North African lamb shanks

[moikel]

Winter in the Southern states & everybody wants lamb shanks.Butchers sell out they are on menus from high end joints to greasy spoons. 

I usually do them sort of Italian in sauce but decided to do a "magreb"(french word for all things North African)version.It will probably have a dried fruit component.Spices will be ,cumin,coriander,fenugreek,fennel,cardamon,garlic,ginger. Dried orange peel.

Still coming together in my head,will ease off the chilli,had a bad reaction to a screaming hot curry goat dish I ate in a local restaurant .Me not the dish just a bit to hot.

 

[moikel]

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• moikel
• Jun 15, 2013

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• moikel
• Jun 15, 2013

Browned shanks in EVO ,removed them.Fried chopped onion til soft ,added chopped garlic,chopped ginger about thumb size. I had ground fennel,cumin,coriander,fenugreek, black pepper. More or less equal amounts .Gave it about 2 tabs,sprinkle of paprika,put shanks back in ,bit of dried orange peel. Stick of cinnamon.Then enough stock to cover I had home made veal stock so thats what I used,chicken would be fine.

Oven on low for couple of hours.

 

[foamheart]

Still coming together in my head,will ease off the chilli,had a bad reaction to a screaming hot curry goat dish I ate in a local restaurant .Me not the dish just a bit to hot.

SHOUT!! "Come on Ice Cream"!!!!

You definately should get a North african taste there. Does sound good.

 

[moikel]

Just got to decide if I put dried figs later or not. I will serve it with plain rice & fennel salad. Very aromatic style of cooking,works well with those cheaper cuts ,shanks,necks,shin. Nice change up from the European & Asian stuff I do.

 

[foamheart]

What about dates instead of figs? Both are going to be really sweet.

 

[moikel]

A lot of that cookery uses dried fruit,figs,apricots,dates,prunes. Matter of personal taste. Other dishes would substitute okra ,chickpeas or fennel. Preserved lemon to counterbalance the sweetness.

I am leaning towards leaving it out just giving it a bump with some preserved lemon & cilantro at the end.

Its still very nose to tail because you can cook those extremities forever  in this style,lamb neck is another under rated cut,cross cut. 

I have a 2 kg packet of Alpaca neck in the freezer,those buggers have long necks

. Might try that next time.

 

[daveomak]

Morning Mick.....  Shanks have so much flavor..... I like 'em.... 

 

[moikel]

Morning Mick.....  Shanks have so much flavor..... I like 'em.... 

Easy cut to get 2 meals out of. If I do them Italian style the leftovers make a great pasta sauce.

 

[moikel]

Thats them done. Must have been smallish lambs,shanks come much bigger than these .Very tender aromatic & sweet.Left the dried fruit  out of it,no rice in the cupboard & my Dad was a rice farmer!! 

You can get to clever with some of this North African food & overload it with flavours.I was pretty happy with this just with a bit of cilantro.Some harissa would have been nice but I havent got any of that handy.Used to make it in big batches too along with a Yemeni thing called zhug.

 

[moikel]

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• moikel
• Jun 16, 2013

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• moikel
• Jun 16, 2013

 

[snorkelinggirl]

Great looking lamb shanks, and I really like the plated shot with the sweet potatoes. Lovely pictures, thanks for posting it!

I'm looking forward to seeing a future post from you on braised alpaca neck!  We have lots of alpacas and llamas in our area that are raised for wool, but I've never seen any meat for sale. Curious as to what it tastes like.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Looks great. I am a huge fan of Lamb and would rather eat Shanks than Chops. The problem is the family is not into lamb and shanks are unheard of in stores. I have no use for a 40 Kilo Case if it is just for me...JJ

 

[moikel]

Great looking lamb shanks, and I really like the plated shot with the sweet potatoes. Lovely pictures, thanks for posting it!

I'm looking forward to seeing a future post from you on braised alpaca neck!  We have lots of alpacas and llamas in our area that are raised for wool, but I've never seen any meat for sale. Curious as to what it tastes like.

Thanks it was a great meal. 

I posted alpaca a while back.I get it from a farmer who is about 45 minutes from my weekender. Contra deals mostly. Its somewhere between lamb & veal on the taste spectrum. Next time I head past I will get a prime cut & do a roast .

 

[moikel]

Alpaca neck pack is about 16 pieces ! Just checked freezer.Its a matter of deciding between sticking to Peruvian style flavours or just winging it .I have done both in the past. Not a lot of fat & need low & slow,it's older animals so you get big legs etc like giant lamb.
Last time I did it Peruvian braised in SouthAmerican beer,lots of lime,cilantro,garlic & these funny looking dried chilli .Inca symbol on the packet.

 

[moikel]

Looks great. I am a huge fan of Lamb and would rather eat Shanks than Chops. The problem is the family is not into lamb and shanks are unheard of in stores. I have no use for a 40 Kilo Case if it is just for me...JJ

Here its like flicking a switch! Winter everybody wants them,they turn up in huge cartons probablly frozen from earlier in the year. Used to be a special treat for the family pooch then everybody woke up

.Roast leg of lamb  for sunday dinner meant the shank was often dry & tough.

They just braise so well,hardworking tasty muscles what I figure nose to tail was about. Kill the whole animal eat as much of it as you can. North African cookery has a lot of lamb/mutton/goat dishes,I sometimes do the tagine style with dried fruit but shanks are best on their own.Just me of course.

 

[foamheart]

I hate to admit it but the only time I've had sheep/lamb I was in the service in Scotland. Its just not that popular where I live. Probably because there just are not many sheep here. Now Alligators or Ducks that's different, LOL I like to think I am a fairly good cook, but I got to thinking about what I cook with a fruit influence and I am sorely lacking there. I have some trees in the yard, one orange, couple of figs, and 2 Satsuma (a Cajun Tangerine). The only thing I have ever cooked with them is either a ham glaze or a Satsuma pecan pie. Other than some orange zest or lemon juice, if its not a desert it doesn't get a lot of fruits added.

When I was in West Texas cabrito was a party event. I have grilled billy goat. When done right its some good stuff!

As to using it all, at Pop's annual pig roast, he'd get a little tape recorder an tape the pig squeal. He's turn that up loud to let everyone know when it was ready to eat. He liked to tell everyone he used all the hog, he didn't even waste the squeal. That is how I was brought up.

Anyway, I appreciate you sharing because I enjoy seeing things I have not done, then I get ideas as to how I can use them. If life was all meat and potatoes I'd get bored fast.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[moikel]

I am glad you liked it. If its authentic " people's food" from anywhere I will eat it / cook it.

 

[moikel]

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• moikel
• Jun 22, 2013

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• moikel
• Jun 22, 2013

Thats the french version,carrot,celery,onion,garlic,bacon,herbs,red wine ,veal stock.

 

[boykjo]

Very nice Mick.......................

 

 

[daveomak]

Mick..... Looks very good to me....  Great recipe...    

Dave