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Serves: 4
TASTE OF SAINT PATRICK’S DAY FACT
Lamb shanks with melt-in-the-mouth meat falling from the bone is an ideal dish for a Saint Patrick’s Day lunch or dinner celebration with family and friends.
The lamb shanks in this recipe are slow-cooked in a rustic style broth, flavoured with roasted garlic, thyme, rosemary, and of course, Guinness.
The broth is further enhanced by the flavour of the meat juices which are released during the cooking process. The broth is then reduced to a thick, rich sauce, served as an accompaniment to the shanks.
INGREDIENTS
- 20gm Plain Flour
- 4 Lamb Shanks – French trimmed.
- 20ml Olive Oil
- 1 Garlic Bulb – prick the bulb 4 times with a fork, roast in a moderately heated oven for 50-60 minutes, or until bulb has softened. Remove, allow to cool. Slice off ½ cm from the bulb’s base, squeeze out the garlic puree and place into an airtight container and refrigerate until required.
- 200gm Spanish Onion – peel, halve and finely chop.
- 4 Thyme Sprigs – pick leaves, rinse, drain and
finely chop. - 2 Rosemary Sprigs – pick leaves, rinse, drain and finely chop.
- 400ml Chicken Stock
- 400gm Tinned Crushed Tomato
- 130ml Guinness
- Sea Salt and Freshly Milled Black Pepper – To Taste
METHOD
- Pre-heat an oven to a moderate temperature – 160°C.
- Add the flour to a mixing bowl and lightly coat each lamb shank with flour.
- Over a moderate heat, add half of the oil to a saute pan. Once heated, cook the shanks until they are browned on all sides, then remove from the saute pan and set to one side.
- Add the remaining oil to the saute pan. Add the garlic puree and onion, and saute stirring regularly until the onion has softened. Then add the thyme, rosemary, stock, crushed tomatoes and Guinness, and stir until they are thoroughly combined.
- Bring the broth up to the boil, then reduce the heat, simmer gently for 5 minutes, and remove the pan from the heat.
- Lay the browned shanks flat in a small, deep-sided roasting tray. Carefully pour over the broth, cover the tray tightly with aluminium foil and place into the oven. Cook for 2 hours or until the shanks’ meat has become extremely tender.
- Remove the roasting tray from the oven. Remove the shanks from the broth, and set to one side.
- Place the braising broth into a saucepan, then place the shanks back into the roasting tray and re-cover with aluminium foil.
- Using a hand blender, puree the broth until it has a smooth consistency.
- Place the saucepan over a moderate heat. Bring up to the boil, then reduce the head and gently simmer for 10 minutes, or until the broth has reduced, thickened and lightly coats the back of a spoon. Season to taste. Reduce the heat to low, and keep warm.
- While the broth is simmering, place the shanks back into the oven for 10 minutes to reheat, then remove from the oven.
TO SERVE
In the centre of each serving plate place a lamb shank, then generously drizzle with the braising broth and serve immediately.
