Great for sipping during the cold winter months (or on St. Patrick's Day), dark, robust stouts can be a little heavy for spring. Why not put any leftover brews to good use in the kitchen instead? Use them as the foundation of a great-tasting meal, like these shanks cooked in stout.
Ideal for shanks, diced leg of lamb and shoulder chops, braising (combination pan-searing and pot-roasting) really brings an aromatic depth to lamb. Acidic ingredients like beer (wine, stock, and so on) really bring the lamb to its falling-off-the-bone best. Watch this helpful video to get the technique down pat.
Step 1: Sear
Grab your lamb shanks. For an impressive presentation, Chef Stephen uses Frenched shanks, with the meat removed from the bone at the end.
Drizzle some olive oil (about a tablespoon) into a hot pan. Before adding the meat, dust it with seasoned flour, a move that will eventually make for a thicker, richer sauce. Cook the lamb for a few minutes, until well-browned. This will enhance its flavor (a process known as the Maillard reaction, if you want to get technical). Remove the shanks and place them in a roasting pan.
Step 2: Sauce It Up
Add a little more olive oil to your pan, then add finely diced onions and carrots for additional flavor and meat tenderization. You’ll eventually add garlic, but resist the temptation to do that now—if you do, it may burn and taste bitter. Stir the onions and the carrots and toss in some rosemary (THE herb for lamb; two sprigs should do the trick). Add the garlic and fry the mix for a few minutes, so the flavors can get acquainted.
Then add the best ingredient of all: the stout. Pour in about half a bottle, give the pan a gentle shake and add some beef stock, for a beautiful, rich sauce. Season the mix with salt and pepper and cook at a low boil, until reduced by half. Taste it frequently along the way. The flavors will continue to develop as you cook the sauce, but tasting early will help confirm that you’ve struck the right ingredient balance.
Step 3: Roast
Ladle the sauce over the shanks. Don’t worry if the sauce doesn’t cover the shanks; you’ll flip the meat later on. Cover the roasting pan with foil and cook at 320°F for about an hour and a half (you can also cook the meat at 250–300°F, for even more depth of comforting flavors). Either way, flip the shanks midway through the roasting time, to ensure they cook evenly.
Remove the pan from the oven. Let the shanks rest for 10 minutes, to allow the meat to relax and get the juices flowing back through it. Scoop a bowl of fluffy mashed potatoes and top with the lamb shanks, the sauce and a few sprigs of rosemary. Then grab your fork and get ready for a seriously mouthwatering meal.