last night i braised lamb shanks and here's how i did it
3-4 shanks
1 onion
2 carrots, cut into 3-inch quartered staves
2 stalks of celery, same as above
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp tomato paste
2 bottles stout or porter
1 cup-ish chicken or beef stock
rosemary
thyme
bay leaf
parsley
preheat an oven to 500 degrees. coat the shanks lightly with vegetable oil and place them in a dutch oven. put the dutch oven in the preheated oven for approximately five minutes, or until the heat gives the shanks a nice sear. alternatively you can sear the shanks over the stove, about five minutes a side on medium-high heat, if you aren't afraid of smoke. either way, once the shanks have a sear, remove them from the dutch oven and set them aside.
the recipe i followed said to drain the grease and add vegetable oil. don't do that, it's dumb. instead, toss your onions and garlic right into that rendered fat and soak up the dense lamb flavour. it adds richness to the braising liquid you'll soon be making. saute them over medium-low heat for five minutes or until they turn kind of translucent, and then add the other aromatic veggies and the tomato paste. IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANY TOMATO PASTE then use
marc's trick over at no recipes - steam a tomato or two and push their guts through the bottom of a decent-sized strainer using a pestle or the back end of a spoon. you can also probably just plop a diced tomato in, though you'll want to maybe gut the seeds from it if you can.
anyways. saute those veggies for another five minutes and use a wooden spoon to stir them around and scrape the bottom of the oven to get all the browned bits down there up and into the veggies. once five minutes have passed put the shanks over top of the sauteed vegetables and cover them with a bottle of beer, the stock, and enough of the second bottle of beer that it just covers the top of the uppermost shank. bring it to a simmer over high heat; while you're waiting, take all the herbs except the rosemary and find a way to get them into the dutch oven. ideal is you're using fresh herbs and can just tie them together securely with kitchen twine. if you're not you can make a little cheesecloth pouch for the loose dried herbs and the bay leaf and then plop the pouch into the broth. if you don't have cheesecloth, just toss the herbs in. when you're dealing with the braising liquid later you'll have to strain all the herbs out but you're gonna have to live with that.
once it's simmering and you've got all your herbs in there, pop a lid on it, turn the heat down fairly low, and let it braise for about two to three hours (it took me about an hour and forty five minutes, honestly, but the longer they go the more tender they'll be). the shanks are ready once you can pull the meat apart using a fork with little to no effort. the rosemary is added in the last ten minutes; check the shanks for doneness and, when they're done, pop in the rosemary and let it go for another ten minutes. it's not like they'll suddenly get tough.
pull the shanks out very gently and set them under foil to keep warm. turn the heat up and bring the braising liquid to a boil until its volume reduces to whatever consistency you desire. strain it into a tureen. untent the shanks, dish out whatever sides (i made roast potatoes and steamed broccoli) and pour a healthy ladle or two of the braising liquid over top of each shank. serve.