I had these grand plans for the winter. I told myself that, despite the frigid temperatures or maybe to spite them, I would be out there in the elements grilling. Yeah! I can do anything with my enormous winter coat, mittens, scarf, and insulated snow boots.

And then I got schooled by Mother Nature.

I did think about clearing a path in the snow straight from the back door to the grill, but then my back started to ache from the idea of any activity more strenuous than slicing veggies or whisking batter.

To curb my grilling addiction I’ve been doing quite a bit of braising. This is the first braising recipe I’ve ever tried and I found it in a French cookbook. I tweaked it over the years – meaning I discarded the ingredients I couldn’t find in the Midwest or felt did not significantly change the flavor if left out.

Again, with all braising recipes, the outcome is going to be decadent. I highly recommend braising if you ever want to impress folks or just as an ego boost for yourself. You don’t need any knife skills, I never use a measuring cup, and the oven does all the work. It’s a win for all!

Let’s get started.

Ingredients

• 4 Lamb Shanks
• Salt – to taste
• ground Black Pepper – to taste
• 1/2 cup Canola Oil
• 2 Celery Stalks (rough chop)
• 2 Carrots (rough chop)
• 2 medium Onions (quartered)
• 1/2 cup Tomato Paste
• 2 cups Red Wine (Cabernet or Bordeaux)
• 1 cup White Wine (Reisling)
• 6 sprigs Fresh Thyme
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 2 tsp whole Black Peppercorn
• 6 Anchovy filet (chopped)
• 1 whole head of Garlic (cut in half)
• 2 cups Chicken Stock

What to do

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Season Lamb with Salt & ground Black Pepper.

 

Heat Oil on high, in a large oven proof pot. Sear the lambs until brown. 3-5 min per side. Set aside. As you can see I could only work in batches of two. That’s okay, we just want them to form a good crust.

 

Lower the heat to medium. Add Celery, Carrots, and Onions. When the onions have turned golden, add the Tomato paste. Stir for 3 min.

 

Pour in the Red & White wines. Use this time to deglaze the pot. Add the Thyme, Bay Leaves, Peppercorns, Anchovies, and Garlic. Bring to a boil. Cook for 5 min to burn off some alcohol.

Add Chicken Stock & Lamb Shanks. Make sure that the majority of each shank is submerged. Cover and put in the oven for 2 hrs. If space is an issue then you can turn the shanks every 40 min or so, but please be careful: the oven is hot and there will be a lot of built up steam under the lid. (After 2 hrs, I turned the oven off with the pot inside and left it alone for another 45 min because no one was home for dinner yet.)

Check the done-ness of the lamb. It should be melting in your mouth. If not, cover and put back in the oven for another 30 min.

I love how the meat pulls away from the bone.

Remove the shanks. Strain the braising liquid into a saucepan and skim off any of the fat. Bring to a simmer until it thickens. I use this nifty fat separator that’s a measuring cup with a stopper on the spout, the fat stays on top and you can easily pour the liquid out from the bottom. If you’re a frequent braiser, like me, it is definitely worth the $15.

Serve shanks with the sauce on the side.

For the observant reader: I did make this for Valentine’s Day.