Braised and Grilled Lamb Shanks

By Mark Bittman, award-winning author and columnist for the New York Times

Yield: 4 servings
Total time: At least 2 1/2 hours

4 lamb shanks, each about 1 pound
1 cup Port or red wine
8 cloves garlic (don't bother to peel them)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar or lemon juice, or to taste

1. Combine the lamb shanks, Port or wine, and garlic in a skillet just large enough to hold the shanks. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil; cover and turn the heat so that the mixture simmers gently. Cook, turning about every 30 minutes, until the shanks are tender and a lovely mahogany color, at least 2 hours and more likely longer.

2. Remove the shanks and strain the sauce. If time allows, refrigerate both, separately; skim the fat from the top of the sauce. Preheat a charcoal or gas grill or the broiler; the rack should be 4 to 6 inches from the heat source, and the fire hot.

3. Grill or broil the shanks until nicely browned all over, sprinkling them with salt and pepper and turning as necessary; total cooking time will be about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, reheat the sauce gently; season it with salt and pepper, then add the vinegar or lemon juice. Taste and add more seasoning if needed. Serve the shanks with the sauce.

Variation: Anise-flavored Lamb Shanks (or Short Ribs)
Braise the meat in a mixture of 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1 cup water, 5 thin slices of ginger, 5 whole star anise, 4 cloves garlic, and 1 tablespoon sugar. Proceed as above, finishing the sauce with rice or white wine vinegar.

Recipe Box Home | Share or get a recipe in Food Talk

Weeknight Kitchen® is a free weekly e-mail newsletter full of new recipes and tips from Lynne and our guests.
Sign up »
This week's newsletter »

The Splendid Table®, is now available for free in podcast form. Follow the Sterns as they travel the country, hear all our unique and wonderful guests and, as always, Lynne takes your calls, downloaded direct to your computer every week.
Get the podcast

Get our recipes delivered straight to your iGoogle account with our new Google Gadget. It's free. It's easy. Find out how you can install this new feature on your Google Homepage.
Learn More