This month, LYNN BAIN urges readers not to overlook the humble but delicious lamb shanks.
Lamb shanks (and/or goat shanks) were once an overlooked meal. Most likely this was due to the need to cook them for longer in order to get the best results.
This overlooked status was particularly so before slow cookers found their way into nearly every suburban kitchen.
For a while, before slow cookers, it seemed that ‘wet roasting’ was a forgotten art form. Wet roasting, also known as slow roasting, involves cooking ‘tougher’, flavoursome joints of meat, often with the bone in, in a fluid bath at a low temperature for a long time.
Yes, this is pretty much the same as using a slow cooker. Alas, a slow cooker is typically of a size that requires the joint of meat to be downsized.
In the case of long-legged lamb shanks, this typically means that the shanks need to be ‘Frenched’ and one end of the bone needs to be sawn off with a meat saw.
Alternatively, you can leave all the meat on the bone and keep the full length of the bone intact, then slow cook your lamb shanks in the oven. The oven, due to its greater width, is ideal for these longer pieces of meat.
Handy hint one: You can use any type of tinned bean that you like in this recipe.
Handy hint two: You could substitute either water or chicken stock for the red wine.
Before you begin, preheat your oven to 160°C.
OVEN-ROASTED LAMB SHANKS
INGREDIENTS
2 lamb shanks
1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
½ tbsp freshly ground salt
3 cloves garlic, crushed (or 1 tsp garlic paste)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 onion, cut into half and then sliced
1 cup red wine
2 x 400g tins beans (of your choice), drained
2 x 400g tins tomatoes, undrained
Step 1: Mix the salt and pepper together and then rub them on to the surfaces of each lamb shank.
Step 2: In an ovenproof baking dish, put the garlic, oregano, sliced onion, red wine, drained beans and undrained tomatoes.
Step 3: Stir the contents of the baking dish thoroughly to combine.
Step 4: Place the seasoned lamb shanks on top of the tomato/bean mixture in the baking dish.
Step 5: Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminium foil.
Step 5: Put the baking dish into the preheated oven for about three hours, or until the lamb is falling-off-the-bone tender.
Step 6: Serve the roasted lamb shanks on top of the delicious tomato/bean mixture.