Lamb Shanks Braised in Red Wine

I have followed this recipe successfully for decades. The first time I moved the recipe from a card to disk, I was limited to 8 characters for the title plus three for the extension. Until I switched from gas ovens to an electric one, I had no problems. The result was benign, but the wine/oil combo would reach its flash point and blow the oven door open. After checking for any fires, I would just close the door and continue with the meal. Usually, the door would blow open around 12 ? 17 minutes after putting the shanks into the hot oven. My guess is that the gas oven flames would just burn off any buildup of fumes, while the electric oven built up the concentrate until it flashed. I repeat, the effect was benign.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 5 mins
• Serves: 4-6
• Yields: 6 shanks

Ingredients

• 6  lamb shanks
•  water
• 1⁄4 cup celery top (leaves and tender side stems)
• 3  sprigs parsley (I use Italian flat leaf)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon  ground thyme
• 1  bay leaf
• 1  garlic clove, peeled and halved
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper
• 3⁄4 cup flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1  teaspoon  dried summer savory
• 1 1⁄2 cups red table wine
• 1⁄2 cup canola oil

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F Put the shanks in a large pot and add just enough water to cover the shanks. Season with celery tops, parsley, thyme, bay leaf, garlic, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer on the stovetop for 1 hour. Remove the shanks from the broth; strain the broth and reserve. Roll shanks in seasoned flour (dumping the flour, tarragon and savory into a large bag, shaking to meld then adding the shanks, one at a time works well). Mix the wine and oil together and pour over meat. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour or until crisply browned. Turn occasionally and baste frequently with the wine/oil mixture. Make gravy from the leftover flour, the pan drippings and the reserved broth.