Lamb in Red Wine Sauce

This is a most delicious recipe that makes a thick rich sauce, a wonderful way to cook lamb rather than the usual rare lamb.

1 leg of lamb, bone-in is better
1 1/2 tblspns olive oil or goose fat
2 - 3 onions, peeled
2 celery sticks
3 - 4 carrots peeled
8 - 10 garlic cloves, peeled
1 1/2 - 2 (750 ml) bottles of red wine, the best you can afford
rosemary and thyme, or herb de provence
black and white peppercorns
bunch of parsley (flat leaf preferred)
1 tblspn wine vinegar
salt to taste

Trim off fat from the lamb and discard fat. Salt and pepper the lamb. Heat up oil in a dutch oven on the stove. Brown the lamb on all sides, this usually takes about 10 minutes or so. Drain the fat when finished.

Put lamb in dutch oven. Add 1 1/2 - 2 bottles of red wine (use decent wine, not the best in the celler but decent). Add quartered onions, garlic cloves quartered, some salt, and celery sticks cut up. These give the lamb flavor but are not meant to be eaten.

Alternatively (better, but a bit more fussy): after browning the lamb, remove lamb, and into the same dutch oven, with about one tablespoon of fat, dice and put in onions, carrots, and celery. Saute these until the onions start to brown then proceed with the recipe by adding lamb, wine etc.

In either cheesecloth of a "tea ball" put in a few bay leaves, a bunch of parsley, about 10 peppercorns (black and white), some herb de provence or some thyme and rosemary. Put this "bouquet garni" in the liquid with the lamb.

Add a few tablespoons of wine vinegar and some salt.

Cover tightly as possible and cook in the oven at 425 - 450 degrees or on the stove. Oven is best because it prevents the bottom from scorching.

Turn the lamb over at least once or twice during cooking. Cooking generally takes about 3 or even 4 hours. You want the lamb to be completely falling apart so you can eat it with a spoon.

If you add cooking liquid to it during cooking due to evaporation, add broth rather than water (I use chicken broth) if possible, otherwise add water. Don't let the liquid level get too low or things will scorch.

When finished remove the lamb, discard the vegetables but keep the sauce.

The sauce is very rich and you should be able to eat the lamb with a spoon! It tastes as good or better the next day.

By Richard Geller. Posted to the PaleoRecipe Mailing List, Feb. 2001