Greek Style Lamb Shanks Food

GREEK-STYLE LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• In a 8-quart Dutch oven, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat, Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt on lamb shanks. Cook lamb shanks, 2 at a time, until browned on all sides. Remove shanks to a bowl as they brown.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In drippings in Dutch oven, cook onions and carrots until tender and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, cook 2 minutes.
• Return lamb shanks to Dutch oven. Add tomatoes with their juice, chicken broth, and 3/4 teaspoon salt; heat to boiling over high heat. Cover Dutch oven and bake 1 1/2 hours. Turn lamb shanks over; add potatoes and green beans. Cover and bake 1 1/4 hours longer or until lamb and potatoes are tender.
• Meanwhile, from lemons, grate 1 tablespoon peel and squeeze 2 tablespoons juice.
• When lamb shanks are done, skim fat from sauce. Stir in lemon peel, lemon juice, dill, and parsley.

LAMB KLEFTIKO RECIPE (GREEK LAMB COOKED IN PARCHMENT PAPER)

Steps:

• To prepare this Greek lamb kleftiko recipe, start by washing thoroughly the lamb and cut into portions (approx. 5*6 cm). Place in a large bowl or basin and set aside.
• Prepare the vegetables for the lamb kleftiko. Cut the onions in half and then in four wedges. Cut the peppers in 2-3 cm chunks and slice 2 cloves of garlic. Add the vegetables in the bowl with the lamb and pour in the olive oil, white wine and lemon juice. Add the mustard, 2 whole cloves of garlic, sprinkle with oregano and season with salt and pepper. Use your hands to blend all the ingredients together. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, chill and let marinade for at least 2 hours. It's best to leave the meat for the lamb kleftiko marinade overnight, to soak up all the wonderful flavours.
• Once the meat for the lamb kleftiko is marinated, return the lamb at room temperature. In the same bowl add the cheese (cut into 2cm cubes) and blend. Preheat the oven to 180C.
• To prepare the potatoes for this lamb kleftiko recipe, peel the potatoes and cut in four pieces. (The lamb kleftiko will require about 2 1/2 hours baking, so it's best to cut the potatoes in large pieces, to keep their shape.)
• Now it's time to wrap the lamb kleftiko in parchment paper. Lay 4 long pieces of parchment paper to form a star. Pop the potatoes in the centre of the parchment paper and season with salt and a pinch of oregano. Pour the marinade from the lamb over the potatoes and set the lamb and vegetables on top of the potatoes. Layer with the sliced tomato and enclose the lamb kleftiko into a pouch. To enclose the lamb kleftiko hold the parchment paper from the edges, crosswise and grab with your hand in the middle, just above the stuffing and squeeze. Use the kitchen string to tie tightly the whole thing together, just above the stuffing and lift into a roasting tin.
• Roast the lamb kleftiko in the oven for about 1 hour 45 minutes until tender. Remove the tin from the oven and increase the temperature to 220C. Unwrap the lamb kleftiko and scrunch the parchment paper under the rim of the tin. Baste the lamb with the juices and return in the oven for a further 20 mins until browned. Remove the pieces of lamb from the pouch and wrap them in some foil to rest. Toss the potatoes and return in the oven for about 20 minutes, until nicely coloured.
• Return the lamb pieces in the roasting tin and serve the lamb kleftiko as it is. Enjoy!

GREEK LAMB OR VENISON SHANK

Steps:

• In a large Dutch oven or other heavy, lidded pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Salt the shanks, then brown them well on all sides except the one with the bone; this helps the shanks hold together better. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
• When the shanks are nicely browned, remove them to a bowl. Add the carrots, onion and celery and sauté until slightly browned, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic cloves and cook another minute, stirring often. If you are cooking lamb shanks, leave the vegetables in. If you are cooking deer or other wild game shanks, remove the vegetables.
• Add the tomato paste, wine, thyme and oregano to the pot. Mix well, and once it thickens, add a cup of water and mix well. Add the venison shanks back in now, along with any juice that has accumulated in the bowl. Cover with more water by just a little, bring to a simmer and add salt to taste. Cover the pot and let this cook in the oven for 90 minutes.
• At this point, lamb shanks will be done. Deer shanks will still need some time, but you can add back the vegetables now. Keep cooking until the meat wants to fall off the bone, anywhere from another 30 minutes to another 2 hours. It's wild game, so you never know...
• When the meat is tender, remove it gently to an ovenproof pan, along with all the vegetables. Turn off the oven and set this pan in the oven to keep warm. Set the pot on a strong burner and boil down the braising liquid. This will take roughly 20 to 30 minutes, so now is a good moment to make rice or mashed potatoes.
• When the sauce has reduced and thickened a bit, turn off the heat. When it stops, bubbling, add the cold butter a tablespoon at a time, swirling until it disappears. Use this as your sauce for the shanks and vegetables. Top it all with fresh herbs and black pepper.

