Braised Lamb Shanks
By Bryan RoofPublished on December 21, 2020
Time
4 hours 5 minutes
Yield
Serves 4
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest from the lemon. This dish is great served over polenta, white beans, rice, or boiled potatoes—anything that will absorb the flavorful braising liquid. If you’re using table salt, cut the amount in half. If you don’t have chicken broth, you can substitute water in this recipe, but you may have to add a little more salt at the end.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Combine salt, cumin, coriander, pepper, and pepper flakes in bowl. Pat lamb shanks dry with paper towels and sprinkle all over with 2 tablespoons spice mixture.
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add 2 lamb shanks and cook until lightly browned on both flat sides of each shank, about 2 minutes per side. (Searing here is more about toasting spices on lamb than about getting deep browning.) Transfer to plate and repeat with remaining 2 lamb shanks.
- Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil, onion, and garlic to now-empty pot and cook until onion just begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Add broth, olives, carrots, thyme, lemon zest, soy sauce, oregano, lamb shanks, and remaining 1½ teaspoons spice mixture and bring to boil.
- Cover pot, transfer to oven, and cook for 1½ hours. Remove pot from oven and flip lamb shanks. Cover pot and return to oven. Continue to cook until meat easily falls off bone when prodded with fork, about 1½ hours longer.
- Transfer lamb shanks to shallow platter, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for 10 minutes. Skim fat from braising liquid with large spoon. Stir cilantro and lemon juice into braising liquid. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon sauce over lamb shanks and serve.
Time
4 hours 5 minutesYield
Serves 4Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
For this recipe we rubbed lamb shanks with a mixture of salt, pepper, ground cumin for warmth, citrusy coriander, and red pepper flakes for a small spark of heat. We browned the shanks in a little oil in a Dutch oven to bloom the spices and develop fond (those flavorful browned bits) on the bottom of the pot. Then we removed the shanks to make room for the garlic and onion to soften. Next, we tossed in diced carrots for earthy sweetness, green olives for pungency, thyme, lemon zest, dried oregano, and a tablespoon of soy sauce for an umami boost along with chicken broth for the base of our braising liquid. We nestled the shanks back into the pot, brought the liquid to a boil, and then covered the pot and slid it into a relatively low (325-degree) oven for a few hours. We flipped the lamb shanks halfway through braising. Once the shanks were cooked and tender, we transferred them to a plate, skimmed the fat from the braising liquid, and stirred in some fresh cilantro and lemon juice to wake everything up. These lamb shanks are best enjoyed accompanied by anything that absorbs the flavorful braising liquid—such as a mound of polenta or nest of rice—along with a glass of wine.
Before You Begin
Use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest from the lemon. This dish is great served over polenta, white beans, rice, or boiled potatoes—anything that will absorb the flavorful braising liquid. If you’re using table salt, cut the amount in half. If you don’t have chicken broth, you can substitute water in this recipe, but you may have to add a little more salt at the end.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Combine salt, cumin, coriander, pepper, and pepper flakes in bowl. Pat lamb shanks dry with paper towels and sprinkle all over with 2 tablespoons spice mixture.
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add 2 lamb shanks and cook until lightly browned on both flat sides of each shank, about 2 minutes per side. (Searing here is more about toasting spices on lamb than about getting deep browning.) Transfer to plate and repeat with remaining 2 lamb shanks.
- Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil, onion, and garlic to now-empty pot and cook until onion just begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Add broth, olives, carrots, thyme, lemon zest, soy sauce, oregano, lamb shanks, and remaining 1½ teaspoons spice mixture and bring to boil.
- Cover pot, transfer to oven, and cook for 1½ hours. Remove pot from oven and flip lamb shanks. Cover pot and return to oven. Continue to cook until meat easily falls off bone when prodded with fork, about 1½ hours longer.
- Transfer lamb shanks to shallow platter, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for 10 minutes. Skim fat from braising liquid with large spoon. Stir cilantro and lemon juice into braising liquid. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon sauce over lamb shanks and serve.
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