SMOKED AND BRAISED LAMB SHANKS

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SMOKED AND BRAISED LAMB SHANKS

Yield 4-6

Prep time

30 Min

Cook time

2 Hour

Total time

2 H & 30 M

Ingredients

• 4 large lamb shanks
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Zhoug sauce

• 1 cup cilantro
• 1 roma tomato
• 3 serrano peppers
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp kosher salt, or more to taste
• ¼ cup olive oil

Spice Blend:

• 4 cardamom pods
• 1 tsp whole cloves
• 10 whole black peppercorns
• 6 whole allspice berries
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 white onion, quartered

Smoked Rice:

• 2 cups long grain basmati rice, thoroughly rinsed and soaked for 1 hour
• ½ tsp saffron, bloomed with two ice cubes
• 2 Tbsp ghee
• 1 1/2 cups reserved Lamb stock
• 1 tsp olive oil
• Lit charcoal chunk

Instructions

1. Trim the lamb shanks of any excessive silver-skin then place onto a wire rack set into a sheet tray large enough to hold all the shanks. Toss the shanks with olive oil to coat, then season all over with the salt, pepper and garlic powder. Pour enough water to cover the whole bottom of the sheet tray, this will catch all the fat drippings as the shanks cook. Place the shanks into a smoker set at 250F for 1-2 hours to give them a strong smokey flavor, they will still be quite firm still as this is the first part of the cooking process.
2. While the lamb shanks are in the smoker combine the cilantro, tomatoes, serrano pepper, garlic, olive oil and salt in a food processor and pulse until you have a smooth sauce. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and let sit in the fridge until ready to serve.
3. Add all the whole spices to a pan with a little drizzle of oil and heat on medium high until they begin to toast and get fragrant. Remove them from the heat and divide the spices evenly between two bowls. Half will go in the braising liquid for the lamb and half will flavor the rice.
4. Once the shanks have smoked, remove them from the pan and place them into a pressure cooker pot, be sure to reserve all the drippings from the pan to add to the rice later on. To the pressure cooker pot, add the white onion, half the toasted spices and enough water to fully cover the shanks. Pressure cook the lamb shanks on high for 30 minutes. **If you don't have a pressure cooker, use a large pot and bring to a simmer, then cover and cook for about 2 hours on low. Reserve 1 ½ cups of the cooking liquid from the lamb once they are done cooking.
5. To make the rice: Add the ghee to a large pot with a tight fitting lid and melt over medium high heat. Add in the soaked rice and cook, stirring constantly, until the rice begins to toast, about 5 minutes. Add in the other half of the toasted spices, all the drippings from the lamb smoking tray, 1 ½ cups of the reserved lamb stock and the bloomed saffron. Bring to a boil then drop the heat to low and cover and let cook for 15 minutes.
6. To smoked the rice: line a small heat proof bowl with tin foil and add about 1 tsp of olive oil. Place the bowl in the middle of the pot of the cooked rice, then drop in a lit piece of charcoal into the oil and cover with a tight fitting lid. Smoke for 8-10 minutes then remove the bowl with the charcoal.
7. To serve: place the smoked rice on a large serving tray, top with the braised lamb shanks and serve the zhoug sauce on the side. To make the perfect bite, take a piece of lamb with a scoop of rice and top with a dollop of zhoug sauce.

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