Ok. I’ve been wanting to make this recipe for weeks, and was just waiting for the right night. Well, it was last night, and the meal was worth waiting for. This was my first time cooking lamb shanks but I figured that they should work a lot like veal shanks for Osso Buco. These were about 2″ thick and I bought them at Costco fairly recently.
I’ve said before that I like to experiment in the kitchen. Sometimes it works and sometimes I get a surprise. This recipe worked and on these cool evenings we still have until spring really hits, it was great. It’s a very simple but flavorful meal of braised lamb shanks that really benefits from the long cooking time. My daughter even said, “this is my favorite kind of steak!” So, without further tantalizing of the taste buds and imagination, I present you with Lamb Shanks in Red Wine.
Lamb Shanks in Red Wine with Leeks
Ingredients:
6 lamb shanks
1 cup flour
salt, pepper, herbes de Provence
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 leeks
1 8-ounce package of Baby Bella mushrooms (cleaned, stems removed, and cut into quarters)
2 leeks, white and light green part only, sliced diagonally in 3″ pieces
2 cups beef broth
1 cup full-bodied red wine
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
What’s Next:
Place flour on a plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add herbes de Provence and mix together.
Place shanks in flour and coat on both sides.
Heat oil in dutch oven. When hot, brown shanks on both sides. You may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your pan and your shanks.
When browned, place in slow cooker.
Next, add mushrooms and leeks to dutch oven. Sprinkle with a little more salt, pepper, and herbes de Provence. Saute in pan drippings for about 5 minutes, until vegetables just start to get browned. Do not overcook.
Place vegetables on top of meat.
Pour in beef broth and red wine.
Top with sprigs of fresh rosemary.
Cover and cook on high for 5-6 hours.
Notes from my experience:
This was a really easy recipe, even if it did involve cooking the meat first.
If you don’t have leeks, you can use a regular onion; I was cleaning out my refrigerator and needed to use my leeks.
A few years ago I had read in Cook’s Illustrated magazine that the better quality red wine you use in cooking, the better flavor you will have. I have also found that drinking that same wine with the meal really brings the flavors together. The wine I used for this was a Malbec from Argentina that I picked up at Costco, and I am quite sure it was under $10, because everything I get there is. It was great with this meal both in cooking and accompanying the dish.
