Oven-baked lamb shanks

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 4 knuckles (lamb), approx. 300 – 350 g each
• n. B. Salt
• n. B. Pepper from the mill
• 40 g clarified butter
• 250 g onion(s), roughly diced
• 150 g carrot(s), roughly diced
• 150 g celery, roughly diced
• 3 garlic cloves, halved
• 3 sprigs rosemary
• 3 sprigs of thyme
• ¼ liter red wine, strong
• 400 ml Lamb stock (1 jar)
• 30 g clarified butter
• 1 tbsp shallot(s), finely diced
• 1 tsp garlic, finely diced
• 200 g minced meat (lamb)
• n. B. Salt
• n. B. Pepper from the mill
• 1 tsp thyme, chopped
• ½ tsp rosemary, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 tbsp tomato ketchup
• ¼ liter tomato juice
• ¼ liter lamb stock (from the shank), strained
• possibly sauce thickener if required

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes

a bit time-consuming, but worth it

Trim the lamb shanks (remove skin and tendons, but not too much, otherwise the meat will fall off the bones) and season with salt and pepper. Brown all over in hot clarified butter in a heavy roasting pan and then remove. Roast the diced vegetables and sauté the garlic and some of the torn herbs. Deglaze with red wine and lamb stock. Return the shanks to the roasting pan, cover, and braise in a hot oven on the lowest shelf at 180°C for about 1 1/4 hours (fan oven: 150°C for about 1 1/2 hours). Remove the shanks, wrap in aluminum foil, and keep warm in the oven at 90°C (fan oven: 70°C). Boil the stock down vigorously until it has reduced by about half (approx. 250-300 ml), then pass the vegetables through a sieve or a food mill. Sauce: Sauté the shallot and garlic cubes in clarified butter until translucent. Tear the minced lamb into pieces, add it, and brown until very fine and crumbly. Season the mince with salt and pepper and the chopped herbs. Briefly fry the tomato paste. Add the tomato ketchup and juice, and top up with the reduced lamb stock. Stir the mixture and simmer until the sauce is nice and creamy (thicken with a dark sauce thickener if necessary). Serve with rosemary potatoes or fine tagliatelle pasta. Vegetables are a matter of taste, but red cabbage and Brussels sprouts go very well. The Sicilian vegetable pan also tastes excellent with it (recipe included in Chefkoch).