From rdngemail@^spam^yahoo.co.uk Sat Mar 18 11:20:29 2006 Date: 15 Mar 2006 17:47:18 GMT From: Richard Dixon Newsgroups: uk.food+drink.misc Subject: Re: Six-hour shin of beef congokid wrote in news:w0RUx2LctCGEFwfs@congokid.demon.co.uk: > Reminds me of the seven hour leg of lamb that I posted a while back. I'd missed that first time around so google a bit and found it. Richard * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Seven hour leg of lamb This braise, though Italianate in flavour, is based on a French dish. The name conveys the idea, which is to cook the lamb so thoroughly it can be cut with a spoon. Note the generous latitude for cooking times. The wine can be anything that isn't too fruity: I used Domaine le Lian, Cotes de Gascogne (Wine Rack £3.99). 2-3 kilo (4-6lb) leg of lamb 2 heads of garlic (cloves separated, but unpeeled) 1 large onion, coarsely chopped 1 large carrot, coarsely chopped 2 stalks of celery, coarsely chopped 5 peppercorns 1 bay leaf a small handful of parsley 1 tsp dried thyme, rosemary or oregano 1 75cl bottle of white wine 150ml (6fl oz) balsamic vinegar) Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F, Gas 4). Brown the lamb as evenly as possible in olive oil and put it in a large casserole. Add all remaining ingredients, except the wine and vinegar. Pour in enough wine to cover the lamb around halfway and cook in the oven, turning from time to time: add wine or water if too much liquid has cooked away. A large lamb will need 6-7 hours, though it can be eaten any time from 4 hours onwards. Add the vinegar for the last hour or so. When the lamb is done, degrease the braising liquid meticulously. Discard the vegetables and serve the meat with the garlic, a potato gratin, and braised leeks or celery. * * * * * * * * I've found that very cheap, low quality joints fare better with this treatment than do 'organic' or expensively reared joints and turn out more tender.