Jon Frankel, poet

Reposted with Jon Frankel's permission from his blog The Last Bender

Lamb Shanks

I love to cook and Sunday is the one day of the week I can devote the time and energy to make a good meal without stress. Often on Monday I want to post a recipe for the Sunday meal, since cooking and food are one of my passions, and that’s what this blog is all about, the stuff I love to do that might be of interest to others.

This Sunday we ate lamb shanks with butternut squash, leaks, potatoes and barley. I make lamb shanks a few times a year. They are not terribly expensive, especially compared to veal shanks, and are delicious, with melting fat and tendons and deeply flavoured meat that retains its texture even after a 3 hour braise in the oven.

At the Ithaca farmer’s market there is a wide variety of locally raised, organic meat. Lamb does particularly well up here in our benighted tier of upstate NY. I decided on a whim to get 6 lamb shanks from the McDonald family farm, all they had left. I like to cook extra so we can eat good food with little effort during the week.

Lamb shanks are a tough cut and should be cooked for a long time at a low temperature with liquid. The lower the temperature the more tender the meat, as fat and connective tissue melt rather than toughen at lower temperatures. I cooked them at 325 because we had gone for a long walk and they wouldn’t go into the oven until 3 o’clock. Had I started earlier I would have cooked them at 300 or 275, for an hour or so longer.

Brown the shanks in an iron skillet over high heat. Don’t crowd the skillet. Be sure to season all sides generously with salt and pepper, and be sure the meat is dry. When they are good and brown on all sides transfer to a large roasting pan or Dutch oven. Lower the heat in the skillet and add 4 anchovies. When they dissolve add 2 cups of chopped onions, and 1 cup each of cubed celery and carrots, and 3-4 tablespoons of coarsely chopped garlic. Add a little salt and pepper (remember the anchovies are salty). Sautee over medium heat until soft (not browned) and add one can of whole Italian plum tomatoes, breaking the tomatoes up with your hand. Add ¼ cup fresh sage and a pinch of dried thyme, a bay leaf and half a bottle of red wine. Bring to a boil and pour over the shanks. Add enough water so that the liquid covers 2/3rds of the shanks, and seal with foil. Bake in a 325 oven for 1 hour. Turn the shanks and add diced potatoes and leeks cut into 2 inch pieces. Cover again with foil and bake another hour. Meanwhile make a small pot of barley. I used a cup I think, boiled in 3 cups water with salt until al dente. After the second hour is up remove the foil, add chunks of butternut squash, turn the shanks and add the barley. Stir the barley into the braising liquid, and cook for a 3rd hour uncovered. I served it with steamed green beans and put out rice and pasta for my kids, who wouldn’t eat the barley. Bread would go well with it too. And of course, drink the rest of the wine.