This recipe is courtesy of Pairings, a multi-award winning, food-themed, serialized fictional comedy series.
About The Show: Alan is terrible with women. While Alan can cook beautiful (and delicious) plates of food, he often eats them alone. His friends and family convince him that ‘the way to a woman’s heart is through her stomach.’ As Alan starts cooking his way through the dating world, he discovers things about women, himself, and the lasting memories of food.
Stout Braised Lamb Shanks
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 Jimenez Family Farm lamb shanks
- 1 leek, halved lengthwise and chopped 1/4” thick
- 3 cloves garlic, halved or quartered
- 1 carrot, chopped ½“ thick
- 1 celery rib, chopped coarsely
- 4 to 5 mushrooms, halved or quartered
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 ¾ cup beef broth
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- Flour for dredging
- 1 (12 fluid ounce) bottle stout (such as Guinness®) or porter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Rice, cous cous or orzo pasta
Instructions
- Dredge lamb shanks in flour.
- Heat oil in a dutch oven or large, wide pot over medium-high heat until shimmering. Sear the lamb shanks in the hot oil on all sides until well browned, about 10 minutes. After browning, remove lamb shanks and set aside.
- Pour the excess grease from the Dutch oven, if necessary, reduce heat to medium, and stir in the onions and garlic. Cook and stir until the onions have softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the carrots, celery, and tomato paste; continue cooking 5 minutes more.
- Return the lamb shanks to the dutch oven, and pour in the stout beer and beef broth. Add thyme and bay leaf and bring to a simmer over high heat.
- Once the lamb shanks begin to simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until lamb is very tender and nearly falling off of the bone, 2 to 3 hours. Stir the lamb occasionally as it cooks, and add water if needed to keep the cooking liquid from becoming too thick (I rarely find this necessary.) You want the cooking liquid to have reduced into a nice sauce by the time the lamb shanks are done. Stir in the mushrooms, rosemary sprig, and salt and pepper to taste during the last 10 minutes of cooking. Remove rosemary, thyme sprigs and bay leaf before serving. Serve shanks and vegetables over rice, cous cous or orzo pasta immediately, passing the remaining sauce.
Bobert offers to cancel the bet. Alan dates a girl from his speed dating session. In this fan and festival favorite, find the true meaning of family. Lamb shanks are braised in stout beer, Alan goes on a picnic hike in the Hollywood hills and chicken milanese is prepared.