Slow Cooker_ The Best Cookbook Ever - Diane Phillips [110]
drain the marinade, and roll the meat into a compact cylinder, tying the meat at 1-inch intervals with kitchen string or silicone loops, and put the lamb in insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Add the wine. Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours, until the meat is tender. Remove the meat from the slow cooker, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a saucepan and remove any fat from the surface. Boil until the sauce is reduced by half. Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding the parsley to the sauce.
cut the meat into ½-inch-thick slices and serve with the sauce on the side.
serves 8
Shanks
Perfect for long braises, lamb shanks make delicious stews because the bones contribute flavor and the meat falls into the rich sauce. Lamb shoulder can be substituted for the shanks in any of these recipes; you will need ten to twelve ounces boneless shoulder to replace each lamb shank.
Lamb Shanks Braised Osso Bucco–Style
Lamb shanks are some of the best eating in the world, but most people walk right by them at the butchers. The meat becomes fall-apart tender after a long braise in the slow cooker. The shank bones flavor the sauce when cooked in the same style as osso bucco, with tomato, vegetables, wine, garlic, and citrus zest to brighten the stew. Serve the lamb shanks with pappardelle or other wide flat noodles to soak up the sauce.
6 meaty lamb shanks (about 1 pound each), fat trimmed
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 medium carrots, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
Grated zest of 2 lemons
Grated zest of 1 orange
2/3 cup full-bodied red wine
One 18-ounce can tomato purée
1 cup beef broth
½ cup chicken broth
½ cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
sprinkle the lamb shanks evenly with the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add as many lamb shanks as will fit in a single layer and brown on all sides. Transfer the browned shanks to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Brown any remaining shanks and transfer them to slow-cooker insert.
add the onion, carrots, garlic, and citrus zests to the same skillet and sauté until the onion begins to soften. Add the wine and heat, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
transfer the contents of the skillet to the slow-cooker insert. Stir in the tomato purée and both broths. Cover and cook for 6 hours on low. Remove the shanks from the cooker and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. Pour the sauce into a saucepan and boil for 10 to 15 minutes, until the sauce has reduced a bit. Add the parsley to the sauce.
mix the butter and flour until smooth in a small bowl and whisk, a bit at a time, into the sauce, bringing it back to a boil after each addition. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
return the sauce and the shanks to the slow cooker and keep warm until ready to serve.
serves 6
Lamb Shanks Braised in Ale
Lamb shanks take on a sweet flavor when braised in Guinness with carrots, parsnips, and onions. The resulting stew is a terrific dish to serve on a cold winter’s night with plenty of mashed potatoes to soak up the hearty sauce.
½ cup all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 meaty lamb shanks, fat trimmed (lamb shanks range in size from 12 to 16 ounces, depending on the size of the bone)
¼ cup olive oil
3 large onions, cut into half rounds
One 12-ounce bottle Guinness or other dark ale
4 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch lengths
4 medium parsnips, cut into 1-inch lengths
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ cup beef broth
mix the flour, salt,