Lamb shanks a la Jamie Oliver!

Here`s one great innovative recipe for all u lamb-lovers! Think this will work well with a Cab Franc?

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/lamb ... amb-shanks

[Jenise]

It does look good, but Dr. Jenise says you can't have the butter. Instead, make your herb mixture with olive oil.

I looked at Jamie Oliver after I cooked my lamb shanks -- we invited my neighbor over and he said his mother just wrapped them in foil with cut up carrot and onion and I think thyme. Anyway you get the pure flavor of the lamb that way, the butter isn't necessary. I cook beets in a rather similar way, thanks to Keller.

But the broth in my shank "stew" is pretty healthy. If you chill it, it's very easy to remove all the solidified fat, and the broth has tomatoes, onions, mushrooms etc. Nothing very objectionable. And it was written as a crockpot prep although I used the oven.

I assume my topic on lamb shanks is visible to all??

F

I love lamb shanks and that sounds like a very easy way to do them. It's very much like Alton Brown's method for oven spare ribs.

Inspired, I went shopping for lamb shanks yesterday morning.
Pacific Market? Nope.
Whole Foods? Nope, and their selection of lamb makes me think that the target customer thinks they're way too cute to eat. Hmph. They're not only cute, they taste very, very good!
Oliver's? Nope, but they had veal and beef shanks. The veal shanks didn't look quite right to me, so I got a beef shank and braised it until it was DONE. (I need to remember to ask the guy to turn the piece over. This one's marrow didn't go all the way through, and I had to add some flour to the gravy.)
It's a mile to Pacific Market in one direction, a pleasant walk through the 19th Century Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery. It's another mile the other way, under the US 101 freeway, to Whole Foods. I drive the 3 or 4 miles to Oliver's.

Anyway, it came out good, served over rice with a sauteed tomato surrounded by baby spinach. (That sauteed tomato is good, and extremely easy!) The gravy, of course, makes the dish as with any braise.

I did open a bottle of Lang & Reed Cab Franc and found it very tasty - note in the wine forum. And I also put half the beef in the freezer for later.

(BTW, the forum wasn't accessible last night between the time I posted in the November Focus topic and the time I had composed this message. Seems fine this morning, though.)
John

Not a bad recipe - has all the requisite components, but the individual servings is too fussy for me.

I love lamb shanks! The well known 'secret' is to braise them for a long time until they fall off the bone. My secret ingredients are the use of spices including cinnamon and cumin and the addition of some anchovy - it gives a certain je ne sais quoi to the sauce that is hard to identify.

What I do NOT do is serve the damned things with a sprig of rosemary sticking up out of the plate. This is an affectation that a favourite local restaurant used for far too long - until they finally got the hint (maybe because I kept asking for a weedeater when I saw it)

Beautiful presentation, and I do love the rosemary on top...I've done that myself just for the two of us. I love, love braised lamb shanks and have served them many times. I did have a couple over that are not too adventurous in their cooking and I was concerned they would freak out seeing that bone hanging out on the plate. So, after cooking, defatting, I carefully pulled the meat off the bone, put it onto a platter and drizzled the juices. I served the rest of the juices on the side. After one bite (and I did not tell them it was lamb) he said, "this is the best lamb I have ever had!" So, I was thankful he at least liked lamb.
What I do get tired of is all the beautiful dishes served with mashed potatoes these days. Sheesh, do the chefs not know about all the beautiful grains available?

Grains, yes, as well as various squashes, pureed celeriac, etc.