Summer Lamb Shank Braise: A Reason to Not Shit All Over San Francisco Summers
As much as I may complain about cold San Francisco summers there is something to be said about a place that allows you to braise in August with the best of summer's bounty. Lamb shanks cooked low and slow with super ripe San Marzano tomatoes and perfect globe eggplants is something you just don't get to experience in the winter and in most places the idea of having your oven on for three hours in the dog days of summer is out of the question. While I still prefer the dry heat with a relieving breeze of an Oregon summer it's not all bad here in the Bay. Warming braises in the fog followed by a trip across any bridge out of San Francisco where real summer is hiding gives us the option to pick and choose how hot we want our summer to be, knowing there's always a cool home we can head back to.
Now that we've finally made it to the San Francisco summer (blue skies and sun for us the past few days!), this recipe might be more appealing to those people who SWEAR that fall is in the air...I'm looking at you, East Coast. Use the last burst of summer's harvest to make yourself a really great braise and revel in the awesomeness of summer produce while looking forward to the amazing autumn. This is your one chance to enjoy a summer braise so go for it!
Lamb Shanks Braised in Summer's Finest
2 large lamb shanks
2 C chicken stock
1 C dry white wine
1 onion sliced thin
3 cloves smashed garlic
1/2 small head of fennel diced
1/2 Lb San Marzano tomatoes (or other good cooking tomatoes) roughly chopped
1 whole globe eggplant peeled, diced and salted
1 Lb fresh shelling beans such as cranberry beans
pinch of chili flakes
Mint to garnish
Salt your lamb shanks up to a day in advance and then pull them out of the fridge 30 minutes before you're going to cook them. After you pull your shanks from the fridge, peel and cut up your eggplant, place the pieces in a colander, salt them generously and place the colander in a bowl to collect the juices.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Add a little olive oil to a pot with a lid that fits both shanks and brown evenly on all sides over medium/high heat. Set aside. Add onions and garlic to the same pan and sweat until just soft. Once your onions are soft add fennel with a pinch of salt and sweat until just soft. Add the eggplant with another pinch of salt. Pour in your wine and cook until the wine has evaporated. Once the wine has evaporated, add tomatoes with 1/2 a tablespoon of chili flakes and continue to cook until the tomatoes have broken down a little, probably about 5 minutes.
Add shanks back to the pot, nestling them in among the vegetables and pour chicken stock over to just barely cover. You may not need the entire two cups. Bring everything to a boil before removing the pot from the heat.
Cover the pot tightly with tin foil, place the lid on and put in the oven. Now be prepared to wait about three hours.
While your lamb is cooking, shell your cranberry beans and cook them in a separate pot. Cover the beans with water, add a little salt and then bring them to a boil before lowering it to a simmer. Cook until the beans are just soft, usually about 30 minutes.
After about two hours check on the lamb. The meat should be pulling back from the bone, but may not pull off easily with a fork. Add your cooked cranberry beans and place back in the oven, checking every 30 minutes.
Once the meat pulls from the bone easily with a fork, remove the lamb shanks and place the pot with the braising liquid on a burner. Turn to medium heat and let reduce to thicken and make an awesome sauce.
Once shanks are cool enough to handle, pull the meat from the bone, taking care to set aside ligaments and fat. Add the meat back into the pot once your braising liquids have reduced to your desired consistency.
I made polenta and served my braise over it but pasta or rice would be great too.
Finally, garnish your dish with a little fresh mint and maybe some soft goat cheese if you have it and feel lucky that you get to enjoy such a wonderful dinner with such wonderful ingredients.
