How do you serve lamb shanks to your dinner guests?

For Gene and I, they are served bone and all. Today, we are having guests for dinner and I looked at those cave man like shanks and removed the cooked meat from the bone and nestled into the braising liquid and will reheat gently, tonight I just could not put that cave man meat bone on their plates.

register again, as my old name and password was not being accepted.

Welcome Karen! Just kidding!

It depends on the size of the shank. If they are smaller shanks (under 9 inches), I like to serve the whole thing on on the bone in a large shallow pasta bowls.

Not sure what the boneless shanks would look like, as braised shanks are usually served caveman style. If we wanted to go boneless, we would go with our lamb shanks and pasta dish that has the meat removed, put back into the tomato sauce, and served over pasta with cheese.

Well, the boneless shanks look just like large chunks of meat, well browned, nestled into the braising liquid. Keep in mind, I cooked them yesterday. The meat will taste the same as they were cooked on the bone. They just don't look like something a cave man would walk around with.

On the bone, dammit! That's the way Odysseus did it. That's the way Tom Jones did it. That's even the way that Hemingway did it. And that, by heaven, is the way it's meant to be done......and after the main part of the meat is off the bones to pick up those ones and with teeth, fingers and tongues to polish those bones as if they were three thousand years old.

Best
Rogov

On the bone, dammit! That's the way Odysseus did it. That's the way Tom Jones did it. That's even the way that Hemingway did it. And that, by heaven, is the way it's meant to be done......and after the main part of the meat is off the bones to pick up those ones and with teeth, fingers and tongues to polish those bones as if they were three thousand years old.

Best
Rogov

Oh, I do agree and I am the biggest bone chewer ever! But, but, even though we are having our closet friends over tonight, and they have lived in different parts of the world, I just felt creepy throwing that big shank bone on the plate. The meat had shrunk away from the narrow part of the bone and it looked very cave mannish. So, let's just say this is my experiment, and I will fill you it on it later. I really cleaned those bones off well, and have smaller chunks of lamb to serve with the braising liquid.

I guess I can understand your apprehension regarding the aesthetics of those big bones but if it were me, they'd go on the plate!

If the whole menu has a 'rustic' feel to it, the shanks on the bone won't look out of place. Chunky bread, plain-ish vegetables, old-fashioned country-style pudding ... lamb shanks on the bone will look ok.

Regarding lamb shanks, when I was growing up on a farm, Dad killed his own meat sometimes. The sight of a lamb wrapped in a white linen sheet hanging up from the bare rafters in the laundry - the coolest part of the house - was common. But when the lamb was being butchered, and they got to the shanks, these were given to the dogs. "Here Teddy! Here Rover!" Shanks weren't considered worth much. These days, the dogs wouldn't get a look-in.

If the whole menu has a 'rustic' feel to it, the shanks on the bone won't look out of place. Chunky bread, plain-ish vegetables, old-fashioned country-style pudding ... lamb shanks on the bone will look ok.

Regarding lamb shanks, when I was growing up on a farm, Dad killed his own meat sometimes. The sight of a lamb wrapped in a white linen sheet hanging up from the bare rafters in the laundry - the coolest part of the house - was common. But when the lamb was being butchered, and they got to the shanks, these were given to the dogs. "Here Teddy! Here Rover!" Shanks weren't considered worth much. These days, the dogs wouldn't get a look-in.

My grandfather raised rabbits, chicken, sheep, goats, and all of them had a purpose.....which I did not realize until I was older and found out that my pets were our food....it was an awful thing to realize. They lied to me about why my pets were all of a sudden not there any more.

Yeah, what Rogov said. I have some disdain for people who need their meat sanitized, to disguise the fact that an animal was slaughtered so they could eat.

I've never cooked or served shanks in my life, whether lamb, beef, pork, or venison. Regarding the venison, that was always one of those mostly bone bits that got left in the woods to feed the critters.

[Jenise]

Karen, on the bone. But two things: I usually ask the butcher to saw them partially in half for me so that the meat curves into a crescent shape which plates nicely. I also tend to buy lamb shanks only when they're small and a reasonable portion. An exception to that is when I'm buying the excellent organic lamb from Oregon, sometimes they package larger ones that are like a small roast for two, and those I'll actually treat as such. That is, invite another couple over and put those cave man servings on small platters with all the accoutrements they can each help themselves from.

Welcome, Karen
I'm with everyone else on this one. Always on the bone (preferably nestled atop creamy polenta or couscous)! There is soemthing about the look of it that makes it taste better that way. But, I've never seen a caveman sized lamb shank. I'd sure like to have one!

[Jenise]

register again, as my old name and password was not being accepted.

Karen, I'll look into this. We don't fiddle with that stuff once it's set up, so you shouldn't have any problems.

I also tend to buy lamb shanks only when they're small and a reasonable portion.

I actually do the opposite---buying the ones that are huge and look like far more than we can eat. Funny thing though, at the end, we are always picking at the last bits wishing there was more. Something about those things...Mmm, so good.

The shanks we get from the market around the corner tend to be of Flintstonian proportions. I get them cracked and by the time they're braised, each shank becomes two - a big one and a small one. Even then, the large ends remain pretty impressive.

Well, the dinner was a great success, with the boned lamb. Our guests said it was the best lamb they'd had. I even told them the story about how it all happened and quoted Daniel's brilliant post. Very funny ending to a great dinner. Another funny story I did not learn until today. I made a salad dressing with Sparrow Lane Champagne Vinegar, Dijon Mustard, fresh squeezed orange juice and chives, s & p, but did not read it all the way. Everyone loved the dressing and I thought it was a perfect match for the avocado, orange, and lettuce salad. Only today, I learned it should have had either walnut or hazelnut oil. Making it again tonight with the oil, but I bet I leave it out from now on. I used two kings of oranges, navel from a neighbors tree and Cara Cara from Costco. The navel were yellow and the CC were almost a rose color. Our guests thought they were eating a combo of grapefruit and oranges. Totally funny yet outstanding dinner!