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS WITH LEMON

Steps:

• Put oil in a large, deep skillet or casserole that can be covered later, and turn heat to medium-high. Add shanks, sprinkling them with salt and pepper. When pieces are deeply browned on one side, add thyme, garlic, onion, half the celery and half the carrots, and more salt and pepper to skillet. Continue to brown, stirring occasionally.
• Add wine, and let mixture bubble for about a minute; cover and adjust heat so that mixture simmers steadily. Cook for about an hour.
• Add remaining vegetables to pan; zest lemon, and add zest as well. Continue to cook until lamb is very tender and vegetables soft, another 30 to 45 minutes. (You can prepare dish up to this point in advance; let sit for a few hours, or cover and refrigerate for up to a day before reheating and proceeding.)
• When lamb is done, juice lemon, and add juice to sauce. Taste, adjust seasoning, and serve, garnished with parsley.

ROASTED LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 °F, 230 °C.
• Spread the garlic cloves on the bottom of the roasting pan to create a bed for the lamb shanks.
• Place the lamb shanks on top of the garlic. Drizzle some olive oil over them. Season with salt and black pepper on both sides.
• Combine all of the dry spices together and mix. Sprinkle both sides of the lamb shanks with the spices.
• Place in the preheated oven uncovered for 30-35 minutes until the lamb gets a nice brownish color.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 350 °F, 180 °C.
• Remove the lamb from the oven.
• Mix the olive oil with the lemon juice and oregano. Pour over the lamb with a cup of water. Place a piece of parchment paper over the lamb and aluminum foil on top of that to seal.
• Roast for 2 and 1/2 hours or until the meat is very soft and falling off the bone.
• Serve with Mediterranean Rice Pilaf, Roasted potatoes, or your favorite sides. Enjoy!

SLOW BRAISED LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 160ºC/320ºF.
• Season the lamb shanks generously with salt and pepper. Brown the lamb shanks in a large, deep oven-proof pot/pan until well-browned on both sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.
• In the same pan, fry the onion, carrot, celery and garlic until soft and fragrant. Add the herbs and tomato paste and cook for 30 seconds before adding the red wine and stock. Allow to come to a simmer then add the lamb shanks back into the sauce.
• Cover with a lid and place in the oven. Allow to braise slowly for 2-3 hours until the lamb is soft and succulent. Check on the lamb shanks half-way through cooking and add more stock if necessary.
• Remove from the oven and serve.

KLEFTIKO-STYLE LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Put the lamb shanks in a large bowl with the garlic, rosemary, thyme, dried oregano, cinnamon, bay leaves, lemon juice (drop in the juiced halves as well), and olive oil. Season well, then toss everything together. If you have time, chill overnight.
• Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/ gas 5. Tip the potatoes and peppers into a large roasting tin, then pour over the wine. Remove the lamb from the marinade and set aside, then pour the leftover marinade over the veg. Toss to combine, then arrange the lamb on top of the veg. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 2 hrs 30 mins. Remove the lamb from the tin, turn all the veg over, then turn the lamb over and return to the tin on top of the veg. Drizzle over a little more oil, if the tin seems dry. Bake for 30 mins more, uncovered, until the lamb is falling off the bone and the potatoes are golden around the edges. Leave to rest for 5 mins, then scatter over the feta and fresh oregano, if using.

GARLIC LOVERS' GREEK LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Trim most visible fat from shanks.
• Cut slits 1/2" wide and deep all over shanks, as many as possible.
• Stuff garlic cloves into slits, lengthening or deepening them as needed.
• Drizzle or rub extra virgin olive oil over shanks, trying to get the oil into the slits with the garlic.
• (Recipe may be made in advance to this point. Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day) Put shanks in a broiler-safe pan (I use a low rack in a pyrex dish) and broil on both sides until meat sizzles and browns, about 6- 7 minutes per side.
• Remove shanks from oven, and turn it down to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Pour red wine over shanks, and distribute 1 T each mint and oregano over both sides of each shank.
• Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
• Cover pan with aluminum foil, return to oven, and bake for approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hours, basting every 40 minutes or so.
• When done, you can pour drippings into small pan and boil until slightly thickened while lamb rests, to serve alongside.

GREEK LAMB STEW

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Season the lamb with salt and pepper, add to the pot, and cook until deeply browned, about 5 minutes on each side. Stir in the onions and garlic, and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes.
• Pour the wine into the pot, and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, lamb stock, lemon zest and juice, oregano, cinnamon, and bay leaf. Bring back to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the lamb is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Stir in the green beans and cook until they are tender, about 20 additional minutes.
• Remove the bay leaf and any bones from the stew. Garnish stew with chopped fresh parsley.

GREEK-STYLE BRAISED LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Heat oil in large ovenproof pot (wide enough to hold lamb in single layer) over medium-high heat. Sprinkle lamb on all sides with salt and pepper. Add lamb to pot and sauté until brown, turning occasionally, about 10 minutes. Transfer lamb to plate. Add next 10 ingredients to pot. Sauté until vegetables brown, about 20 minutes. Mix in tomato paste. Add wine and all broth; boil until liquid is reduced by half, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Return lamb to pot, arranging in single layer; add any accumulated juices. Bring to boil.
• Place lamb in oven and cook uncovered until tender, basting and turning occasionally, about 2 hours. Transfer lamb to plate. Skim any fat from top of roasting liquid. Press all liquid and enough of vegetables through sieve set over large bowl to make sauce with gravy consistency. Return gravy to pot; add lamb. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated.) Rewarm lamb over low heat. Transfer to platter and serve.