Country Style Lamb Shanks

Fifty percent of my family loves lamb, but this recipe is for the other fifty percent. This recipe brings you to a farmhouse in the 1950s, the sort of dish made by a woman who believes that lamb and ketchup are soul mates, and though I would have mocked her yesterday, tonight she has earned my respect. 

The original recipe for "Barbecued Lamb Shanks" is from the revised edition of Farm Journal's Country Cookbook. Published originally in 1959 and revised in 1972 to reflect "modern" developments like the home freezer, I wasn't actually planning on cooking any of the recipes, but it came in handy when I needed to find recipes using lard. (A story for another day, obviously.)

If you need a recipe for lamb shanks, here is a great one. I made the recipe for two, but here are the proportions to serve 4.

Ingredients:
​4 lamb shanks
1/4 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. lard
1/4 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
1 t. dry mustard
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/2 c. ketchup
1 T. apple cider vinegar
1-8 oz. can tomato sauce

Directions:
1. Dredge the lamb in the flour and salt. Brown the meat in the lard in a Dutch oven, and then remove the shanks and pour off the fat. 

2. Return the meat to the Dutch oven and mix together the brown sugar, mustard, salt, pepper, ketchup, vinegar, and tomato sauce. Pour it over the meat and then cover and simmer for 1-1/2 to 2 hours OR bake in a 350 degree oven for the same length of time. 

3. When it is finished and tender, cut the meat off the bones and put on a plate. Boil the sauce for a few minutes to concentrate the flavors and then pour it over the meat.