Smoked Lamb Shank! QVIEW

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coffee_junkie

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
Feb 17, 2009
1,144
18
Helena, MT
So my Mother in Law bought this cut from the farmers market, it was free range organic yada yada. A really nice cut of meat. I marinaded it overnight and the next day (until about noon) in some cabernet wine, fresh chopped rosemary, garlic, EVOO, kosher salt, and some Italian spices from a grinder thing I picked up at the store, oh yeah and some CBP. When I pulled it out of the bag the next day it was completely PURPLE, it freaked me out, I never marinade in wine. So I trimmed it all off, along with most of the fat cap, cut slits in the meat and shoved about 15 cloves of garlic in the meat, then rubbed with some more rosemary, salt, garlic, pepper, and EVOO, and some more of those "Italian spices". I smoked it in the gasser at around 225* using Lilac for smoke flavor (this is really great wood and abundant here in MT) I smoked it for about
4
hours until the internal temps reached 140* It was sooooo delicious.

All trimmed and rubbed up

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Just in the smoker, I made some beef broth and sliced some onions and thew them in the broth as well, As it turns out, next time I won't place the pan of this in the smoker until about two hours before I anticipate the meat being done, alot of it steamed off and I had to add another bullion cube and a little more water, but this is definitely the way to go here, I skimmed the onions out and served the "au jus" with the lamb and it was AWESOME, credit that technique to RonP.

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Lookin Really GOOD!

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All ready for its nap in the cooler, I rested for about 2 hours.

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I failed to take the sliced up pic, I cooked this at home and transported to the Mother in Laws house, but rest assured this thing was really juicy, and perfectly medium rare. I will definitely do this again if she buys another shank for me to do it.

I hope you enjoyed my QVIEW, stay tuned for the COLOSSAL 10 Butt party smoke I did last weekend.
 
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Man, that looks fantastic!  Good job on the lamb, I don't think it would have been purple after you smoked it, I've use wine in some marinades and after the meat was cooked it was the normal color of smoked meat.

That reminds me, I only have 1 'baggie' of lamb left in the freezer, I'm going to have to smoke some more.

Gene
 
That looks fantastic, well done. 
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  I have been wanting to do some lamb on the smoker for some time. Gonna have to put it on the list. Thanks for sharing.
 
I am not a huge fan of lamb, but this was really good. I would rather have elk or antelope. My In-laws are some kind of Christian Jewish religion and needed the lamb bone for some holiday ritual they do, so she kept the bone. I was surprised, we had a bunch of people at the table, and there was a distinct division of people who either liked it or disliked the meat. I will eat anything so not a problem there.
 
Thanks for the post! Excellent pics and description. My mom likes to do Lamb for Easter every year so I'll have to talk her into letting me smoke it for her. I like lamb, but there is definitely a line between those that do and don't like it.

Darren
 
I was going to ask where he got a shank that had half the leg?  LOL

That purple was from the red wine and was no problem at all.  Just more flavor.

Has anyone smoked the "real" shanks?  I like them braised, but have never smoked them.

Yes, lamb is a love-hate food.  Be sure you get young lamb and not mutton.  It also has to be prepared properly, which is not all that difficult.  Lamb will marry well with wine, (lemon juice for the Greeks) tomatoes, onions, garlic, rosemary, thyme, oregano, parsley, olive oil, all the good stuff.  Really good young lamb will be fine with a simple salt, pepper, and garlic rub.

Thanks for posting this great looking meat.
 
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Well I hope it's a leg because I have a good size leg of lamb in the freezer and I'll be home tomorrow and looking for something to smoke and now I think I just found what I'm smoking. Now you did a great job on the lamb and I would like to maybe do the same. So thanks for the imperation for a new meal. 
 
Great job, CJ!

Did you mop at all?

And when you foiled to rest it did you place any liquid in with it?

We are just about ready to bucher our first lamb from the farm. Maybe two if it does not sell. Really looking forward to smoking our own lamb as we both enjoy the unique flavor. Twice a week now we are able to prepare complete meals just from the farm and the lamb will be a welcome addition to our fare.

Keep up the great work and thanks for the super pictorial.

Cheers! 
 
Geat job! I am on the "love" side wife "hate (just won't eat)" for lamb. Lamb & veal are hard to get here farmers think its crazy to butcher anything not fully grown lol.
 
very nice lamb, it truly is best smoked.....low and slow, i think anyways....do some more for sure and dont let the purple scare U, more flavor for sure....
 
Wow your lamb looks out of this world delicious. You didn't shank that thing...it went right  through the middle of the uprights!  Now, if you could just boot over here right on my table.... 
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Junkie, that's one good looking piece of Lamb, I really like lamb but have only eaten it in high in restaurants, never smoked.  Several years ago the only way you could get lamb here in Southwestern Virginia was to special order it.  After the tobacco market went away, many local farmers switched to raising lamb and they have done  quite well. Now when I go to the grocery store they have a whole section in the meat department for Southwestern Virginia, or Highlands Lamb.  I would not care one bit to smoke up some if I can find someone to help me eat it!  Yours looks fabulous, I am getting hungry again already. LOL, Keep up the good work Coffee_Junkie!

Your SMF Friend,

Barry    
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That is some great looking Q you have there.. Lamb is about the only thing i have not smoked and after seeing this i am going to have to try it.. looks tasty. thanks for posting
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