Salt Baked Lamb Shanks Recipes

SALT-BAKED LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• First, make the salt-crust dough. Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Add the egg whites and 400ml water, and stir together with a wooden spoon to form a firm dough - add a little more water if needed. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 mins or until smooth. Wrap in cling film and set aside to rest for 1 hr. (You can also make the dough in a freestanding mixer with a dough hook attachment).
• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3 and line a baking tray with parchment. Divide the dough into 4 even-sized pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll each into a circle almost 1cm thick. Place a lamb shank in the centre of each disc of dough and tuck 2 garlic cloves underneath. Brush the edge of the dough with a little water, then gather it up and around the lamb shank, leaving the bone exposed. Make sure all the meat is covered and the pastry is well sealed. Transfer to the lined tray. Can be assembled 1 day ahead and chilled. Put the lamb in the oven and bake for 3 hrs 30 mins, by which time the crust will have turned a dark brown.
• Once the lamb is cooked, leave it to rest for 30 mins. Using a bread knife, open the crust and very carefully remove the shanks and the softened garlic cloves, then discard the crust. Place the shanks on a baking tray and drizzle with a little oil. Blowtorch the lamb (see tip) to give it a crisp, toasty finish. Serve the lamb with the garlic cloves, Soused red cabbage and Beer-braised Puy lentils (see Goes well with for the recipes).

SCHREINER'S BAKED LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Place the lamb shanks in an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and reduce heat to 350°. Add broth to the pan. Combine onion, rosemary, garlic powder and mustard; sprinkle over lamb. Cover tightly and bake for 2-1/2 to 3 hours or until very tender. If desired, make gravy from pan drippings. Serve lamb with gravy and mint jelly if desired.

SALT-CRUSTED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F, or preheat a wood-fired oven.
• Cover the firewood with water and soak for 15 minutes. Remove and add to a large roasting pan.
• Sprinkle the lamb with salt and pepper. Add enough kosher salt to a large bowl to cover both legs of lamb during roasting. Add the chile flakes, oregano, rosemary, thyme and egg whites. Mix until the mixture looks like wet sand.
• Cover the logs with a layer of herb salt. Place the legs side by side on top of the salt, then cover the lamb completely with more herb salt.
• Roast until the lamb reaches an internal temperature of 120 degrees F, about 1 hour.
• Let rest for 15 to 20 minutes before removing the "salt cap." Slice and serve.

ROASTED LAMB SHANKS WITH LEMON AND HERBS

Steps:

• Make the lamb a day in advance: Make several incisions in the shanks with a paring knife and slide a slice of garlic into each slit. Place the shanks in a large baking dish, drizzle with the lemon juice, turning to coat, and season with salt and pepper on all sides. Mix the parsley, thyme and marjoram in a small bowl, then rub the herbs over the lamb. Cover and set aside at room temperature for 1 hour. After 30 minutes, place a Dutch oven or covered ovenproof pot in the oven and preheat to 500 degrees for at least 30 minutes.
• Transfer the shanks to a plate and drizzle with the melted butter; reserve the marinade. Carefully remove the preheated pot from the oven. Working quickly, add the shanks, making sure at least one side of each touches the hot pot. Return the pot to the oven, uncovered, and place the lid on another oven rack to keep it hot. Roast the shanks for 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring the reserved marinade and 1/2 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Pour the hot marinade over the shanks, then place a large sheet of heavy-duty foil over the pot and cover with the hot lid. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and roast 45 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 200 degrees and cook 30 more minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the lamb inside, undisturbed, to finish cooking, 20 minutes.
• Remove the lamb from the cooking liquid and place in a shallow baking dish. Refrigerate the meat and the sauce separately overnight.
• When ready to serve, position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Drizzle the shallots with olive oil in a small baking dish and season with salt and pepper. Cover the lamb loosely with foil. Bake the lamb and shallots for 25 to 30 minutes, uncovering the lamb and brushing lightly with melted butter after 15 minutes. Meanwhile, discard the fat from the chilled sauce and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Drizzle the finished lamb and shallots with the sauce and garnish with parsley.

SLOW ROASTED HERB AND GARLIC LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 170C (150C fan forced).
• Arrange rosemary across base of a large roasting pan and sprinkle with half the oregano, turn and sprinkle with remaining oregano.
• Arrange shanks in a single layer, in pan and add garlic and season with salt and pepper.
• Pour white wine (or sherry) and stock into pan and cover pan with foil and bake for 1 hour and then remove from oven and turn shanks and re-cover and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes or until tender.
• Remove shanks from pan and skim fat from pan juices and serve pan juices drizzled over the shanks.

