Lamb Shanks in Red Wine Sauce

Glenn Lindgren: Although we had eaten this dish several times over the years at various Miami restaurants, we'd never made it ourselves.

Raúl Musibay: But we contacted some of our sources and came up with a very good recipe!

Jorge Castillo:Then our friend in Chicago (a professionally trained chef) surprised us by adapting our recipe to his own lamb cooking methods.

Raúl Musibay: The result appears below, and it's really delicious.

Glenn Lindgren: Our friend works at a restaurant that NEVER shares its recipes, so our contributor here will remain anonymous.

Jorge Castillo:If you ever eat at one of the major hotels in Chicago, you might get a chance to taste some of his great cooking!

3 pounds of lamb shanks cut in 1 1/2 inch pieces

Spices for seasoning the lamb:

Salt, black pepper, cumin, and paprika

Flour for dredging

Olive oil for frying

TO CREATE BRAISING LIQUID:

1 cup red wine

1 cup of chicken stock

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon cumin

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon Bijol powder

2 cups white onion, chopped

3 carrots, diced

5 cloves of garlic, mashed

Preheat oven to 275°F

Generously season lamb shanks with salt, pepper, cumin, and paprika. Dredge the seasoned lamb shanks in flour. Brown the meat in a frying pan with a little olive oil.

Mix wine, chicken stock, tomato sauce, oregano, cumin, olive oil, and bijol powder in a small bowl. Place the lamb shanks, onion, carrot, and garlic in a covered kettle (suitable for use in the oven). Pour the wine sauce over the meat and vegetables. Liquid should only come up about one-third on the meat.

Cover the kettle and let the lamb shanks braise in the oven for 90 minutes. (Add more sauce if needed to keep the correct level.) Turn the shanks, cover and cook for another 90 minutes or until the meat is fork tender.

Carefully remove the shanks from the pot and keep warm. Reduce the sauce slightly by bringing to a boil and cooking off some of the water. Serve the shanks over white rice with the reduced sauce poured on top.

Serves 4