Tear Jerker Lamb Shanks

I hadn’t seen my father openly weep until the night Mama made her lamb shanks last fall break. For the previous two fall breaks, my mother had been hooked up to a feeding tube that steadily dripped liquid nutrition and toxic chemo drugs. At one point, she had actually flat lined. Cancer almost took her, but she survived it. The night Mama made her lamb shanks was the first meal we shared as a family since she was declared cancer free.

Although the occasion was momentous, we prepared for the meal the same way we did every night of my childhood. My sisters and I set the table for supper. I put on the same CD we listened to at supper every night, Classics In Jazz. A clarinet and harp duo filled the room with tones that resonated like fingers on the rims of wineglasses. I lit the two tall tapers in cobalt blue holders while my little sister set out white embroidered napkins and forks on the right of each place and pistol handled steak knives on the left. My big sister filled water glasses and poured ruby red wine for my parents and herself. I went behind my little sister and switched the forks, napkins, and knives like I did every night. (She staunchly refused to abide by the Emily Post table setting etiquette, much to our mother’s chagrin.)

While we set the table, Mama opened the richly fragrant oven in the kitchen, and the mellow scent of lamb wafted through the archway into the dining room. Daddy set out plates and anxiously shifted from foot to foot while the rest of us filled our plates and puttered over last details.

Finally, we were all five seated at the round wooden dining room table, our plates steaming in front of us. Before we ate, we joined hands, all five, and bowed our heads. It was my little sister’s turn to bless the meal, as per our family rotation. This was her prayer:

“Father in heaven, thank you for this food. Thank you for this family. Thank you for healing Mama. Thank you for keeping our family together through these past two years. Thank you for safe travels for Delaney and Tyler from college. Thank you for Daddy’s work. Thank you for my soccer game, and please help me focus on my test. Thank you for Oscar, the best dog in the world. I ask you to continue to protect our family. Please give a special blessing over all those who don’t have enough tonight. In Your name we pray, Amen.”

The peace of her prayer transcended the table setting squabbles, the grout on my father’s pants, and the radiation burns on Mama’s neck.

When the amen broke our hands apart, we picked up our forks and took our first bites. Velvety lamb drenched in delicate gravy melted in our mouths, and bright, herby cous cous rolled flavor across our tongues. Fresh green beans sautéed with bacon and shallots balanced the plate by adding crunch. We used hunks of sweet, fluffy challah bread to sop up the extra gravy.

For the first few minutes of the meal, we savored silently, reverently. As we ate, I noticed that my father had welled up with tears. Soon, he was weeping openly. We looked at him questioningly, and he turned to Mama and said, “Ashlee, my love, I am so glad you are here. This is the best meal I’ve ever had.” With that, the rest of us joined in his tears. We all sat around the table emoting with abandon, rejoicing, and reveling in Mama’s perfectly tender lamb shanks. Our family had made it through two years of hell together, and now we were finally in a place where we could celebrate. Mama was back. Our creative, thoughtful, stubborn, gifted Mama was still alive and was determined to keep loving our family through food, like she always had.

Mama’s Lamb Shank Recipe

I called Mama on the phone to ask her for her lamb shank recipe. She sheepishly told me that it was really, really simple. I do not think that she needed to be sheepish. There is something sublime about the simplicity of this dish. It is a fall-off-the-bone, melt-in-your-mouth masterpiece.

Ingredients:

• Lamb shanks *Mama says to get the very best quality lamb shanks that you can find. She says to look for the Publix Greenwise brand because they are fresh and never frozen. Sometimes when she is feeding a crowd, she has to haunt the store all week because they usually only stock a few each day. Plan for one lamb shank per person.
• Greek seasoning if you’re feeling frisky *Mama says this is absolutely not necessary, but that it adds flair if you have it.
• 2 tsp. + ½ cup water
• 1 can reduced sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour

Supplies:

• cookie sheet
• ample tinfoil

Instructions:

1. Put the lamb shanks on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle two teaspoons of water in the bottom of the pan to keep the meat moist as it cooks. If you choose to apply Greek seasoning, apply it now. Make sure that the Greek seasoning has no salt. Salting the meat before roasting it will ruin the dish.

2. Cover the cookie sheet tightly with multiple layers of tinfoil to prevent steam and liquid from escaping. (If you have a Dutch oven, you can use that, but Mama uses cookie sheets because they are larger and therefore more accommodating when feeding a crowd.)
3. Put the lamb shanks in the oven at 250 degrees Farenheit around 10 or 11 a.m., or 6-7 hours before you plan to serve them. Do not touch them until just before supper time.
4. Pull the hot pan out. Be careful not to spill. While it cooks, lamb releases tons of flavorful juices. Drain the juices off of the cookie sheet into a saucepan.
   
5. Re-cover the meat with the tinfoil while you make the gravy. This tenting process allows the meat to stay tender.
6. Mix the lamb juices in the pan with a can of reduced sodium chicken broth.
7. While the broth mixture heats up, make a slurry of the flour and remaining ½ cup of cold water. (This used to be my job as a child, and after making a few batches of lumpy gravy, I learned that the trick to perfect gravy is to get all of the lumps out of the flour-water slurry before adding it to the hot broth. I like to do the mixing in a glass with a spoon. Get rid of stubborn lumps by pressing them against the edge of the glass with the back of the spoon.)
8. Pour the smooth, white slurry slowly into the simmering broth mixture, stirring constantly. Stir this as it simmers for a few minutes. It will thicken into a rich, silky gravy.
9. Before serving, salt the lamb lightly. Make sure to set the table with a salt grinder so diners can salt to taste.
10. This dish is best served with an herb, mushroom, and white wine cous cous risotto and something green. Lamb also pairs well with mint jelly. You can find this at the grocery store, or you can make it yourself!