Braised Lamb Shanks and the 17th century Château de Barbentane in Provence

We like lamb shanks, but they tend to be quite rich and fatty so we don’t serve them often. When I saw this recipe on Stacey’s Snacks, she made it look so tempting that I decided to give it another chance. I always look forward to checking my email each morning, because it always has a post from Stacey containing the tasty food she’s prepared the previous night. She served the lamb shanks at a dinner party and said it was great because it was so much less expensive than Ossobuco for a crowd. I like veal shanks too and agree with Stacey. I served them with polenta rounds that I browned at the last minute.

Since experience had taught us that the lamb shanks are too fatty for our taste, we refrigerated them overnight and skimmed off of the fat layer the next day. It turned out to be a good idea, because it helped to reduce the fat. I made very few other changes and my notes are in parenthesis below. Primarily I believe that if you add the herbs to the end of browning the vegetables and cook for a few more minutes, that brings out the essence of the herbs rather than just adding them to the liquids. I also thickened the sauce with a beurre manie of butter and flour.

Braised Lamb Shanks with Rosemary
Adapted from Stacey’s Snacks via All Recipes

6 meaty lamb shanks
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 yellow onions, chopped
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch rounds
10 cloves garlic, minced

5 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

1 (750 ml) bottle red wine (I used a Cabernet Sauvignon)
1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes with juice
1 (10.5 ounce) can chicken broth
1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth

Sprinkle the shanks with kosher salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, (Don’t crowd the skillet or they’ll steam rather than brown), brown the shanks on all sides, about 8 minutes, then transfer to a plate.

Add the onions and carrots to pot and sauté until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, rosemary and thyme and cook a minute or two more. (I always like to incorporate the chopped herbs with the onions at the end of browning them, because I think it brings out their flavors instead of just throwing them in with the liquids.)

Stir in the wine, tomatoes, chicken broth and beef broth. (Break up the tomatoes with a large spoon.) Return the shanks to pot, pressing down to submerge. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover, and simmer until meat is tender, about two and a half hours.

Lamb shanks can be fatty, so I removed the pot from the heat, let it cool and refrigerated it overnight. The next day before you’re ready to serve them, scrape off all of the accumulated fat at the top and discard. Heat the pot and bring to a simmer and cook about 20 minutes longer. Transfer the shanks to a platter and place in a warm oven. Boil the juices until they thicken, about 15 minutes. Serves six.

If your sauce is not thick enough (ours wasn’t), make a beurre manie by blending 3 T flour with 2 T softened butter to make a paste. Off heat, whisk in the beurre manie, then simmer the sauce for 2 minutes as it thickens. Spoon over the shanks and serve.

Printable recipe

Château de Barbentane 

While we were in Provence, we toured the impressive 17^th century Château de Barbentane, 10 km south of Avignon, and were able to see what it was like to live in such a grand château centuries ago. Upon closer inspection, the château and the grounds are showing signs of wear and tear, but if I’d survived the French revolution as Barbentane did, I suspect I would be a bit tattered myself. It must be a huge expense to maintain such a massive château, even if you are a Marquis.

Here’s the château’s history according to Provence Web, “The construction of the Château de Barbentane was started in 1674 by Paul François de Barbentane, but it was only completed at the end of the 18th century. This château is the home of the Marquis de Barbentane. It is to Joseph Pierre Balthazar de Puget, who was Marquis de Barbentane and Louis XV’s ambassador to Florence, that the splendid reception rooms owe their sumptuous decoration. They are ornamented with plasterwork and Carrare marble which show off the château’s Louis XV and Louis XVI furniture to great advantage. Having miraculously survived the 1789 French Revolution, the house is still inhabited today by the Marquis de Barbentane.