Nana’s Mutton Shank Casserole

Puckles's Note:

Mrs E.M. Culloty’s Award Winning Recipe. Nana regularly served this to me 30 years ago. It tastes fantastic and I’m so pleased that she wrote the recipe down.

• Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 4 mutton shanks , cut in half
• 1 beef stock cube
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup red wine
• water
• olive oil
• potato (as many as you like)
• 3 large onions
• 2 -3 stalks celery
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup frozen peas (and or beans)
• 3 carrots , sliced
• 1 medium sized parsnip , sliced
• 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

Directions:

1. Put the shanks into a large enough casserole dish, pour over wine, add onions, salt and garlic powder. Cover and bake at 180º for one hour, turning shanks over once. Remove shanks and set aside. Strain off fat and make plenty of brown gravy by bringing to boil the juices in the bottom of the pan, adding flour, and gradually stirring in water, a beef stock cube, and a dessertspoon of soy sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste.
2. Now add sufficient potatoes for the meal, cut into quarters if large and left whole if small, 2 or 3 stalks of celery cut into pieces, about a cup of peas and beans, 3 sliced carrots, a medium sized parsnip sliced, the finely grated rind (zest) and juice of a lemon, 1 teaspoon of ground ginger, 3 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon dried sage, 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, and salt to taste. Put the shanks back in mix everything up and cook for another hour or until the vegetables are tender. Keep lid on casserole while cooking, but after 30 minutes, give it all a good stir and mix it all up again.
3. Tip: Cook it all in the morning and then let it cool down. Later that day, scrape off any fat that has set on the surface and warm it up for an hour in the oven for a really great result.