BAKED LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Put the oil in a baking dish, add the lamb shanks, turn to coat evenly and bake 30 minutes, turning once.
• Combine the onions with the allspice, nutmeg, salt and pepper, mix well, and spoon the mixture on top of the lamb shanks. Combine the tomatoes with the oregano and spoon on top of the onion mixture. Carefully pour the water around the shanks.
• Turn the oven to 400 degrees and bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until meat is tender, basting occasionally. If the dish begins to dry out, add more hot water. Add chickpeas to the juices 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time. Mix everything gently and spoon some sauce over each shank when serving.

HEAVENLY LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• Heat the olive oil in a heavy, metal roasting pan on the stove over medium-high heat. Toss shanks with flour to coat well; then shake off excess. Sear the shanks in hot oil until well browned on all sides, then remove from pan and set aside.
• Add the leek, celery, carrot, onion, and garlic to the roasting pan. Cook until softened and lightly browned, stirring constantly; about 5 minutes. Season with the bay leaf, peppercorns, thyme and rosemary sprigs. Pour in the red wine and chicken stock, increase heat to high, and bring to a simmer. Season to taste with sea salt, and place the lamb shanks on top of the vegetables.
• Cover the roasting pan tightly with heavy aluminum foil, and place into the preheated oven. Bake gently until the meat is tender and falls off of the bone, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Remove the bay leaf and herb stems before serving shanks with vegetables and sauce.

BAKED BABY LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Select baking dish large enough to hold shanks in single layer. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Heat oil in large skillet. Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds and cook over medium heat until seeds begin to dance in oil. Add as many shanks as will fit comfortably in skillet and lightly brown on all sides. Transfer shanks to baking dish as they are browned.
• Saute carrot and onion in skillet over medium heat until tender. Add garlic and ginger and continue to saute a few minutes longer. Add tomatoes and wine, bring to simmer, stirring, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour mixture over lamb shanks in baking dish. There should be about inch of sauce in dish.
• Place baking dish in oven and bake uncovered for about 1 hour 20 minutes, turning and basting every 15 minutes. If sauce in baking dish begins to reduce too much, add a little water or more wine.
• Just before serving sprinkle with parsley.

CHEF JOHN'S BRAISED LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Generously season lamb shanks with salt and black pepper.
• Heat vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Place lamb shanks in the Dutch oven, cook, turning, until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer shanks to a plate. Drain off remaining oil and fat so only 1 tablespoon remains in the Dutch oven.
• Stir onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt into the Dutch oven; decrease heat to medium-low and cook, stirring, until onions are softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, chipotle chile powder, ancho chile powder, and ground cinnamon; stir to combine.
• Pour 1 cup chicken broth over onion mixture. Increase heat to high; when liquid boils, place lamb shanks in Dutch oven. Cover and cook in the preheated oven for 90 minutes.
• Remove Dutch oven and stir in jalapeno pepper, red bell pepper and 1/2 cup chicken stock; bring to a boil on the stovetop. Return pan to the oven and cook, uncovered, until lamb shanks are fork tender, about 20 minutes. Transfer lamb to plate.
• Place Dutch oven on the stovetop over high heat; bring liquid to a boil and cook, skimming off any foam, until liquid is reduced and thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in cilantro; season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon sauce over lamb shanks and serve.

SLOW ROASTED LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.
• Rub the shanks with salt and pepper, then place them meaty-side up in a roasting pan.
• Roast for 25 minutes, or until nicely browned.
• Remove from oven.
• Reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees.
• Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat.
• Add the vegetables and garlic and saute, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes, or until the vegetables soften, then caramelize.
• Stir in the thyme, rosemary, fennel and coriander seeds, the peppercorns, bay leaf and parsley.
• Increase the heat to high, add the wine and deglaze the pan, scraping up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
• Boil until the liquid has reduced by one third.
• Pour over the lamb, spreading the vegetables over, but not completely covering, the shanks.
• Add enough of the water, chicken broth or lamb stock to almost cover the meat.
• Cover the pan with aluminum foil and roast for 7 hours, basting with the pan juices every hour or so, and adding liquid as needed.
• Remove the foil during the last 30 minutes of cooking.
• At this point, the lamb should be fork-tender and falling off the bone.
• Remove the shanks from the pan and let cool to room temperature.
• Strain the braising liquid, pushing on the vegetables to get all of their goodness and skim off the fat. Best to refrigerate overnight and skim off the solidified fat.
• When ready to serve, slowly reheat the shanks in the braising liquid.
• To serve, roast your favorite root vegetables and spoon onto serving plates, center a lamb shank on each plate and spoon a little of the braising liquid over the top.
• Garnish with parsley, if desired.