Slow-cooked Melting Lamb Shanks
Ingredients
4 tbsp of olive oil
8 lamb shanks
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 heaped tbsp of dark brown soft sugar
4 tbsp of red wine vinegar
110 g of raisins
1 litre of chicken stock
200 ml of light ale
400 g of chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp of rosemary leaves, roughly chopped, plus a few sprigs to garnish
4 bay leaves
1 pinch of salt, to season
1 pinch of ground black pepper, to season
6 medium red onions, peeled, halved and sliced
8 servings — 1 lamb shank each
Calories~750 kcal
Protein~54 g
Carbs~33 g
Fat~41 g
Fiber~4 g
Sugar~21 g
Total recipe
Calories~6,000 kcal
Protein~430 g
Carbs~260 g
Fat~330 g
Fiber~30 g
Sugar~170 g
Method
Step 1
Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a moderately high heat, add the lamb shanks and fry in batches for 8-10 minutes, turning so all sides are browned. Transfer to a large saucepan.
Step 2
Add the onions and garlic to the residual fat in the pan and gently cook over a lowish heat for about 15 minutes or until softened, stirring often. Add the sugar, vinegar, raisins and some salt and pepper and simmer for 5 minutes, then add to the pan of meat.
Step 3
Add the stock, ale, tomatoes, rosemary, bay leaves and a generous amount of seasoning to the meat, bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover with a lid and gently cook for 3 hours, poking the lamb shanks down to ensure they are covered with all the liquid.
Step 4
Using a slotted spoon, lift the lamb out onto a plate and keep warm under foil. Boil the liquid down to reduce to about 2 litres, making a slightly thickened sauce, for about 25-30 minutes, skimming off any fat and discarding the bay leaves.
Step 5
Add the lamb back into the pan to reheat for about 5 minutes then arrange on a warm serving plate, spoon over the sauce, scatter with the rosemary to garnish and serve.
