Braised Lamb with Blackberry Sauce

By the time I remembered to get a lamb shank for the Seder plate, lamb bones were few and far between at the market.  There was plenty of ground and boneless lamb, lamb for stew, and a couple of sad, fatty chops.  There was also one package of neck cuts that was 30% off.  Close enough.

Really, the only good way to cook lamb neck slices is slow braised, which is how I was going to do the hypothetical lamb shanks anyway.  There isn't a whole lot of effort involved, but you do have to start dinner early.

I'm using blackberry jam for the sauce.  You've already spent enough time braising the lamb.  Here's a time-saver at the end.  Actually, I used blackberry rhubarb jam because I still have two jars of it from last year's canning.  If you can't find blackberry jam, you can buy fresh or frozen blackberries and cook them down with sugar and a little water in about fifteen minutes.  Again, I was trying to save you some effort.

2 lbs bone-in lamb shanks or neck slices
1 Tb olive oil
1 onion, chopped
*1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp dried rosemary
kosher salt and pepper to taste
*1/2 C blackberry jam
*1 Tb Marsala (optional)

1.  Drizzle oil into a large soup pot and warm over medium heat.  Sauté onion until translucent.  Add lamb and garlic.  Cook until lamb is browned on all sides.

2.  Add water to cover.  Add rosemary and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cover.  Cook for about 2-1/2 to 3 hours, until meat is falling off the bones.  Check every hour or so to make sure it isn't boiling and there's enough water.  If the meat is only sticking up a little, you can just turn it and don't have to add water.

3.  For the sauce, warm jam in a small saucepan.  Add Marsala and a tablespoon of the broth, more if you want a thinner sauce.  Stir until uniform.

4.  Remove meat from saucepan.  You've just made a lamb bone broth, so I suggest straining it and saving the quart or so of liquid.  Once refrigerated overnight, you can remove the fat (which I also saved) and have a rich stock.  I made a batch of harira with it that was amazing.

5.  Traditionally, one lamb shank is a serving, but that can be a lot of meat.  Depending on how big they are, you may choose to take the meat off the bones and serve it in pieces.  I had to do that with the neck slices, and it simply looked like pulled lamb with a few larger pieces.  Serve with sauce.

Difficulty rating  π