I love a good leg of lamb, rib chops or rack of lamb; but they are an occasional indulgence. Fortunately there are less expensive cuts that are also wonderful when slow cooked. Last week I saw a lamb shank on clearance because it was nearing its sell by date, so I grabbed it. I also bought a lamb shoulder chop. Both of these cuts require longer cooking to make them tender, which is fine for me because it means the oven or slow cooker will do all the work for me.
A Suggestion
I have heard a lot of people say that they don’t care for lamb because it tastes gamy. If that’s true of you, but you’re willing to give it another try, here’s a tip recommended by my friend Steve: After removing the excess fat and connective tissue, rinse it and rub some salt all over it. Let it sit for a few minutes so that some of the moisture is drawn out of the meat. Then put it in a tub of clean water for a few minutes to rinse. Repeat this process a few times until the rinse water is no longer pink. This is an age old method that many people say improves the taste of lamb.
Preparation
I prefer to keep things as simple as possible, so after removing most of the fat with a sharp knife, I merely did a quick sear of the shank on the stovetop. (You can skip this step if you want. It adds more flavor, but it’s not absolutely necessary.) After removing it from the roasting pan and adding some oil, I threw in half an onion, a carrot and a stalk of celery; all diced. After cooking those for a few minutes, I poured half a bottle of dry red wine in (nothing fancy) and about a couple cups of chicken broth because I had neglected to defrost my lamb stock. Beef broth would have been good too. I sprinkled some thyme and oregano in there, let it come to a boil and then returned the shank to the pot and covered it, putting it into my preheated oven. After about an hour or so, I put the shoulder chop in there too. Let it all cook together for another hour and dinner was served.
Mixing Things Up
Why did I combine the two cuts? My husband, Michael, has an aversion to blobs of fat and the last time I served lamb shank, he accidentally got a bite of fat. Oops! That was very unpleasant (for both of us) and I didn’t want to repeat the experience…Ahem….so I imagined he would be happier with the shoulder chop this time. When I took it out of the oven, however, I decided that I wanted to have some of the shoulder chop too, so I sliced all the meat down and mixed it together, being very careful to cut off any remaining fat! It was nice having the different textures together. The chop is more steak-like and the shank has a more buttery mouthfeel. Michael enjoyed the shank much better this time. What’s not to love about something so tender it falls off the bone? Slow cooked lamb is wonderful.
Accompaniments
I plated the meal above with farro, (an ancient grain of the wheat variety) and kale. I would have loved polenta too, but I didn’t have any cornmeal. Any grain or starch that you like would work fine, as long as you have something to pair with all that effortless, tasty gravy and vegetables. You could use whatever herbs and spices you like, add tomatoes or beer instead of wine (something acidic helps tenderize a tougher piece of meat) and change up the flavor profile altogether. And please remember to boil the bones afterward and save the stock for zero waste cooking later!
Please read No Boring Leftovers for another idea on reinventing them.
