Smoked and Braised Lamb Shanks with Roasted Spring Vegetables

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Love the taste of lamb for Easter but don’t want to go to the bother of cooking a whole leg of lamb? This recipe combines stovetop smoking with slow cooking to produce fall-off-the-bone tender meat with a very rich, flavorful sauce. Although wonderful the day it is prepared, this entrée is even better after mellowing for a day. You’ll need a stovetop smoker and a slow cooker (alternatively, the lamb shanks could be braised in a 325 degree F oven for 3 to 3 1/2 hours after being smoked). Serve with roasted spring vegetables (recipe follows) and garlic mashed potatoes. Smoke and braise extra shanks for a wonderful lamb stew.

Ingredients

4 lamb shanks (about 1 pound each)
1 tablespoon apple wood shavings
1 tablespoon hickory shavings
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, peeled and chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
2 large celery ribs, cleaned and chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon minced fresh flat leaf parsley
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
10 Tellicherry peppercorns
2 cups Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon
2 cups beef stock, homemade preferred
Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Trim any exterior fat from the shanks and season them with salt and pepper.

Prepare the stovetop smoker by adding 2 tablespoons of wood chips (1 tablespoon of hickory and 1 tablespoon of apple) under the drip pan. Place the lamb shanks in the smoker and tent aluminum foil over the shanks. Leave one corner of the foil loose and heat the smoker over medium heat.

Once smoke begins to show, tightly seal the foil and smoke the shanks for 20 minutes. Remove smoker from the stovetop and place shanks on a plate.

Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 lamb shanks and brown them on all sides until golden brown. Remove them to a plate and brown the other 2 lamb shanks. Transfer the shanks to the plate.

Drain off all but 1 tablespoon of drippings from the skillet. Add the onions, carrots, and celery to the skillet and cook them, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic, tomatoes, parsley, basil, oregano, peppercorns, wine, and stock; heat to boiling. Transfer the vegetables and liquid to a slow cooker set on high. Place the lamb shanks on top of the vegetables and cook, covered, for 4 to 6 hours on high or 9 to 10 hours on low. Remove the shanks and keep warm while finishing the sauce.

Strain the sauce through a fine mesh colander into a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Allow sauce to reduce and thicken, about 15 minutes. (If desired, the sauce could be thickened with a cornstarch slurry.)

Yield: 4 servings

BBQ American Pie

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First we’ll start off with good old American apple pie. This recipe can be whipped up at the last minute, as can most of these BBQ desserts, and gives you a delicious pie that tastes like Grandma made it. If the crust is charred along the edges, who cares? It’s barbecue, man. Oh yes, my grandma lived in Canada…hence the addition of cheese to the pie. Try it, you’ll love it.

Ingredients

Pie crust for a 2-crust pie (the packaged roll-up kind works just fine)

10 medium Granny Smith and/or Macoun apples, peeled, cored and sliced (a 50-50 mix is wonderful)
1/2 cube of unsalted butterBBQ Apple Pies
2 tablespoons Applejack brandy
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/3 teaspoons cinnamon
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup of apple juice
1 cup brown sugar

3 ounces bleu cheese, crumbled
3 ounces aged white cheddar cheese, crumbled

2 tablespoons cream to brush on pie crust

Instructions

Melt the butter in a large non-stick pan and add the apples; stir over medium heat for 2 minutes, then add the brandy, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, cornstarch mix, and brown sugar.
Stir well and cook until the apples are just beginning to soften, about 8-10 minutes.

Set aside and let the apple mixture cool to room temperature.

Line the bottom crust of your pie plate with one of the crusts, prick the crust with a fork, and add the filling. Sprinkle the cheddar and blue cheese on top of the filling and cover with the top pie crust.

Slit the crust in three places and crimp the edges of the top and bottom crusts together with a fork.  

Brush the top of the pie with the cream to help brown the crust.  Use an aluminum pie-crust-edge protector or small strips of aluminum foil to cover the edges of the pie. About ten minutes before pie is done, remove the covering to let edges brown evenly.  

Place the pie on indirect heat in a medium-hot barbecue (450 degrees F. or so) and cook for 45 minutes or until the surface of the pie is golden brown. Cool the pie and serve with ice cream (homemade is awesome). 

Creamy Cheesecake with Pomegranate Topping

Creamy Cheesecake with Pomegranate Topping

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Cool the heat from your chile-spiked dish with a slice of this rich cheesecake. Fresh pomegranates in the topping make this a beautiful, unforgettable dessert. Recipe courtesy of Pomegranates.org, where you’ll find many more recipes featuring pomegranates.

Ingredients

Crust: 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 9, 5 X 2.5 crackers)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened


Filling:

2 8-ounce containers whipped cream cheese
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh orange zest

Topping:

Seeds from 2 pomegranates
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup pomegranate juice
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons sugar

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. In a 9-1/2 inch springform pan, place crust ingredients and with fingers, blend well. Press mixture evenly over bottom and 3/4 inch up side of pan.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat filling ingredients on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Pour filling into crust and bake in middle of oven 20 minutes, or until cheesecake is just set in center. (Cake will continue to set as it cools.) Transfer cake in pan to a rack and cool, about 3 hours.

Place juice in a 1-cup liquid measure and add water. Sprinkle gelatin over pomegranate juice and let stand 1 minute to soften gelatin. Remove the seeds from the pomegranates.

Transfer gelatin mixture to a small saucepan. Add sugar and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Pour mixture into a bowl and set bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cold water, stirring mixture gently until it is cold and slightly thickened but not set. Stir in pomegranate seeds and spoon topping onto chilled cheesecake. Chill cake until topping is set, about 1 hour. Remove side of pan and serve chilled.

Heat scale: mild

Louisiana-style Hot Sauce

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This sauce is seriously hot! Recipe by Mike Stines, Ph.B.

Ingredients

1/2 cup diced habanero and birdseye chiles
2/3 cup white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt

Instructions

Rinse the chiles under cold water to remove any dirt and pat dry. Cut the stems off of the chilis and finely dice (remove seeds if desired). Place the chiles and vinegar in a two-quart non-aluminum saucepan. Add the salt and bring to a low boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer the chiles for five minutes. Transfer the liquid to a food processor and blend until smooth. (Be careful not to inhale the fumes during processing!)

Pour the sauce into a sterilized bottle and refrigerate for at least three weeks, inverting and shaking every few days, to develop its full flavor. (If refrigerated, this sauce will keep for about three months.)

Adobo Pork

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This recipe is an adaptation of a recipe originally printed in the Officers’ Wives Club Cookbook from Clark AFB in the Philippines. If desired, boneless chicken breasts could also be added (or substituted) to the recipe. (This recipe requires advance preparation.)

Ingredients

2 (10-ounce) bone-in pork chops, about 3/4 to one inch thick
Coarse kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

For the marinade:

1 cup homemade or low sodium chicken stock
1/3 cup finely chopped yellow onion
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 1/2 teaspoons)
1 1/4 teaspoons ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

Instructions

Prepare the marinade by combining all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Trim most of the fat from the pork chops and score the remaining fat. Place the chops in a resealable plastic bag and add the marinade. Squeeze the air out of the bag and marinate the chops, refrigerated, at least four hours or up to eight hours.

Remove the chops from the marinade and pat dry. Discard the marinade. Season the chops with salt and pepper.

Prepare the grill for medium-high direct cooking. Place the chops on the grill and cook, covered, about six minutes per side or to an internal temperature of 145 degrees F.

Remove the chops from the grill and bring into the kitchen. Tent with foil and allow the chops to rest for five minutes before serving.