Braised Lamb Shanks

Wipe shanks with a clean damp cloth; heat oil in large saucepan; brown shanks in hot oil; remove shanks. Add vegetables and sauté for 5 minutes. Add shanks; add garlic powder, salt, pepper, rosemary and bay leaf. Combine bouillon cube and boiling water; add to meat and vegetable mixture. Stir in tomato sauce. Cover tightly and simmer for about 2 hours or until shanks are tender - stir occasionally. Remove bay leaf. Combine flour and water; stir into mixture and cook until thickened.

Yield: 6 servings

Barbecued Lamb Shanks

Use shanks frozen or thawed. Combine remaining ingredients for marinade and place shanks in mixture. Turn and spoon mixture over shanks for 2 minutes. Marinate 4 hours at room temperature or overnight in refrigerator. Turn occasionally for even flavouring. Arrange shanks on a rack 5 inches from heat; grill approximately 45 minutes, turning every 15 minutes and basting frequently with marinade.

Yield: 6 servings

Sweet And Sour Lamb Shanks

Use shanks frozen or thawed. Combine remaining ingredients for marinade and place shanks in mixture. Turn and spoon mixture over shanks for 2 minutes. Marinate 4 hours at room temperature or overnight in refrigerator. Turn occasionally for even flavouring. Arrange shanks on a rack 5 inches from heat; grill approximately 45 minutes, turning every 15 minutes and basting frequently with marinade.

Yield: 6 servings

Braised Shanks With Barley Broth

Ingredients:

• 4 New Zealand Lamb shanks
• 50ml olive oil
• 1 large red onion, peeled and sliced
• 1 head of fennel, trim the ends off, cut in half lengthways, then slice
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds, toasted
• 50g pinenuts, toasted
• 8 medium flat mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup barley
• 2 bayleaves
• 800ml meat stock
• 80ml soy sauce (or 1 teaspoon salt)
• 200g pasta (I used one called Troffi)
• A handful of fresh parsley

Method:
Place the barley in a small pan, cover with 3cm of water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 20 minutes, then drain the barley.

Place a heavy-based pot with a tight fitting lid on the stove, one that holds the shanks comfortably. Add a few tablespoons of the oil and brown the lamb shanks all over.

Remove from the pan, then add the remaining oil and sauté the onion and fennel until lightly coloured. Add the fennel seeds, pinenuts and mushrooms and mix well, then stir in the barley, bayleaves, soy sauce and stock.

Bring to the boil, then return the shanks to the pot. The shanks need to be covered with liquid, if not, add enough boiling water to barely cover. Put the lid on, bring to a very gentle simmer and cook for 90 minutes.

Cook the pasta until al dente in a large pan of salted, boiling water. Taste and adjust the broth for seasoning, remove the lamb and one cup of the broth and keep it warm.

To Serve:
Serve the barley broth as a first course in soup bowls. Then for a main course toss the freshly cooked pasta with the reserved broth and the parsley. Place it in pasta bowls laying a shank on top.

Braised New Zealand Lamb Shanks With Parsnip Puree & Pear/Raisin Chutney

Preperation Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 3 hours
Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 6 New Zealand Lamb shanks
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 pound (450 g) onions (roughly chopped)
• 12 ounces (330 g) carrots (roughly chopped)
• 6 ounces (170 g) celery (roughly chopped)
• 2 ounces (50 g) garlic (roughly chopped)
• 1/2 ounces (14 g) fresh rosemary (roughly chopped)
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 cup port
• 1 cup red wine
• 2 cups lamb stock or demi glaze
• 3 cups of water

Pear & Raisin Chutney:
Use a brunoise cut, which is a very small dice, to prepare the Pear & Raisin Chutney ingredients.

• 12 ounces (340 g) onions (brunoise)
• 9 ounces celery (255 g) (brunoise)
• 9 ounces apples (255 g) (brunoise)
• 9 ounces pears (225 g) (brunoise)
• 7 ounces (200 g) raisins
• 9 ounces (225 g) butter
• 14 ounces (400 g) sugar
• 12 fluid ounces (360 ml) white wine
• 3˝ fluid ounces (105 ml) sherry vinegar

Parsnip Puree:

• 1 3/4 pounds (790 g) parsnips
• 2 cups (1 pint) of heavy cream
• Salt and white pepper

Lamb Demi Glaze:

• 12 pound (5 kg) lamb bones
• 2 pound 3 ounces (1 kg) onions (roughly chopped)
• 1 pound 5 ounces carrots (590 g) (roughly chopped)
• 2 ounces (50 g) garlic (roughly chopped)
• 6 bay leaves
• 1 cup (8 fluid ounces) canola oil
• 4 ounces (110 g) tomato paste
• 1 ounce (25 g) brown sugar
• 2 cups port
• 3 cups of red wine
• 2 1/2 gallons (10 quarts) water

Method:

Lamb Shanks:
(The lamb shanks can be braised a few days ahead of time)
Season shanks with salt and fresh black pepper, then sear in a hot saucepan. Place in a braising dish. Mix vegetables and herbs and spread evenly over the shanks. Add port, red wine, stock and water. Cover and braise in an oven at 300°F (150°C) for about 3 hours. Skim fat off liquid and serve.

Pear & Raisin Chutney
Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan and cook over low heat for up to 3 hours until they turn a deep caramel color.

Parsnip Puree:
Peel parsnips and chop into 2 inch (50 mm) diced cubes. Place in a saucepan, cover with salted water and bring to the boil. Cook until soft, about 1/2 hour. Strain water off and add the cream. Place on low heat and reduce the cream by half. In a blender, puree until silky smooth (you may need a little more cream to reach the desired consistency). Season with salt and fresh white pepper.

Lamb Demi Glaze:
Spread lamb bones evenly in a large roasting pan and place in hot oven. Cook for up to 1 1/2 hours until golden brown all over. Heat oil in large pot until very hot, then add all the chopped vegetables plus bay leaves. Caramelize the vegetables at high heat until uniform in color. Add the tomato paste, brown sugar, port and red wine. Mix together and cook for a few more minutes. Finally add the lamb bones and cover with the 10 qrts of cold water.

Bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Reduce lamb stock by half, then strain off bones and vegetables. Place strained stock back on heat and reduce down until dark and silky smooth. Add and steep different herbs and spices depending on your desired flavour.

To Serve:
Re-heat shanks in saved braising liquid in a pot on stove or covered braising dish in the oven. While shanks are heating, re-heat parsnip puree and demi glaze. To serve, place equal amounts of parsnip puree in the center of each plate. Place a lamb shank on top of puree with a little chutney on top. Pour sauce on plate to garnish.