I know, I know, I say it every time. Mexican rocks! How can a cuisine be so awesome? What makes them so special? Who do they think they are to come up with the perfect balance of flavours, the most tender meat and sensational accompaniments? Well, they’re not. There is a new Mexican on the block who is proud to say that these delectable tasty morsels were her own creation. Ok, I have had a little practice with other Mexican delights but these melt in your mouth, slow cooked lamb shank tacos were off the charts. Like, totally Amigos.
*There is no excuse not to cook these just because you think you can’t get Ancho Chillies. You can buy them on line from numerous places http://www.herbies.com.au/, http://chilemojo.com.au/ and http://www.gourmetgroceronline.com.au/ are three places I have found them. Essential Ingredient and Gourmet food shops should also stock them.
Prep time: 40 minutes Cooking time: 7 I am not leaving the house while it smells this good Hours $ Low Budget
Serves 4-6
4 Lamb shanks (you could use a lamb shoulder ……say 1kg)
2 tbs of olive oil
2 dried ancho chillies*
4 cloves of garlic
1 tomato, roughly chopped
Juice of 1/2 a lime
2 tsp of paprika
1 tsp of cumin seeds
1 tsp of chilli flakes (optional)
8 sprigs of coriander
Sea salt
10-12 mini corn or wheat tortillas
1 cup of sour cream
2 tbs of lime juice
For the Slaw:
8 savoy cabbage leaves, finely chopped
1 baby fennel bulb, finely sliced (tips reserved)
4 radishes, halved and very thinly sliced
1/2 a cup of coriander leaves, roughly chopped
1 tbs of extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and cracked pepper
For the Onion Salsa:
1 red onion, peeled, halved and finely sliced top to bottom
1 green chilli, finely chopped (seeds removed optional)
1 tbs of extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1/2 a lime
2 tbs of red wine vinegar
1 tsp of caster sugar
Sea salt and cracked pepper
Fennel fronds, finely chopped
Ok, I broke all my own rules here because I literally forgot to brown the lamb shanks. You can if you like but I am not sure the flavour of the lamb could get any better.
Place the ancho chillies in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Cover and allow to rest for 20 minutes. Do NOT drain the water.
To make the paste place the ancho chillies, garlic, tomato, lime juice, paprika, cumin seeds, chilli flakes, coriander and olive oil in a mixing bowl and blitz with a hand blender to make a coarse paste. use the ancho chilli water to thin it out once it is blitzed. You can place all the ingredients in a food processor if you don’t have a hand blender.
Place the lamb shanks in the slow cooker and pour the paste over. make sure all shanks are covered with the paste. tear off a piece of baking paper and tuck them in nice and tight. Place the slow cooker on low for 8 hours, turning occasionally, if you are home. Remove from the slow cooker and remove the meat from the shanks. Shred it with two forks, place it in a baking tray and spoon over any remaining sauce from the slow cooker. Mix it all together, cover and keep warm.
For the slaw, place all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine.
For the onion salsa, place all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl and toss to combine. The longer the onion sits, the better it gets.
Mix the sour cream and lime juice together.
Heat the tortillas to your preferred method. (instructions are on the back of the packet)
To serve, place a small amount of salad on the tortilla. Spread a generous helping of the lamb on top and drizzle over the sour cream. Top with the sweet onion salsa and absolutely wrap your laughing gear around it!
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Hi Ania,
That sounds good. Do i need to upload the recipes or do you guys do it automatically? I have had trouble in the past uploading to Foodgawker and other sites. Also, what would you like me to do in return?
Cheers
Em
Em,
Oh my goodness. This dish was amazing. Best part about being the chef is sucking all the goodness from the shank bones.
Loved this and will certainly make again!!
Cheers
James
Ditto being the chef James! Cheers and glad you liked the dish….Cheers Em
Hi Em, If I were to cook this in the oven, at what temperature?
I’m a bit confused about cooking times – I have a lamb shoulder here and according to the butcher it only needs 45 minutes per 500gms to slow cook at 170degrees.
That sounds awfully short to me!
I make a pulled pork and I cook that at 160degrees for about 9 hours!
Any other tips for slow cooking in an oven?
Thanks!
Stacia
Hi Stacia, when I cook a lamb shoulder I turn the oven up to 220°C to heat and then turn it down to 170°C when I put the lamb in the oven. I would pour the marinade over, rub it in and cover the tray tightly with foil and bake it for approximately 31/2 hours. Check half way that it hasn’t dried out too much and add a little water if need be. Turn the heat up to 180°C, remove the foil and cook for a further 30 minutes. So a total of 4 hours. The best way to know if it is ready is to pull it apart with 2 forks and if it does so easily, it is ready. The main thing is to not let it dry out. If you like, check it every hour just to be sure, but I think if you cover it nice and tightly it will maintain its moisture. I hope this helps! Cheers Em x Ps Let me know the result!
Hi Em!
I only just saw this today but I actually ended up cooking the sticky Asian Lamb. I only had 1kg of lamb shoulder, used the same amounts of the sauces and spices and cooked in the oven at 170degrees for about 3 hours – and then a little longer.
I turned it after the first hour and then again after the second hour. It was absolutely amazing!
We are going to cook pulled pork (my recipe) and the sticky asian lamb for my partner’s 30th in two weeks for 80 people!
I’m thinking of doing all the cooking in the 2 days before in slow cookers and my oven and then reheating on the night – any tips for reheating??
It will be all cooked in smaller batches of 3-4 kilos and then i’ll pull all the meat off into trays and separate all the big fatty bits – so we’d be reheating it in trays…should we just use a really low oven with the trays covered?
Or I could reheat on the stove top in big pots??
Any clues?
Thanks so much, loved that recipe and how willing you are to respond and help people!
Thank so much!!
Stacia
Hi Stacia, I would use throw-away foil trays, make sure the meat is smothered in the sauce (maybe double the batch and set aside half to reheat on the night). Bring them to room temp before reheating, add a little stock or water (just a tad) and cover tightly with foil. I would think a 160°C-170°C oven would do the trick. I would definitely use the oven over the stove top, less mess and work. I think it will be fine! Thanks for the feedback too xx
Hi Em, I just opened my ancho chilli and there was only one in the packet, and it is huge! Do you think having two is absolutely necessary, or could I get away with one? I can just go back to the shops but I’m being lazy!
Hi Samantha, I am sure one will be fine! Let me know how it goes xx
Absolutely delicious Em & so easy 🙂
Just had two more for lunch today, they get even tastier :–)
Hi Em,
I’m going to be cooking this for a dinner party tomorrow night as it looks amazing! I’ve got 10 people so have bought 8 shanks. I don’t have a slow cooker either, I do have an electric oven. What would you recommend for cooking times and temps?
Thanks,
Ricky
Hi Ricky, I did reply to your email but have just discovered that it bounced back…..so sorry about that. I was replying from my Iphone as I didn’t have access to the computer and somehow it ended up in cyber space for a while. I hope you managed to figure out cooking times but for future reference I would just cover the shanks with a tight fitting lid or foil and bake at 170°C for approximately 4 hours. The shanks are ready when the meat falls off the bone with little effort. My apologies again as I like to respond to all questions and comments immediately. Cheers Em