Lamb Shanks Roasted “a la Matignon”

Lamb Shanks Roasted “a la Matignon”

Happy 2014!

Before I proceed, I must first apologize for my extended absence last month. It wasn't planned but I found myself too busy to prepare a presentation-worthy dish. One issue I have been wrestling with over the course of the last few months is one of evolution. I'm still inspired by unusual cooking techniques, but I'm becoming confident in my execution. I've also discovered in this past year that pairing food and achieving balance of flavors has inspired me which takes time to plan my dishes.

I learned of this dish back in September when Chef Thomas Keller prepared it for Williams Sonoma during a live Google+ event. I was fascinated by it because I have never roasted lamb shanks and wanted to see for myself if the meat will break down enough to become tender. Also, the sauce intrigued me because I imagined it was extremely flavorful given the size of the mirepoix.

The Challenge

Successfully execute a cooking method I had never attempted.

The Source

The recipe for this dish can be found on the Williams-Sonoma website.

Ingredients

4 lamb shanks, approximately 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 pounds
Kosher salt
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 cup chicken stock
3 large yellow onions, diced
4 large carrots, diced
2 large leeks, cleaned well and diced
4 large garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed
6 thyme sprigs, 6 parsley stems and 2 bay leaves tied together to form a bouquet garni
1 cup red wine
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon chives, chopped fine
Cooked polenta for serving

Method

1. Finish the mise en place: Preheat the oven to 275° Fahrenheit. Rinse the lamb shanks with cold water, then pat them dry and let them come up to room temperature, approximately 30 minutes.

2. Brown the shanks: Season the shanks with kosher salt. In a large sauté pan, heat 1/2 cup oil over high heat and, once hot, sear the shanks, on all sides and in batches of two until brown. Adjust the heat to prevent burning, if necessary. Once browned, remove the shanks and discard the oil.

3. Sweat the mirepoix and roast the shanks: Return the pan to medium-high heat and deglaze it with chicken stock, loosening any fond from the bottom with a wooden spoon. When the stock has almost evaporated, add the onions, carrots, leeks, garlic, bouquet garni and the remaining tablespoon oil, stirring frequently. Season the vegetables with kosher salt. Once the vegetables have softened but before they have browned, add the red wine and bring to a boil. Add the shanks back into the pan and cover it. Once the fluid starts to simmer, transfer the pan to the oven. Roast the shanks until the lamb is tender and the meat is almost falling off the bone, about 3 hours.

4. Finish the dish: Once the lamb has roasted, remove from the oven and let it rest to allow for any carryover cooking, approximately 30 minutes. Turn the temperature down to its lowest temperature and remove the lamb shanks to a serving platter, cover with aluminum foil, then put in the oven to keep warm. Strain the vegetables into a fat separator, and once separated, pour back into the original sauté pan. Add the red wine vinegar, then bring to a boil. Taste the sauce for desired consistency and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Serve with polenta and garnish with chives.

Successful?

I shouldn't have been surprised but the sauce yielded incredible depth of flavor and balanced the lamb well. Despite my skepticism, the lamb was very tender and cook all the way through. My only criticism? The portion size is a little too big.

Presenting: Braised Lamb Shanks

Braised Lamb Shanks

Last week on a supermarket trip, I picked up some lamb shanks because they were on sale not really considering the weather later in the week. Fast forward to Thursday evening when I remove said shanks from the freezer to defrost overnight in the refrigerator, again not really thinking about the weather. On Friday, the official high here in my city was 88° Fahrenheit but it felt like 100°. Did I really want to heat up my kitchen?

I miss my grill.

I actually prepared this dish for my last website almost two years ago but was disappointed with the picture I published so I wanted to reshoot. It's actually a straight-forward braise: sear the protein, brown the mirepoix, add in your braising fluid and simmer, but heating my oven to 400° for three hours in hot weather is not my idea of fun.

The Challenge

Improve my photography and presentation skills.

The Source

Taken from page 174 to 176 of Cook Like A Rock Star by Anne Burrell with Suzanne Lenzer.

Ingredients

4 lamb shanks
kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion, chopped coarsely
1 carrot, chopped coarsely
1 rib celery, chopped coarsely
1 cup tomato paste
2 cups red wine
2 rosemary sprigs
1 handful thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons fresh mint or flat leaf parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Method

1. Finish your mise en place: Preheat the oven to 400° Fahrenheit. Combine the carrot, onion and celery in a food processor and pulse until it pureéd. Tie the rosemary and thyme together with some kitchen twine to form a herb bundle, then season the lamb shanks with salt and pepper.

2. Sear the lamb: Coat the bottom of a large Dutch oven with olive oil (approximately 1 tablespoon) and place over medium-high heat. Once the oil starts to smoke, add the lamb shanks and brown well on all sides, in batches if necessary. Once browned, remove from the Dutch oven and set aside.

3. Brown the mirepoix: If the Dutch oven is dry, add additional oil. Once hot, place the onion-celery-carrot paste into the Dutch oven and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently until brown, approximately 8 to 10 minutes, scraping any fond from the bottom of the oven along the way. Stir in the tomato paste, stirring continually until it starts to brown, about a minute or two.

4. Deglaze and add braising fluids: Add the wine to the Dutch oven, and bring to a boil, reducing by half and scraping any remaining fond, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Return the lamb shanks to the Dutch oven and add enough water so that three quarters of the shanks are submerged in braising fluid. Taste the fluid and season, if necessary. (Conversely, if all the lamb shanks don't fit evenly in the Dutch oven, put them in a roasting pan, pour the deglazed mirepoix over the shanks, then add additional water.) Toss in the herb bundle and bay leaves, cover (with aluminum foil if using a roasting pan) and place in the oven for two-and-a-half to three hours. Turn the shanks every hour, and if the braising fluid has reduced significantly, add more water.

5. Finish the dish: Uncover during the last 30 minutes so the shanks can brown and the braising fluid can reduce and thicken. Serve over mashed potatoes or polenta and garnish with mint or parsley.

Successful?

Doesn't the lamb shank look like something Fred Flinstone would eat? After looking at some other presentations, I decided not to plate the sauce like I had the last time. (See below.) Mrs. Stuntman devoured her dinner; my 5-year-old daughter surprised me by declaring her meat Yummy! and even Mrs. Stuntman's colleagues thought the dish was prepared well as leftovers the next day.

So here we are at episode 5 of Next Food Network Star. My three groups remain largely unchanged with Nikki, Chad and Stacey in the lead; Chris and Damaris in the middle plus Rodney and Russell being my prediction for the next two to leave the competition. In the Star Salvation contest, I'm not surprised that Lovely has impressed (She did train under Gordon Ramsay, after all), but what's missing from this segment are challenges focusing on camera presence. Chefs that can execute a great dish are a dime a dozen, but not all of them have the communication skills and the charisma to be a public figure.

Lastly, I wanted to give you a hint regarding an upcoming project. You might see a familiar face if you sign up to receive Chef Fabio Viviani's newsletter.