Slow Braised Lamb Neck
While cuts of lamb like lamb chops and leg of lamb are super popular, lamb neck is a great choice for slow cooking and braising. The bone and connective tissue adds so much flavor, breaking down during a long cooking process, resulting in incredibly delicious and succulent meat.
- Level: Medium
- Time: 3 hours
- Nutrition: 544kcal per serving
INGREDIENTS
- 2 lb (1kg) lamb neck
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 onion
- 2 medium carrots
- 1 celery stalk
- 4 garlic cloves grated/minced
- 8 thyme sprigs
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup red wine
- 3 cups beef stock
PREPARATION STEPS
- Preheat the oven to 320°F/160°C.
- Pat the lamb dry with paper towels then season generously with salt on both sides.
- Brown in a hot, deep pan set over medium-high heat. Remove and set aside.
- In the same pan, sauté the vegetables, garlic and thyme until they start to brown.
- Stir in the tomato paste then deglaze the pan with the red wine.
- Pour in the stock.
- Add the lamb necks back in then season with salt and pepper. Cover and place in the preheated oven to braise for 2-2½ hours or until the lamb is fork tender.
- Check every hour and top up with stock if necessary – the lamb should be covered to ensure thorough cooking.
- At this point, I like to remove the heat and increase the heat to 400°F/200°C for another 10-15 minutes until the sauce has reduced slightly and the lamb is caramelized but this is an optional step.
- Garnish the stew with fresh parsley (optional) then serve with your choice of side dishes.