Back when I was a kid, we used to almost go the knuckle over who would get the shank when dad was carving the roast. Once, my brother even ran away from home when my sister got the prize over him, - dead set true - even though he'd been hovering around behind the old man for a good half hour waiting for his cut.
Well.....things would have been a whole lot easier if we'd had a recipe like this one, where everyone's a winner.
We sometimes cook it up at home in the slow cooker - but it is 10 times better under the stars and out of the camp oven. You can team it with couscous (described here), damper or both - and out in the middle of the Simpson, we even threw in a packet of pre-made, store bought gnocchi we had squirrelled away up the back of the camp kitchen in case of emergency.
Talk about comfort food.
You will need:
Shanks
4-6 lamb shanks (depending on how many of you there are)
Plain flour, pepper and salt
A good splash of oil (a couple of tablespoons)
1 large, diced onion
A can of chopped tomatoes
About a can full of water (use the empty tomato can)
A couple of shakes of salt (roughly a teaspoon)
A couple of shakes of Keens mustard powder (or similar)
About a tablespoon spoon of brown sugar
A splash of Worcestershire sauce (about a tablespoon).
1/3 of a can of vinegar (use the empty tomato can)
Cous Cous
About half a can of couscous
A full can of water
Some butter
You will do:
* Grab yourself a beer (or two), and relax while your fire burns to the point where you've got a nice bed of coals.
* Place a good sized camp oven directly onto the fire (lid on) to heat up. At the same time, dust your shanks with a bit of flour, salt and pepper and set aside (away from the flies).
* Move your camp oven onto the dirt by the side of the fire, and splash in a bit of oil. Drop in the shanks - and brown them all over. The camp oven should be holding plenty of heat to do this.
* Grab the browned shanks out with some tongs and stick them onto a plate. Assuming the camp oven is still hot enough, chuck in the onions (and a bit more oil if required) and stir until translucent. If the camp oven has lost its heat, chuck it back on the fire for a bit (but don't burn yourself or the onions). Don't forget to keep the flies off your shanks.
* Add all the other ingredients to the onions in the camp oven and stir thoroughly before adding the shanks back in.
* Have a couple of beers....you've deserved it. Once the second beer is finished, put another couple of shovel of coals onto the camp oven (they should now be spilling over around the sides of the oven).
* Repeat the step above.
* Once you've finished the second beer (timing may vary depending on your pace) scrape the coals away and lift the lid to check progress. If the meat is coming away from the bone easily, your shanks are ready. If not, repeat the prior step.....and if you need to move to wine that's OK..... so long as you've get the picture.
* Couscous: Once your meat is cooked, its time to prepare your couscous. This is dead simple.....just bring a can of water to the boil in the billy, and tip it over the couscous in a pot - or even a bowl - with a nob of butter for flavour. Cover with a lid (or foil) and leave for a couple of minutes until cooked. Then give it all a good fluff up with a fork.
* Greens (optional): If you want greens - then about the same time as you are boiling your billy for the couscous, stick what you want in a foil parcel with a bit of water, and chuck them on top of the old camp oven coals to steam.
Serve it up.....you won't be disappointed!!! Below is a meal we cooked with damper in the back yard.
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