Braised Lamb Shank

Easter is upon us and nothing says Easter like lamb! Although it is more trouble than it is worth to cook for just one person this holiday I decided to go ahead and do something. I couldnt let today go by and just have cereal for dinner. So while out shopping in the meat department at Publix I saw their sale on lamb shanks. What is more Eastery than lamb?? Well perhaps a ham. But that is an Americanized Easter. I tend to believe lamb is more traditional. So lamb shanks it is! Lamb shank is a portion of meat from the shoulder that contains succulent meat as well as tendons and fat. This cut of meat is best when it is braised. Braising just means you are going to cook the meat in liquid to help break down the meat and make it tender.

Since I have all the time in the world why not make one for myself. Give myself a little taste of a proper Easter dinner even if its a dinner for one. And most recipes you find are for at least 4 lamb shanks but I didnt need that much so I took several different recipes and adapted it to work for one. One thing to note here is that the liquid needed to be enough to at least cover the shank half way. So I have way more liquid than I need to keep the meat tender while cooking.

Recipe:
1 lamb shank

1 large shallot, sliced
2 small carrots, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 small sprigs of rosemary
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
1T tomato paste
1/3 bottle red wine
1c veal stock or chicken stock

In a dutch oven heat some olive oil over medium-high heat. Add lamb shank and sear on all sides. remove from pan and add carrots, shallots, and garlic. Saute until soft. Add red wine and deglaze the pan. Add tomato paste and stock and stir together. Add shank, rosemary, bay, and salt and pepper. Reduce heat to very low and cover. This will need to cook for several hours before it is ready to eat. Mine cooked for about 2 1/2 hours. I wanted to make sure it was plenty tender since there wasnt a lot of liquid and only one shank.

Pull out your shank and drain the braising liquid into a pot leaving behind the vegetables. Simmer the liquid until slightly reduced. If you want it thicker than an au jus then make a cornstarch slurry. This means take equal parts cornstarch and liquid and mix together well to thicken your sauces. The slurry keeps you from having clumps of cornstarch in your sauce.

I made polenta to go with my lamb. But potatoes or rice would work fine too. I garnished it with some roughly torn Italian flat leaf parsley.

So dinner turned out to be pretty good. I think it wouldve been better with someone to share it with. But oh well. Life goes on. The polenta was an excellent choice. And if you dont have polenta but want it....use cornmeal! So to all of you who love lamb like I do, this dish is for you! Slow cooked comfort food at its best!