A big thanks to David Ort and the Canadian Craft Beer Cookbook for a great recipe that we easily adapted to our slow cooker.
Doubling the overall cook time means we had to get up early on a weekend. But the shanks and vegetables spent more time slowly absorbing the roasted flavours. All in all, well worth the extra time.
Our stout was Red Hook from Fixed Gear Brewing, which offers a decent balance of dark chocolate and robust coffee flavour. We really enjoyed. But try it with your favourite.
What you’ll need:
1.5 kg (3 lb) lamb shanks, or one per person.
flour for dusting
30 mL (2 tbsp) olive oil
2 yellow cooking onions
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 celery stalk, diced
5 garlic cloves
375 mL (1.5 cups) stout
375 mL (1.5 cups) chicken broth
2 bay leaves
4 rosemary sprigs
2 large parsnips, peeled and cut in large dice
375 mL (1.5 cups) peas
22.5 mL (1.5 tbsp) tomato paste
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
Our Slow-cooker Instructions:
Pat the shanks dry with a paper towel, season with salt and pepper, and lightly coat with flour. Brown the shanks in the oil, over medium heat for two minutes per side, then place them in the slow cooker.
Cook the onion, carrots and celery in the remaining oil for six minutes, give or take, adding the garlic for the final 30 seconds. Raise the heat to medium-high and add the stout, then use a wooden spoon to scrap any bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken broth, bay leaves and rosemary sprigs to the pot, and bring everything to a simmer.
Pour the mixture over the shanks, cover and cook for seven hours, or until the lamb threatens to fall from the bone.
Move the shanks to a clean plate, discarding rosemary sprigs and bay leaves. Add parsnips, peas and tomato paste, stirring until the paste dissolves. Return the meat to the slow cooker, cover and let cook on low for another two or three hours, until the lamb falls off the bone.
We served with garlic mashed potatoes and paired it with the same Red Hook stout.
Beer Bards 