10 Hour Braised Lamb Recipes

BRAISED LAMB WITH RED WINE AND PRUNES

Steps:

• Cut lamb into 2-inch cubes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and brown in a large skillet over medium-high heat; remove.
• Add onion, garlic, prunes, ginger, cinnamon, salt and pepper; cook until fragrant. Add wine, stock or water and browned lamb. When the liquid boils, lower heat to a simmer, cover and cook until tender, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. Garnish: Parsley.

BRAISED LAMB

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275F.
• Rub both sides of lamb shoulder chops with 1 to 2 garlic cloves, as needed. Rub with chopped herbs and season with salt and pepper. Dust both sides of chops with flour. In a large (10-inch) cast iron skillet, heat oil over high heat. When nearly smoking, add 2 lamb chops and sear, 4 minutes each side, until well-browned. Remove and repeat with remaining chops. Discard fat that has accumulated in pan.
• In skillet layer onions, half of tomato slices and lamb chops. Top with remaining tomato slices and pour wine and 1/2 cup water over. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add remaining 4 garlic cloves, bay leaves, thyme sprigs and parsley stems. Cover pan loosely with aluminum foil and roast for 3 hours.
• Cover top with potato slices, pushing them into liquid so they are completely submerged. Cover pan, return to oven and cook 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Using a large spoon, remove excess liquid and any fat from stew to a small saucepan. Bring liquid to a boil over high heat and boil rapidly until thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Before serving, broil lamb under a preheated broiler, 5 minutes or until potatoes are well-browned. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with sauce.

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a large, deep Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Season the lamb shanks with salt and pepper and cook, in batches if necessary, turning with tongs, until well browned, about 10 minutes each batch. Remove the lamb shanks with tongs to a plate and set aside.
• Stir the onions, carrots, rosemary, bay leaves, and garlic into the dutch oven and cook, stirring, until the onions are very soft, about 5 minutes. Add 2 1/2 cups of the wine and deglaze the pan. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning.
• Return the lamb shanks to the pot and braise the mixture, tightly covered, in the oven for 1 hour. Uncover and braise for 2 more hours, turning the shanks every 30 minutes. Stir in the turnips and the remaining 1/2 cup of the wine, and continue to braise, in the oven for 30 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• While the lamb shanks are braising, make the gremolata: chop together the rosemary, orange zest, and garlic. Place each lamb shank on a serving plate, top with the vegetables, sprinkle with gremolata and serve immediately.

BALSAMIC-BRAISED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Cut the leg of lamb into 4 even pieces.
• Heat 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil in an 8-quart stovetop pressure cooker over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the lamb pieces and bones all over with salt and pepper. Working in batches (to not overcrowd the pot), sear the meat and bones in the hot oil until well browned on all sides. Remove from the pot and set aside. Pour off excess oil from the pot and then add the garlic, fennel, jalapenos, onions and red bell peppers. Sweat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomato paste; cook for 2 minutes. Deglaze with the beef stock and balsamic vinegar. Add the seared lamb and bones back the pot, close the pressure cooker and cook on low heat until fork tender, 45 minutes.
• Remove the lamb from the braising liquid and pull into large chunks. Remove the bones from the pot, and discard. Strain the braising liquid and then add it back to the pot. Cook over medium heat until the liquid is reduced by half. Turn off the heat, add the lamb back to the pot and spoon the reduced liquid over the top to glaze. Keep warm until ready to serve.

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Coat a large Dutch oven generously with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Season the shanks generously with salt and add them to the pan. Brown well on all sides. This is an incredibly important step; do not rush it.
• Meanwhile, puree the onions, carrots, celery and garlic in a food processor until it becomes a coarse paste. Remove and set aside.
• Remove the shanks from the pan to a sheet tray. Discard the excess fat from the pan. Add a little more oil to coat the bottom of the pan and add the pureed veggies. Season with salt, to taste. Saute the veggies until they are very brown and aromatic, about 20 minutes. The brown veggies should form a sort of crust on the bottom of the pan, do not let this burn; it is where a lot of the flavor is! Don't rush this step either, since this is where you will develop the brown color and flavor.
• Add the tomato paste and brown for 5 minutes. Stir in the wine, chopped rosemary and thyme bundle. Stir frequently and cook until the wine has reduced by about half.
• Add the shanks back to the pot and pour in 3 to 4 cups of water. The shanks should be submersed, if they are not, add more water. Add the bay leaves to the pan, cover and put in the preheated oven. The cooking time will be about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Turn the shanks over about halfway through the cooking time. Check the shanks every 45 minutes or so. If the liquid has reduced too much add more water. Defat as you go.
• Remove the lid during the last 30 minutes of cooking time for maximum browning. When the shanks are done the meat should be incredibly tender and flavorful. Transfer to serving plates and garnish with Gremolata. Serve with Hard Polenta Cakes, if desired,
• Call yourself a superstar!!!
• In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and set aside until ready to use.

