Braised Lamb Shanks
There's nothing arduous about cooking these shanks yet the results – a sticky, melt-in-the-mouth tenderness and deep, rich flavour – are arrestingly good.
- Prep time:
- 15 mins
- Cook time:
- 3 hours
- Serves:
- 4-6
- 2 tbsp flour
-
salt and ground black pepper
-
8 lamb shanks
-
3 tbsp oil
-
4 whole heads garlic, halved crosswise
-
2 tbsp tomato paste
-
1 tsp brown sugar
-
few drops hot pepper sauce
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1½ cups (375ml) full-bodied red wine
-
1 cup port
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2 sprigs rosemary, stalks removed and leaves chopped
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2 cups beef or lamb stock
Preheat oven to 180°C. Place flour in a clean plastic bag with salt and a generous grind of pepper. Add shanks and shake to lightly coat.
Heat oil in a large, heavy-based pan and brown shanks in batches. Transfer to a large baking dish along with garlic halves.
Discard excess fat from pan, add tomato paste and cook a minute or two to let the flavour develop. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a fast simmer. Stir well to lift any pan sediments then pour over meat. Cover and bake for 2 hours (or if serving at once and not reheating, cook for 2½-3 hours or until very tender).
Cool, chill then remove any fat that sits on top. To reheat, bring back to room temperature then cook a further 1 hour at 160°C. Serve shanks with a garlic half and sauce. Accompany with mash and peas and beans.
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