Saturday, February 14, 2015

Lamb Shank

Say you are home and you want to cook your lady or your man something special for the night....How about trying this...Lamb shank Confit...

INGREDIENTS:
  • Preliminary cooking of lamb shanks
  • 4 lamb shanks weighing about 400-500 g
  • (approx. 1 lb)
  • 250 ml (1 cup) duck fat
  • 2 cloves garlic (peeled)
  • 2 branches rosemary
  • Brine (2 cups of salt per
  • 4.5 L /1.2 gallons of water)
  • Sauce
  • 250 ml (1 cup) lamb jelly
  • (from cooking the shanks)
  • 500 ml (2 cups) tomato sauce
  • 200 ml (3/4 cup) lamb stock
DIRECTIONS:

  • 1Soak the shanks in brine for 4 hours.
  • 2Remove the shanks from the brine. Insert half of a clove of garlic in each one. Place the shanks, rosemary and duck fat in a sous-vide cooking bag. Remove all of the air from the bag and submerge in simmering water. Cook for 6 hours. The meat is cooked when it comes easily off the bone. Set aside in a cool place.
  • Sauce
  • 1Collect the jelly base from the bottom of the bag used to cook the shanks and add to a saucepan. There should be approximately 250 ml (1 cup). Add the tomato sauce and lamb stock. Bring to a boil and reduce by approximately one half. Set aside. You can also save the duck fat that remains in the bag for other cooking uses.
  • Lentils
  • 1Boil the lentils in water for approximately 40 minutes until they are soft. Drain.
  • 2Never add salt to water when cooking legumes.
  • 3Lay out the onion and mushrooms in the bottom of a bowl and cover them with the warm lentils. Cover and leave for 5 minutes. The heat from the lentils will be sufficient to soften the onion and mushrooms. Mix the olive oil and the red wine vinegar in with the lentil mixture. Add salt.
  • Garlic cream
  • 1In a saucepan, simmer the garlic in the cream for 45 minutes over low heat. Run the mixture through a blender, then pass it through a fine sieve to get a nice smooth cream. Set aside.
  • Final cooking of the lamb shanks
  • 1Place the shanks and the sauce in a large ovenproof skillet and reheat in the oven for approximately 20 minutes at 300°F, basting them often so they are nicely glazed.
  • 2Place the shanks on top of the lentils. Coat the shanks with the sauce from the skillet. Drizzle the garlic cream sauce over the dish. Garnish the shanks with slices of marinated tomatoes and finish with a few twists of the pepper grinder.
I would suggest a white wine for this-

Enjoy...Eat Well My Friends!  and then-


 Well...you know!  Happy Valentines Day!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!


Food Safety Tips
Protect yourself against food-borne illnesses.


1. Use a "refrigerator thermometer" to keep your food stored at a safe temperature (below 40 degrees fahrenheit).

Cold temperatures slow the growth of bacteria. Ensuring that your refrigerator temperature stays at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder is one of the most effective ways to reduce your risk of food-borne illness. You can buy a refrigerator/freezer thermometer at appliance stories, home centers (i.e. Home Depot), and kitchen stores including online ones, such as Cooking.com.

2. Defrost food in the refrigerator, the microwave, or in cold water... never on the counter!

Perishable foods should never be thawed on the counter for longer than two hours because, while the center of the food may remain frozen, the outer surface may enter the Danger Zone, the range of temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees fahrenheit, in which bacteria multiply rapidly. If you’re short on time, use the microwave or you can thaw meat and poultry in airtight packaging in cold water. Change the water every half-hour so it stays cold and use the thawed food immediately.

3. Always use separate cutting boards for raw meat/poultry/fish and cooked foods/fresh produce.

Bacteria from uncooked meat, poultry, and fish can contaminate cooked foods and fresh produce. An important way to reduce this risk is to use separate cutting boards for raw meat/poultry/ fish, and cooked foods/fresh produce.

4. Always cook meat to proper temperatures, using a calibrated instant-read thermometer to make sure.

One effective way to prevent illness is to use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of meat, poultry, and egg dishes. The USDA Recommended Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures are as follows:

* Beef, veal, and lamb (steaks and roasts), fish - 145 degrees fahrenheit

* Pork and ground beef - 160 degrees fahrenheit

* Poultry - 165 degrees fahrenheit.

Cook meats like roasts and steaks to lower temperatures, closer to medium-rare, so that they retain their moisture. It is recommended that those who are at high risk for developing food-borne illness (i.e. pregnant women and their unborn babies, newborns, young children, older adults, people with weakened immune systems, or certain chronic illnesses) should follow the USDA guidelines.

5. Avoid unpasteurized/raw milk and cheeses made from unpasteurized milk that are aged less than 60 days.

Raw milk is milk from cows, sheep, or goats that has not been pasteurized (heated to a very high temperature for a specific length of time) to kill harmful bacteria that may be present. These bacteria, which include salmonella, E. coli and listeria, can cause serious illness and sometimes even death. The bacteria in raw milk can be especially dangerous to pregnant women, children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems or chronic illnesses. Raw milk cheeses aged 60 days or longer are okay, since the salt and acidity of the cheese-making process make for a hostile environment to pathogens.

6. Never eat "runny" eggs or foods, such as cookie dough, that contain raw eggs.

Even eggs that have clean, intact shells may be contaminated with salmonella, so it’s important to cook eggs thoroughly until both the yolk and the white are firm. Casseroles and other dishes containing eggs should be cooked to 160 degrees fahrenheit and you can use an instant-read food thermometer to check. Eggs should always be cooked fully and those who are at high risk for developing foodborne illness (pregnant women and their unborn babies, newborns, young children, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems or certain chronic illnesses should follow the USDA guidelines. If you can’t resist runny eggs or sampling cookie batter, use pasteurized eggs. They’re found near other eggs in large supermarkets.

7. Always wash your hands in warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds before handling food and after touching raw meat, poultry, or eggs.

You can pick up a lot of bacteria out in the world, so it’s important to always wash your hands before you eat or prepare food. You should also wash your hands after touching any uncooked meat, poultry, fish, or eggs, as the bacteria from these foods can contaminate cooked foods and fresh produce. Use soap and warm water and wash thoroughly for at least 20 seconds.

8. Always heat leftover foods to 165 degrees fahrenheit.

The USDA recommends heating all cooked leftovers to 165 degrees fahrenheit in order to kill all potentially dangerous bacteria.

9. Never eat meat, poultry, eggs, or sliced fresh fruits and vegetables that have been left out for more than two hours or more than one hour in temperatures hotter than 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you leave perishable foods out of the refrigerator or freezer for more than two hours they may enter the Danger Zone—the unsafe temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, in which bacteria multiply rapidly.

10. Whenever there’s a food recall, check products stored at home to make sure they are safe.

You should discard any food that’s been recalled because it’s associated with the outbreak of a food-borne illness. But, according to a survey conducted by Rutgers University during the fall of 2008, only about 60% of Americans search their homes for foods that have been recalled because of contamination. For more information on food recalls, visit the website Recalls.gov






Cavier & Vodka
Courtesy of The Lady (Bug) of the Household