Thermal Cookers - Shrinking Meat

Hi Kev

Purchased from a well known supermarket - have purchased from there in the past and cooked on stove top with normal outcome.

The firstborn childerbeast did say that it was very salty - I don't use salt to cook so you may be onto something with it being over pumped with brine. ( I suppose water costs the same as the meat LOL)

The nagivator just suggested - could it be from freezing it first? Normally we don't freeze corned meat?

Anyway - it tasted OK, super tender even if a it saltier than normal - just have to try again. Lamb shanks last week were to die for...

Cheers

Anthony

Lamb shanks. Got a recipe you'd like to share Anthony?

Hi Bazooka

I can't claim the recipe as my own but here it is. ( I hope I don't get in trouble for breach of copyright etc - but it is on the www for free). It is from Jamie Oliver's book Jamie's Great Britain. I have explained at the bottom how I have adapted it for the thermal cooker.

GUINESS LAMB SHANKS

3 red onions, peeled
olive oil
sea salt and ground pepper
2 handfuls of raisins
3 heaped tablespoons thick-cut marmalade
1 heaped tablespoon tomato ketchup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, plus extra for serving
200ml Guinness or smooth dark ale
6 lamb shanks, roughly 350g each
8 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 litre organic chicken stock

Finely chop the onions and put them into a really large casserole-type pan (roughly 26cm in diameter and 12cm deep), with a lug of olive oil and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook over a medium to high heat, stirring as you go, until the onions start to caramelize. Add the raisins and marmalade, then add the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and booze. Give it all a good stir, then leave to gently simmer.

Put the lamb shanks into a large frying pan (roughly 30cm wide) on a medium to high heat with a drizzle of olive oil – you can cook them in batches if needed. Turn them every few minutes; once they have some good colour, pick in the rosemary leaves and move them around in the pan to get crispy, but don’t let them burn. Use tongs to move the shanks into the pan of onions, then pour in all their juices and the crispy rosemary. Add the stock, put the lid on, turn down the heat and leave to blip away slowly for around 3 hours, or until the meat falls off the bone easily. Try to turn the shanks halfway through so they cook evenly.

When the lamb shanks are ready, carefully move them to a platter, making sure the meat stays intact. Whiz or liquidize the gravy with a stick blender until smooth, then allow to reduce down and thicken.

Add a little splash of cider vinegar and a few more splashes of Worcestershire sauce to the sauce, then ladle it all over the lamb shank and pour the rest into a jug for people to help themselves.

HOW I DID IT IN THE THERMAL COOKER

I browned the shanks first in the 6 lt inner pot first, then put them aside while I did the saucy bit. Then I put the shanks in the sauce and simmered for 25 mins to get the heat up. I cooked some potatoes in he top pot for mash to serve with it and put the whole lot aside for 6 and a bit hours.

Because I was trying this for camping, I used what I would have in my pantry, so I used dried rosemary and pushed the saucy stuff through a wire sieve to get it smoother before thickening

All in all a very enjoyable meal - even the "Monster-in-law" was impressed.

There are a heap of recipes on he www that I want to try. Hope you enjoy

Cheers

Anthony

Thanks Anthony

Thanks for the reply gbc - it would appear that the "what is pumped in before" may be a possible reason.

Being spoilt with good home grown meat from the family farm, I forget what is like to buy meat from the shop. We will have to get to get back into corning and making sausages again - will have to get the cousins to help out cause I haven't done it for a while


Cheers

Anthony

Hi Bantam

The meat cooked ok and was very tender, it's just the bugger shrunk.

I am going to try again with a piece of meat that is corned by the local butcher who has bought our cows for his shop. I have tried his corn before on the stove top and it was beautiful. Hopefully this will be a little more trust worthy.

I also always bring any meat up to room temp before cooking so that it isn't shocked when it is cooked.

Cheers

Anthony

Hi Lynne

I think the quality of the meat may be the key factor - both before it is corned, how it is corned and how much water is pumped into it.

We have a farm so acces to good meat is no problem, it is just that corning and making sausage etc is so time consuming. May have to start having a go at it again.

Our local butcher takes our beasts and his corns etc are pretty good so I will have a go with some of his.

I will have another cack at it and reduce the time a bit - I did exactly as you have suggested but left it for about 7 hours. May be a it too long.

Anyway, new technology for us and it is fun playing.

Cheers

Anthony