Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Coffee-Braised Lamb Shanks

Coffee-Braised Lamb Shanksa
Posted by David Lebovitz - Nov.5 2014

When I moved to France, I was surprised that lamb shanks were somewhat hard to find. Many butchers sold all sorts of cuts of lamb, including lamb shoulders, ribs, and cutlets, but shanks proved elusive. Then I learned that you had to ask for them; for some reason, they’re always kept in the back. I’m not sure why, since it’s my favorite cut of lamb and it deserves to be out in the open. Souris d’agneau (lamb shanks) don’t require a lot of work. They rely on time, which turns a tough cut of meat into something soft and succulent. And with shanks, each person gets their own portion, which makes a nice presentation.
Coffee-Braised Lamb Shanks
Last spring when I was on book tour in Houston, Joshua Weissman stopped by to say hi. At the ripe age of seventeen, Joshua runs a blog called Slim Palate. Joshua had been a hefty kid and decided to do something about it. So he challenged the way he ate, began eating healthy foods, and cooking for himself, which is the best way to eat well. By doing so, he lost a whopping hundred pounds on a Paleo diet. It was such a success, that kids who’d previously teased him about his weight at school started asking him for advice. So yes, it’s true: eating well is the best revenge!

Before leaving, Joshua gave me a copy of his book, The Slim Palate Paleo Cookbook, which he wrote and photographed himself. Leafing through the pages makes me feel like a loser. Because when I was seventeen, I was listening to the Steve Miller Band with my shaggy hair and sneaking cigarettes out in the backyard with the other kids in the neighborhood. (And trying to figure out why I found Bette Midler more interesting than Raquel Welch.)
Coffee-Braised Lamb Shanks

I took a walk over to Belleville, to the butchers that I frequent, who are used to l’américain asking them too-many questions about all the meats and sausages that they sell, including spicy merguez, and whole roasted lamb heads – which, so far, I’ve passed on.
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