Lamb Shank Tagine - ish

Lamb Shank Tagine with couscous and harissa

Lamb shanks are a delicious often overlooked cut of lamb. While the chops and legs get a lot of the attention, the shank can turn some of the most humble of ingredients into something extraordinary. The secret lies in the bone. Adding flavor and contributing that rich unctuousness that only marrow can give. In this recipe, we take the long braising process outside by turning our humble yet incredibly versatile grill into a makeshift tagine. In doing so creating a perfect environment to coax out the best in the lamb shanks.

Make shift tagine using a cast iron skillet and an upside down terracotta pot

Since we are preparing it in a tagine style, the flavor will also harken to those of North Africa with a complex spice rub that will create a dynamic and delicious sauce.

If you happen to have a tagine, by all means, use it. They are great and make for a dramatic and beautiful presentation at the table, but since this was for a larger crown, we had to improvise.

We started with a 19 inch cast iron skillet and found a terracotta pot as close to the same size as possible. The one we used was slightly bigger than than the skillet we had so we lined the rim with some rolled up aluminum foil to help make a better seal.

Ingredients

7 or 8 Lamb Shanks (frenched). Figure 1 shank per person, but don't hesitate to make enough for seconds.

4 large carrots Sliced 1/2 inch think on a bias

2 red chillies

2 large fennel bulbs cut into eighths

2 red onion cut into eighths

4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

4 cups chicken stock

2 cups of small cherry or grape tomatoes

1 good pinch of saffron, bloomed in hot water

1/4 cup duck or other animal fat

The Rub

1 tbs of ground turmeric

1 tbs of ginger powder

2 tbs hot smoked paprika

1 tbs ground cinnamon

1/2 tbs ground clove

1 tbs cumin seed

2 tbs fennel seed

5 cardamom seeds pods removed.

In a dry sauté pan, heat the cumin and fennel seeds. At first sight of smoke, immediately remove from heat and place in a morter and pestle. Add the cardamom seeds and work in the morter and pestle until you have formed a powder. Add the remaining spices and mix. Rub all the shanks with the spice mixture and allow to sit in the fridge for 3 hours or even overnight.

Prepare your grill. Heat charcoal until you have hot embers evenly distributed across the bottom of the grill. Allow at least 5 min for your cast iron skillet to heat up. Add your duck fat (you can use olive oil, but since you are dealing with a very high heat you run the risk of burning an oil with a low smoking point). Add your lamb shanks and brown on all side.....5-10 min depending on how hot your grill is.

Remove the shanks and your chillies. Cook until just starting to blister and then add your vegetables and garlic. Give them a sauté until you start to see some color on your carrots and the onions have begun to get soft...another 5 min or so. Add the shanks back to the pan nestling them into the vegetables.

Add your stock, saffron, and tomatoes. Get everything settled and place your terracotta lid on top. Let cook for 2 1/2 hours. During the cooking process check on your charcoal and add more as needed to maintain a consistent temperature. When it's done, the meat should be falling off the bone.

Serve with coucous, harissa, and yogurt. A beautiful garnish for fresh mint and parsley salad is a nice touch as well and helps make a nice color contrast and brightness in flavor.