Braised Lamb Shanks With Fresh Rosemary

Leslie in Texas's Note:

A wonderful blend of flavors- perfumes the whole house. Perfect for company, since it can be made the day before. Everyone raves about it! I've doubled and tripled the recipe with success. It's from a 1998 Bon Appetit and Baked Polenta With Garlic that I've posted goes well with this--spoon some of the veggies and sauce over the polenta. Wonderful !!

• Total Time: 3 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 3 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 6 lamb shanks (I have also used leg of lamb, ask the butcher to cut it in 1 1/2 in. slices or use a cut-up boneless)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch thick rounds
• 10 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (750 ml) bottle dry red wine (Sangiovese is good)
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can low sodium chicken broth
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can beef broth
• 5 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

Directions:

1. Sprinkle lamb with salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil in heavy, large pot over medium-high heat.
3. Working in batches, add lamb to pot and cook until brown on all sides, about 8 minutes.
4. Transfer to bowl.
5. Remove all but about 2 tablespoons of oil from pan.
6. Add onions, carrots, and garlic to pot and sauté till golden, about 10 minute.
7. Stir in all remaining ingredients.
8. Return lamb to pot, pressing down to submerge.
9. Bring liquid to boil, reduce heat to medium low, and cover.
10. Simmer until meat is tender, about 2 hours.
11. Uncover pot; simmer till meat is very tender, about 30 minutes.
12. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill until cold, cover, and keep chilled. Rewarm over medium heat before continuing.) Transfer lamb to platter; tent with foil.
13. Boil juices in pot till thickened, about 15 minutes.
14. Season with salt and pepper and spoon over lamb.

Reviews

[Epi Curious]

This is restaurant quality...just incredible. I'll admit I had never cooked lamb shanks before, only chops, etc. and this was out of this world. Have made this several times now, always to rave reviews. Braising is such a great cooking method and yields very tender, flavorful results. Lamb lovers out there...you've got to try this one! :-)

[Is it tasty?]

Excellent recipe! I made this as directed, except for a longer cooking time while waiting for our company to arrive. The meat was tasty and was so soft it fell off the bone. I suspect the choice of wine would have an impact on the taste of this dish, even with the quantity of broth used. Haven't yet tried this with anything but Shiraz.