Red Wine Braised Lamb Shanks - Another One Pot Wonder

Lamb shanks may look challenging to make, but they are actually easier than apple pie (especially for me since I don't bake often). The 3 points of performance when cooking lamb shanks are the following:

1. Season well, the seasoning is foundation for the dish.

2. Sear all over. 

3. Cook low & slow (it's a muscular part and takes awhile for the connective tissue to breakdown).  

Ingredients

- 1 shank person (I usually make extra for leftovers)

- 1 yellow onion, roughly chopped

- 10 garlic cloves

- 1 sweet potato, roughly chopped

- 1 jalapeño, chopped

- 1 leek, roughly chopped

- 5 carrots

- 5 celery stalks

- 3 cups red wine

- Seasoning: salt, peper, cumin, curry powder, paprika, turmeric

- Coconut, ghee, or lard (fat) for searing the shanks and sautéing the veggies

Red Wine Reduction Veggie Puree

- 2 to 3 cups braised veggies & drippings

- 8 oz coconut milk, canned

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees

2. Completely season the shanks.

3. In a dutch oven (or cast iron skillet if you are using crock pot instead of the oven) heat fat over high and place shanks in pot.

4. Sear all sides and reserve the seasoned oil. 

5. Turn off heat and let cool. 

6. In the meantime, roughly cut up veggies.

7. Over medium heat sweat onions and garlic for about 5 minutes, until translucent.

8. Add the rest of the veggies in batches starting with the jalapeño, sweet potatoes, leeks, carrots, and celery. Add more fat if needed.

9. Add red wine and whisk in all the brown bits at the bottom of the pan.

10. Place lamb shanks back into the pot and add water until about halfway covered. 

11. Bring to a boil.

12. Place the lid on and put in the oven.

13. Cook in the oven at 275 for 3 hours. Since I wasn't home, I just left it in the oven until I got home which was about 6 hours. If you don't have that much time to cook and let simmer for dinner you can cook it at a higher temperature for shorter time (325 degrees for 3-4 hours or 375 for 2-3 hours).

14. Cooking the lamb shanks low and slow will result in liquid evaporation and meat shrinkage, another thing to keep in mind when determining how much to cook per person. 

15. To make the Red Wine Reduction Veggie Puree, add the braised veggies and drippings to the food processor and puree.

16. Slowly pour in the coconut milk and puree until silky smooth.

17. Serve on top of a bed of mixed greens and top with braised veggies and the Red Wine Reduction Veggie Puree.

Try this recipe out the next time you have a dinner party or just cooking for two...don't be afraid to cook enough to have leftovers... 

I used my leftover the next day in a cast iron skillet hash with a few fried eggs on top...