Braised American Lamb Shank with Three Bean Ragout

Chef Tim Love, Lonesome Dove Bistro (Fort Worth, Texas)

# Servings: 

Lamb

4 American lamb foreshanks
1 cup diced onions
1 cup diced carrot
1 cup diced celery
6 cloves of garlic
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1/4 cup guajillo chile powder
1 cup white wine
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons butter, unsalted
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cups veal stock (recipe follows)
Three Bean Ragout (recipe follows)

Veal Stock

8 pounds veal bones, cut into 2-inch chunks
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
1 leek, coarsely chopped
2 large tomatoes, quartered, or 1/2 cup tomato paste
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh thyme
8 garlic cloves, smashed

Three Bean Ragout
1/2 cup white beans
1/2 cup black beans
1/2 cup cannellini beans
4 ounces bacon
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon oregano
1 cup chicken stock
8 garlic cloves
2 jalapenos
Salt and pepper, to taste

Lamb

Mix flour, chile powder, salt and pepper together.Roll the shanks in the flour mixture. In a large roasting pan, heat the oil; sear both sides of all shanks at the same time. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic and continue to sear. Add wine, stock, thyme, rosemary and bay leaves; bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cover for 2 -1/2 hours, turning the shanks every 15 minutes. Meat should be very tender but stay on the bone. Strain the sauce; reduce by half and add butter.

Serve shanks with Three Bean Ragout, fresh ricotta and a little of the pan sauce. 

Veal Stock Preheat oven to 450ºF. Arrange bones in a roasting pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Roast in the oven until dark golden brown, about 1-1/2 hours, turning to brown all sides. After the first hour, add the remaining ingredients. Transfer the bones and vegetables to a large (10- to 12-quart) stockpot. Pour off the fat from the roasting pan and deglaze the pan with 2 cups of water, scraping up any particles that stick to the bottom of the pan. Pour this into the stockpot with enough additional water to cover all ingredients by 3 inches. Bring water to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 4 to 6 hours, skimming the foam as it accumulates on top, and adding water as needed to keep the bones and vegetables covered at all times.

Strain the liquid into a clean pot, pressing down to extract all juices. Reduce this mixture over medium heat until 2 quarts remain. Cool and refrigerate in a covered container for up to 3 days, discarding any hardened layer of fat before using or freezing. Makes 2 quarts.

Three Bean Ragout Pick through all beans, removing any foreign objects. Put all beans in a large pot and cover with cold water. Put a lid on this pot and let beans soak for 6 hours or overnight.

Rinse beans and return to pot, add all other ingredients and cover with water; bring to a boil for 2 hours, adding water as needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.