Professional Chef's Best Braised Lamb Shanks Recipe!

lamb shanks are tough and easy I mean the meat itself is incredibly tough but it's really easy to tenderize it so here's everything you need to surround the lamb shanks with gently simmering aromatic liquid and really tasty root vegetables braising is a moist heat method which means your best and only chance to add seared brown flavor is now before the moisture and this really is a key step it adds so much depth of flavor to the final dish when you take the time to first brown the lamb shanks lamb shakes are tough because they work hard all day long holding up the animal that's also why they taste so good because in nature the more muscle works the better it tastes I love braising it's my favorite thing to do in the kitchen and I think it's because of the transformation transforming tough food in the tender meat transforming inexpensive cuts of meat into delicious cuisine and now that these are brown you can get rid of the oil it's done its job you can transform this into a one pot meal with a thick layer of root vegetables parsnips or carrots turnips baby potatoes even shallots which are actually a type of onion and they're a great choice because they're so easy to leave whole and that's the key for all the root vegetables great big chunks that can withstand the time and temperature appraising each one of these vegetables adds distinctive flavor to the pot some more than others though the shallots and garlic are pretty strong the rest they're just sweet and mellow perfect for raising and now the number one reason this is my favorite dish I mean anytime you pour a full bottle of red wine into something you just know it's going to taste good and here's how to pour the entire bottle in five seconds flat maybe six but I'm a little slow today and now you really get to play with your choice of aromatic herbs start with bay leaves lots of neutral aromatic flavor here and for the rest stick to strongly flavored herbs things like thyme or tarragon sage oregano or rosemary which goes really well with juniper although juniper is not an herb they both grow on evergreen plants so somehow the flavors work really well together the shanks don't need to be fully submerged to braise but the liquid does need to be simmering and you do need to cover the works to keep all that moist heat inside and now you're about two two-and-a-half hours away from a nice tender dinner and just a few minutes away from a condiment to go with this this is purely optional but I really like pesto with lamb shanks the optional part is making a standard basil pesto and then tossing in prunes and I know that sounds wacky but you gotta try this it's delicious as much fresh basil as you can get your hands on pine nuts because they puree so well a half cup and grated Parmesan cheese real parmesan though not that stuff in the can it just doesn't have the same flavor also a half cup olive oil helps everything puree smoothly just a quarter cup or so and just a couple of prunes we'll take this right over the top let me say a couple more like eight or ten and because prunes are so sweet splash it a little bit of vinegar red wine just to balance that sweetness just a little bit this really is delicious it's awesome I love the flavor of lamb though no matter how you cook it but there's a depth of flavor here that you only get from braising it's falling off the bone tender but there's a certain silky mouthfeel to it as well and that's why I love braising lamb shanks so much [Music] you

Channel: ALL YOU CAN EAT

Views: 38,964

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Keywords: chef michael smith, in the kitchen with, learn to cook, lamb shanks, braising meat, main dish, entree, braising (culinary technique), how to braise lamb, shank (ingredient), chef michael smith chef at home, braising meat 101, homemade food, stick to your ribs, how to braise lamb chops in oven, home cooked meal, heritage meats, best lamb shank recipe

Id: NFemYtcKO-4

Length: 4min 29sec (269 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 25 2018