The Aspiring Luddite

	I carry no phone An aspiring Luddite In a wired world. Mastodon Verification Link	Jeff Berry is an early adopter of the Internet and the Web, a late adopter of Twitter, and declines to adopt Facebook. With the death of Google+, he migrated to the Fediverse. He admins a medievalist Mastodon instance. He hates cell-phones.

Braised Mutton Shank
28 July 2011

I don't understand the American obsession with lamb. Or rather, I do think I understand it, I just don't agree with it. Lamb is alright, but mutton ... now mutton, if you can get it, is a whole different animal. Well, actually, it's the same animal, only older, but it tastes like a whole different animal.

We, as Americans eat both veal and beef, so why don't we eat lamb and mutton? It's a little weird. The farmers upstate from whom I get my meats should know better, but recently the order form had words to the effect of, "This mutton is just over the age limit but the butcher says it's lamb quality," as if mutton was inferior. Enough of that rant, however ...

Mutton shank, like most shank and shank-like cuts, benefits from long slow cooking, which means crock-pot at my house. Braised with vegetables, it turns into a tender and flavorful dish, suitable even in summer.

[Mutton Shank] Braised Mutton Shank

1 1/2 pounds of mutton shank, more or less
a handful of cilantro
1/2 a small red cabbage
1 medium onion
salt and pepper
2-3 tsp mustard seed
1 to 1 1/2 cups water
a good splash, 2-3 Tbs, red wine vinegar

Rinse the mutton shank, salt and pepper it, and then press the mustard seeds all over it. Place it in the bottom of the crock pot. Slice or shred the cabbage, slice the onion and chop the cilantro. Add to the crock pot in that order. Add the water and the vinegar and let cook for four or five hours on low. Then pull out the shanks and take the meat off the bone. If it isn't essentially falling off the bone, it's not done.

[The vegetables]

Serve over pasta and with a nice green salad.

Enjoy!

The Aspiring Luddite