Braised Lamb Shanks with Carrots and Olives | Everyday Dorie

Last time I made Dorie’s braised lamb shanks for the blog was at the height of the pandemic in April 2020. (See the full recipe here.) I loved the dish due to the extraordinary circumstances of extended lockdown and not being able to travel anywhere. Tasting a restaurant-quality dish that’s complex, sweet, acidic and the meat was tender-off-the-bone was comforting — to say the least. Besides, lamb shank is not an expensive cut of meat. All it takes is slow cooking.

Fortunately, circumstances have changed. Now I’ve traveled to Morocco for a 2-week trip and tasted lamb tagine more than a dozen times, my love for this dish only deepens. My favorite combination by far is a lamb tagine with pears. Slowly cooking fruit and meat over many many hours achieve incredible depth of flavor unmatched by other cooking techniques.

Closer to home, you can find halal carts all over New York City. Halal carts offer a delicious combination of rice, halal lamb and a salad. (Halal meat has been slaughtered in accordance with Islamic laws.) The confluence of culture in cities like New York creates some unique opportunities in the local food supply. Now I have access to halal lamb which is a cut above what I’m able to get from the supermarkets.

To make the braised lamb shanks with carrots and olives, the process is as follows: Start with browning the lamb shank on both sides in a Dutch oven and set aside. Then build the layers of flavor with a mix of garlic, carrots, onions and rosemary under heat in the same pot. Stir in the anchovies until dissolved into the mixture. Deglaze with 1 cup of white wine. Add the remaining wine, chicken broth, whole can of broken-up tomatoes, olives, citrus peel and pepper. Return the shanks to the pot, making sure they are submerged in the sauce. Seal the pot with a piece of foil and then the lid. Finally, let the magic unfold in the next two hours in a 350°F oven.

Dutch oven vs. tagine pot: Besides the Dutch oven, the tagine pot is another viable cooking vessel. Since the braising liquid is much thicker with a can of tomatoes, the Dutch oven may provide a better seal over a two-hour period. I usually cook the lamb tagine for 3 to 4 hours for the tenderest meat. Most importantly, I choose the cooking vessel according to the amount of food I need to make. For sure, the tagine pot has the look and gets the results that are company worthy.