Braised Lamb Shanks

Hello out there.... Happy New Year!  I know I'm a little late but better late then never as they say.  I can't believe we're almost at the end of January.  It seems like just yesterday I was running around trying to get that last minute Christmas gift and feasting on turkey dinners.

I've been meaning to post about this delicious supper for about a month now but time just got away from me.  I made this special dinner just before Christmas and it was AMAZING if I do say so myself.  Hubby loved it too, even the veggies.  

I don't know why but I have never eaten lamb.  I've always wanted to try it but just never found the right recipe.  If you've never tried lamb or lamb shanks I urge you to give this recipe a try.

Amarone(ish) Braised Lamb Shanks

If you're like me and can't afford a $80-$100 bottle of wine you can skip the Amarone and use Ripasso Valpolicella.  It's a great red and for under $20.00, much more cost effective.

2 - 3 Tbsp olive oil
4 large lamb shanks

2 onions, diced

2 carrots, diced

8 garlic cloves thinly sliced

2 bay leaves

2 large sprigs of rosemary

1 can (5 1/2 ounce) tomato paste

1/2 bottle Ripasso/ Amarone or other full flavour red wine *

1/2 package of low sodium / no salt added chicken broth *

Sea Salt and |lots of fresh ground black pepper

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 300

Put olive oil into a Dutch oven or heavy soup pot (I used my cast iron pot), and heat over medium high heat. Add the shanks and brown them thoroughly, turning once or twice until they are caramelized on all sides.  Transfer to a plate.

Add onions, carrots, and garlic to the pot and saute until the veggies are soft and lightly brown.  About 5 - 10 minutes.  Add bay leaves and rosemary.  Spoon in the tomato paste and stir till the tomato paste is warmed through to help bring out the flavour.  Add the wine and broth stir then put shanks on top of .  Bring to a boil, cover tightly and move to the oven.  Braise until meat is tender, approximately 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

When the meat is cooked move the shanks to a platter, cover with foil to keep them warm while you finish the sauce.  Put you pot over medium-high heat and boil until the braising liquid reduces to a sauce like consistency (about 5 mins).  Stir in the parsley and pour the sauce over the shanks. 

*Note - This originally called for a whole bottle of wine but I thought that was a little too much so I used 1/2 bottle and 1/2 a package of broth.  Of course your own broth/stock would be a much better choice but that's not something I always have on hand.

You really must give this a try.  If you don't want to use lamb I'm sure beef would work just as well in this recipe.  I would swap beef stock for the chicken if using beef.

I'll try to post the recipes for the roasted veggies and salt roasted potatoes later this week so be sure to check back.

~ Jackie