BRAISED LAMB WITH HONEY AND ALMONDS

Steps:

• Put oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until quite soft, about 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and raise heat to medium-high. Add lamb chunks and adjust heat so pieces brown rapidly without burning. Season meat with salt and pepper as it browns.
• Turn off heat and wait for pan to cool a bit; pour off excess fat. Turn heat back to medium and add honey; cook, stirring, until honey has thinned and coated lamb. Stir in garlic, then add spices, reserved onions and the stock. Cover and simmer until meat is tender, an hour or more.
• Meanwhile, put almonds in a skillet, in one layer. Cook over medium heat, shaking skillet, until lightly browned and fragrant.
• Taste meat mixture and adjust seasoning as necessary. Stir in almonds and serve, sprinkled with a few drops of lemon juice and garnished with the parsley

FOUR & THIRTY BRAISED LAMB

Steps:

• Using a sharp knife, trim the skin and as much fat as possible from the lamb. Smear lightly with olive oil and season. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a very large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Brown the lamb thoroughly on all sides, turning it with a big pair of tongs, then put it in a large, but fairly snug-fitting, casserole (a 4.8 litre/8 pint oval one is ideal). Reserve the pan.
• Slit lengthways through the first two layers of the leek, remove leaves and wash them. Put the bay leaf, thyme and celery inside one leaf and wrap with the other, to enclose the contents. Tie this 'faggot' with kitchen string and set aside. Rinse the rest of the leek and slice finely.
• Put the reserved frying pan over a low-medium heat and melt the butter. Tip in the onion, carrot and sliced leek and cook gently for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the vegetables have softened. Add them to the casserole, draining off any fat first. Reserve the pan.
• Preheat the oven to 150C/Gas 2/fan oven 130C. Break the garlic into cloves and place in a heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water and leave for 1 minute, then drain, run under cold water and peel: the best way is to place a clove on a chopping board, nick off the root end and, without lifting the blade, pull the clove away. This removes the first bit of skin and the rest should come away easily. Set the cloves aside.
• Discard any fat from the frying pan and put it over a very high heat. Pour in the wine, scrape up any bits from the bottom and boil furiously for 5 minutes. Pour the wine and stock into the casserole. Add the garlic cloves and leek faggot, making sure they are immersed - the lamb should be at least half-covered. Do not add salt.
• Cover the casserole and put it into the oven. Braise for 4 hours, reducing the temperature to 140C/Gas 1/fan oven 120C for the last 2 hours and turning the lamb every hour. Remove the lamb, put it on a heated dish, drape loosely with foil and keep warm for up to 30 minutes.
• Strain 1 litre/13⁄4 pints of the cooking juices into a pan and bring to the boil over a very high heat. Bubble madly for 8-10 minutes until the liquid has reduced by half. Meanwhile, tip the vegetable debris (but not the faggot) into a food processor and whizz to a smooth purée. Whisk this into the reduced liquid to make the sauce. Check the seasoning, then keep the sauce at a bare simmer until you are ready to serve.

VEGETABLE STOCK FOR 10-HOUR BRAISED LAMB

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place onions, leeks, celery, parsnips, turnips, garlic, and mushrooms in a large roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Transfer to oven and roast, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are lightly browned, about 45 minutes.
• Transfer vegetables to a large stockpot. Add 2 cups water to roasting pan and scrape up browned bits from bottom of pan; pour into stockpot. Add 10 cups water to stockpot, along with parsley, thyme, bay leaf, peppercorns, wine, and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low. Partially cover pot and gently simmer stock until vegetables are very soft, 30 to 45 minutes.
• Strain stock through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl; discard solids. Stir vinegar into stock and use immediately or cool to room temperature and transfer to an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months.

10-HOUR BRAISED LAMB

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
• Place carrots, onion, and celery in an even layer in a roasting pan. Season lamb with 2 teaspoons salt and pepper. Set lamb on top of vegetables. Transfer to oven and cook for 6 hours.
• After about 5 1/2 hours of cooking, place Pinot Noir in a medium saucepan and simmer over medium-high heat until reduced to 1 1/2 cups.
• Remove roasting pan from oven and add wine to pan, along with stock and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover roasting pan with parchment paper-lined foil and return to oven. Continue cooking until meat is almost falling off the bone, about 4 hours more.
• Remove lamb from braising liquid and use a fork to scrape meat away from bones. Divide meat among 4 plates and serve immediately.