recipe, though I cut the cream cheese and butter amount by half the second time I made it and it was just as good.
The last time i ordered a lamb shank at a new swanky, French inspired restaurant in LA, comme ca, I was so disappointed by the chewiness of it that I can barely say it was a challenge to top that. For God’s sake, I had to cut it with a knife. It needed AT LEAST another hour in the oven. Really no excuse since the entire restaurant was full and at my table alone, we had 3 lambshank and 2 beef bourguignon orders, all which were barely passable as braised meat. If i can’t eat it with a fork alone then there is a problem.
I have given a few options for ease and workarounds so now you have no excuse! Thanks Reid, for bring the great pinot noir. This Sunday dinner was followed by a homemade mixed berry tart from resident pastry buddy, Wan. He will be posting his sweet creations here in the near future. We started the meal with an improvised salad of frisee, wild arugula, roasted golden beets, blood oranges and crumbled stilton and goat cheese, topped with a shallot vinagrette. A delicious way to say farewell to the weekend.
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