Savory Lamb Shanks On Buttered Egg Noodles Food

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400˚F.
• Season the lamb generously with salt. Coat a large sauté pan with olive oil and bring to medium-high heat. Add the lamb to the pan and brown well on all sides; this may take up to 20 minutes. This is an incredibly important step-it's where all the big brown flavors start to develop-DON'T rush it.
• While the lamb is browning, put the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic in a food processor and purée to a coarse paste; reserve.
• When the lamb shanks are very brown on all sides, remove them from the pan and transfer to a roasting pan. Ditch the fat, add a bit of fresh olive oil to the sauté pan, and add the puréed veggies. Season generously with salt, and cook until the veggies are very brown and a crud has formed on the bottom of the pan, 8 to 10 minutes. Scrape the crud and let it reform. Don't rush this step.
• Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently, until it starts to brown, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add the wine, bring it to a boil (BTB), and stir frequently to scrape the crud from the bottom of the pan (this is the big-money flavor). Continue cooking until reduced by half, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add 3 to 4 cups water to the pan and stir to loosen the mixture. Taste to make sure it's delicious and reseason if needed. It will by no means be done, but it should taste good. Pour this over the shanks in the roasting pan. The liquid should come two-thirds of the way up the shanks; if it doesn't add more water. Toss in the rosemary, bay leaves, and thyme bundle, cover with aluminum foil, and cook in the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Check the shanks every 45 minutes, turn them, and if the liquid has reduced significantly, add more water. When the meat is done, it will be very tender but not falling off the bone.
• Remove the foil for the last 30 minutes of cooking time for maximum browning and to allow the liquid to reduce and thicken up. Serve with lots of sauce.
• BROWNING AND BRAISING: Because Brown Food Tastes Good!
• When I was in culinary school, I didn't get braising; it seemed like a pain in the neck. I had to go through so many steps to get started and I just didn't think it was worth the trouble. Now that I get it, it's my favorite cooking technique by far. Trust me: Braising is the technique that will showcase your skill as a cook! It doesn't matter what you're braising-if you follow my method you will make a beautiful, brown braise every time.
• First, season generously and brown your protein well-whether it's a shank or a short rib, take your time. This is where the first big brown flavors develop and it takes patience-so don't rush it. What's important at this point is what's happening in your pan, not on the clock.
• Once your meat is nice and brown, remove it, ditch the fat, add a splash of fresh olive oil to the pan, add your puréed veggies, and season again. These vegetables are what we call soffritto and they're the base of almost all braised dishes. Like the meat, you want to brown the crap out of the soffritto. Cook it until you see a crud start to form on the bottom of the pan, then scrape off the crud and let it form again. This is where we take things to the edge of disaster and yank them back. Food is the most flavorful one step before disaster!
• After the soffritto is nice and brown, add your wine and tomato paste. Let the wine reduce by half, toss the protein back in the pan, and add enough water to cover it by about two-thirds-it should be nice and soupy. Then toss in a thyme bundle and bay leaves, bring it to a boil (BTB), reduce it to a simmer (RTS), and cook until things are nice and tender, usually a couple of hours.
• Properly braised food should be very tender but still maintain its integrity and shape-it should NOT be falling off the bone. So check your braise along the way, and if the liquid level gets low, add a bit more water until the meat is perfectly tender and the sauce is super-flavorful. Follow this basic braising technique and your brown food will taste great . . . every time!

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS WITH GARLIC AND ROSEMARY

Steps:

• In a small bowl mix the red wine, mustard, salt, and pepper and place in the insert of the slow cooker. Layer the shanks in the insert so they fit. Scatter the remaining ingredients around and on the shanks. Cover and cook on HIGH for 6 hours. Use tongs to reverse the position of the shanks, top to bottom. Reduce the setting to LOW and cook for an additional 6 hours.
• Use a slotted spoon to transfer the shanks to a serving platter. Skim the fat from the cooking juices, taste, and add salt and pepper, if needed. Pour the juices over the shanks, and serve.
• Note:
• For a less assertive garlic taste, use elephant garlic.

HEAVENLY LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• Heat the olive oil in a heavy, metal roasting pan on the stove over medium-high heat. Toss shanks with flour to coat well; then shake off excess. Sear the shanks in hot oil until well browned on all sides, then remove from pan and set aside.
• Add the leek, celery, carrot, onion, and garlic to the roasting pan. Cook until softened and lightly browned, stirring constantly; about 5 minutes. Season with the bay leaf, peppercorns, thyme and rosemary sprigs. Pour in the red wine and chicken stock, increase heat to high, and bring to a simmer. Season to taste with sea salt, and place the lamb shanks on top of the vegetables.
• Cover the roasting pan tightly with heavy aluminum foil, and place into the preheated oven. Bake gently until the meat is tender and falls off of the bone, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Remove the bay leaf and herb stems before serving shanks with vegetables and sauce.

SAMEH WADI'S LAMB SHANKS WITH POMEGRANATE AND SAFFRON

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Season lamb shanks with salt.
• In a large ovenproof pot with a lid, heat a thin film of oil. Working in batches to avoid crowding, and adjusting the heat to prevent scorching, brown the lamb shanks thoroughly over medium-high heat, about 3 minutes per side. Set aside on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Add onion, garlic and ginger to the hot pan, sprinkle with salt and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions start to become translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add the ras el hanout, saffron, ginger and pepper; cook for 1 minute, stirring continuously, until the spices smell fragrant. Add 1 cup stock and bring to a boil. Cook until syrupy, about 3 minutes, using a wooden spatula to scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
• Return the lamb and any drippings from the baking sheet to the pot. Add the remaining stock and the pomegranate juice. Bring to a boil, then cover and bake for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until the lamb is very tender. Remove from the oven and place on top of the stove.
• Transfer the lamb shanks to a baking sheet and cover with foil. Let the cooking liquid cool for 15 minutes, then skim off and discard the fat that has risen to the surface. Simmer the liquid until reduced to a sauce, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes.
• Season to taste with salt, then add the vinegar and pomegranate molasses a few teaspoons at a time, until the sauce is balanced to your liking between sweet and sour. Return the shanks to the sauce and bring to a simmer, spooning the sauce over the shanks until the meat is hot and richly glazed.
• To serve, place the lamb shanks on a platter or individual plates, and sprinkle with the pomegranate seeds, cilantro, pistachios and salt.

CHIPOTLE BRAISED LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Season the lamb shanks with salt and pepper. In a large, heavy braising pan, heat the oil over high heat. Sear the shanks until browned on each side, 2 minutes per side. Decrease the heat to low. Add all remaining ingredients except tortillas and garnish to the pan, cover, and simmer over low heat until the meat starts to fall off the bones, about 4 hours.
• Remove from the heat. Strain the braising liquid and return the strained liquid to the pan. Cook over low heat until thickened and saucelike, about 30 minutes. Shred the meat by hand and return to the pan. Serve immediately or keep warm in the pan until ready to serve.
• To serve, lay the tortillas side by side, open face and overlapping on a platter. Divide the filling equally between the tortillas and top with garnish and salsa. Grab, fold, and eat right away. Or build your own taco: lay a tortilla, open face, in one hand. Spoon on some filling, top with garnish and salsa, fold, and eat right away.