Joe said:Hi,
When I worked in Manhattan we frequently had lunch in Irish
bars such as Blarney Stone, Blarney Rock, etc. They serves
an assortment of dishes from steam tables and were good,
ample and inexpensive. I remember one dish, lamb shanks in
gravy that I particulary liked. I've tried to make lamb
shanks using recipes in cookbooks recently, by braising the
shanks in beef broth. I brown the shanks, rolled in flour,
with some onions, then braise them for about 1 1/2 hours.
I've tried using the braising liquid to make a sauce but
for the life of me I can't get that great flavor the Irish
bars achieved.
Does anyone know how they do it.
Thanks in advance, Joe
Joe, I didn't see any mention of vegetables, herbs and
spices, or wine; all of which will help.
Roughly speaking:
Take 3-4 shanks, cut slits in the wide end and insert
slivers of garlic and sprigs of fresh rosemary. Cut into the
fat side a couple of times with a paring knife and insert
more garlic and rosemary.
Put the shanks in a ziplock bag with 1/4 cup of olive oil
and 3/4 cup of dry red wine. Refrigerate overnight.
Take the shanks out of the refrigerator and allow to come to
near room temp. In a heavy pan, (I use a large Le Cruset)
brown the shanks thoroughly, (all sides and end) in EVOO.
Toward the end of browning, I put in a couple of medium
onions quartered to let them slightly caramelize.
Add vegetables such as carrots, more onions, leeks, potatoes
(small red ones, halved) and turnips (diced). Add the
marinade and about another cup of red wine plus enough
chicken stock to bring the liquid up to 1/2 way on the
shanks. Simmer covered until the meat is loose on the bone.
If you like fruit flavors with lamb (I do) add some dried
cherries or pitted prunes to the braise.
When done, remove the lamb and vegetables to a serving
platter. If the braising liquid is sufficiently reduced,
season it and serve with the rest. Otherwise, rapidly boil
it down and THEN season (salt, pepper) it and serve.
