Sour Cherry Braised Lamb Shanks
And now we return to your regularly scheduled LambBlog. (It’s just that lamb is so cute and so tasty!) The sour cherry braising sauce is sort of sweet and sour and spicy and very rich. It is based on our homemade sour cherry sage flower jam, though you could probably substitute sour cherries, sage, and sugar.
My father’s sour cherry tree should be full of fruit in about a month or so, and I can’t wait. This year, we intend to follow the good example of the Hungarians in Tarpa (the town where my grandmother was born), who spread out tarp (pun not intended) under their plum trees and beat the trees until all the ripe plums fell.
It looks much easier and more effective than our usual method of climbing up on ladders and picking the cherries one by one, hurling each into the pots and baking pans spread out on the driveway below.
Sour Cherry Braised Lamb Shanks
2 1/2 lbs lamb shanks
1″ horseradish, grated (plus more for garnish)
1 tsp fenugreek
20 curry leaves
3/4 C sour cherry sage flower jam
4 shallots, coarsely sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 birdseye chili, crushed
Beef stock
Place the shanks in a baking pan or heavy pot. Mix together all ingredients, with just enough beef stock to have the sauce come about halfway up the sides of the shanks (at most). Cover with a sheet of wet crumpled parchment paper, then a lid (or tight aluminum foil). Bake at a low temperature for about 5 hours or so, or until tender. I like to refrigerate the meat and sauce separately so I can skim the fat off the sauce before reheating everything together and serving the next day.
Ooooooooh, my mouth is watering like crazy – those lamb shanks look so moist! Alas, no cherries here for another 6 months – sour or otherwise :(
I want to eat this for dinner.
This looks so succulent and delicious!
Great combination! I love pairing fruits with meat. We have a few sour cherry trees in the backyard, last year was the first time I did anything with them and made sour cherry syrup.
Have you ever tried Cherry Rice? Its Persian and perfect recipe to make with your jam. I usually make it with middle eastern jarred sour cherries. Don’t have recipe posted yet – I’ll work on it!
Ellie – When our cherries are ready, we jam ‘em, jar ‘em, freeze ‘em… do everything we can think of to make the bounty last all year.
Brilynn – Sour cherry syrup is great! Oh, you’re inspiring me to make sour cherry soda this year.
Steamy Kitchen – No, I haven’t, but it sounds like just my sort of thing. Please post a recipe, and I’ll definitely try it out!
What a fantastic combo of flavors. Oh wow!