Big Meat I

Christmastime was an occasion for big meat this year.  Really big meat.  Storkbite stopped eating her pureed Storkfood and since I’m so inexperienced I had no idea why.  Little did I know that she could handle big meaty dinners with her four (nearly six) sharp little teeth.  After two weeks at Grandma’s eating all sorts of variety meat she is kind of like a salami.

Lamb Shank

Just to make sure we start the New Year right, I got suckered into a lamb shank without realizing that Storkbite’s Papa isn’t home for dinner all week.  That left me, the lamb shank and a bottle of pinot noir home alone.   The meat wasn’t the best lamb shank that I have ever had (the best was at a restaurant in Glencoe, IL several years ago before a small theater piece that was too avant garde for my taste).   Needless to say the meat made a superb sauce that reduced to a very silky glaze which I could have eaten all by itself.

The thing about braising meat is that it’s so easy and it’s left it in the oven for such a long time.  We have time for bath, nurses, bed and voila dinner is ready and it’s always delicious.

In this case I browned a very large well salted lamb shank on both sides in a smoking hot cast iron skillet.  I cranked the oven up to 400 degrees, cut up carrots, added 2 tsp. of beef soup base to 1 c. water — then I added all of this to the skillet along with pepper, 3 tbps. pinot noir, two stalks of rosemary and two bay leaves.  I covered it with a tent of foil, reduced the oven to 350 degrees and let her go for about a hour, maybe more.

When it was tender, I plated the meat and carrots, strained the juices, skimmed the fat and added the juices back to the skillet.  Over medium high heat, I reduced the juices into a very silky sauce.  I then took it upon myself to cover my plate in approximately 3/4 of the sauce and leave only 1/4 for Storkbite’s Papa’s lunch tomorrow.

I’m not feeling guilty at all — I joined the gym today!