Braised Lamb Shanks

[caleb]

Last month I had the world's greatest lamb shanks at a pub in London's west end.



Now I need to either learn to cook it or get a punch card for flights from Minneapolis to London. The two main issues with recreation are:

1) Locating quality lamb in Minnesota. Does anyone happen to know if there's a decent source in Minneapolis, or if I should just buy a whole lamb direct from a farm?

2) The braising sauce was clutch, but I don't really know what was in it. Any suggestions for a good lamb braising sauce?

[robin3mj]

veal/chicken/lamb stock. carrots, onions celery, wine, salt/pepper, splash of worcester/balsamic, bay leaves. make the rest up as you go along
go see your local butcher at 2pm on a Tuesday and talk to him. tell him what you like, etc.
even Whole Foods has good lamb, and they can order cuts for you that they don't regularly put under the glass

[Too Tall]

I'm going to guess that is a pretty straight up pan sauce using a brown roux and stock (see robin3mjs comment). Roux is equal fat and flour cooked together. Brown roux is a roux that is cooked slowy until nut colored. Use cake flour in the Roux that gives the glossy surface.
After you deglaze the pan with wine, add butter and the Roux...can't miss.
FWIIW those spuds are very special. Never seen that exact variety here.

[maunahaole]

Those look really good, but I'm sure that they are repeatable. Listen to TT on making a roux. It is a one of those fundamentals that adds bonus value in lots of dishes and TT really should start his own thread if he wants to talk about that stuff. That said, I have never made one.... My new fave lamb chops are wrapped in bacon and deep fried for 3 minutes at 350. Next up is the right sauce for that.

[rydesteel]

Yumm, Check with CPG he's got a connection in the restaurant trade to set you right in the meat dept.

Cooking time is key too short=tough and too long=falling apart at the seams/mush.

I like braising meats it brings out old school flavors ie Grandma's house that are missing in many of today's kitchens.

Good luck with this don't forget to post some pictures.

[summilux]

TT is right about the roux. Other things to make the braising "restaurant quality":

-It's important that you brown the shanks before you braise them. Brown them in oil, but before you add the meat, throw in a generous tablespoon of butter. It'll bubble, when the bubbling ceases put the shanks in. Don't crowd. An alternative to butter is to add some bacon fat to the oil.
-Put demi-glace in the sauce. There's really no substitute for this. It's PRO. Like white bar tape.
Demi-glace: Take 3lbs of chicken bones and toss them with 2 tablespoons of floor and about half a can of tomato paste. Bake in a 325 degree oven for about an hour, turning so that the bones brown evenly but don't burn. Then add a chopped onion, one chopped carrot and two chopped celery stalks. Back in the oven for one hour or so till the vegetables caramelize but do not burn. Time by the smell. It should smell GOOD. Then everything goes into a stock pot, cover with water and add a bay leaf, some parsley and some dried thyme. Let it simmer overnight. Strain, cool and skim the fat. Now, reduce one bottle of decent red wine on high heat by at least a half. Add your strained stock and let it boil away on high heat till you get a thickish liquid. If you taste the liquid now, what you are tasting is unami, a flavor that will add wow to your sauces and stews. That's demi-glace. I freeze mine in ice cube trays. You'll probably get 2-3 trays of demi glace from this. Add 1-2 cubes to your roux.