BBQ Massaman Curry Lamb Shanks
Yes, you can BBQ lamb shanks! Let me show you how the braised and barbequed method will result in a succulent sticky caramelised crust without missing out on fall off the bone tender lamb!
Equipment
- Kitchen/butcher’s string optional
- Large roasting pan
- Two litre jug or container
- Baking paper
- Aluminium foil
- Food processor
- Medium frying pan or wok
- Oven tray with rack (if not using BBQ)
Ingredients
Braised lamb shanks ingredients:
- 6 lamb shanks
- 800 ml coconut cream
- 1 ½ tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons palm sugar
- 700 ml room temperature water
- 100 ml boiling water
BBQ sauce ingredients:
- 6 cm piece galangal (can substitute ginger)
- 4 stalks lemon grass
- 6 long red chillies
- 2 brown onions
- 8 cloves garlic
- 4 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons ground cardamon
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons finely ground white pepper
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 4-6 tablespoons peanut oil
- 360 ml Kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
To serve ingredients:
- 3 limes
- 50 g roasted & salted peanuts
- 2 long red chillies
- 50 g crispy shallots (store bought)
- Small bunch of coriander
Instructions
Braised lamb shanks instructions:
- Preheat oven 160°C (140°C fan forced).
- Trim lamb shanks & tie with butcher’s string (optional).
- Add boiling water to palm sugar in 2L jug & stir to dissolve.
- Add remaining water, coconut cream & fish sauce to jug, stir to combine.
- Fit shanks into roasting pan in a single layer.
- Pour coconut mix over shanks, stopping about 1 ½ cm from the top of the pan.
- Cover with baking paper cartouche & seal with aluminium foil.
- Roast for 2 ½ hours or until the meat pulls away easily with a fork. Turn shanks halfway, if they are sitting out of the braising liquid, reseal the foil.
- Leave to cool on the bench 1 – 1 1/2 hours maximum & refrigerate overnight.
Massaman curry paste instructions:
- Peel & chop galangal.
- Chop lemon grass, white ends only.
- Pulse galangal & lemon grass in food processor until finely ground.
- Add remaining ingredients, except peanut oil & kecap manis.
- Pulse until beginning to form a paste.
- Gradually add oil until a course paste forms.
- Heat frying pan to med-high & add curry paste, cook for 5 minutes until fragrant and colour deepens.
- Cool to room temperature, then whisk in Kecap manis & refrigerate overnight in a deep bowl (large enough to dip a lamb shank).
Peanut & chilli topping instructions:
- Slice red chillies 5mm thick, according to your preference for heat you can remove seeds and membrane before slicing.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of peanut oil in wok until shimmering
- Add chillies and peanuts and toss until toasted.
- Transfer to layered paper towels to drain excess oil and bring to room temperature.
- Wash and pick leaves from stems of coriander, set aside.
- Add crispy shallots to chilli mix.
BBQ lamb shanks instructions:
- Preheat covered BBQ or oven to 270°C (250°C fan forced).
- Remove lamb shanks from braising liquid, pat dry with paper towels. Discard braising liquid or freeze for use in stews/curries.
- Carefully remove butcher’s string with scissors.
- Dip each lamb shank into bowl of BBQ sauce and use a brush to add more, don’t forget the bone.
- Let the excess drip back into the bowl and then place on oven tray with rack or plate if using the BBQ.
- BBQ with the lid down until heated through and the shanks are starting have blackened edges. Feel free to baste with more BBQ sauce.
- Watch carefully as the sugar in the sauce will burn if left unattended.
- You can also grill some lime cheeks at the same time.
To serve instructions:
- Cook leftover BBQ sauce in a small pot, stirring constantly over medium heat until the sauce is glossy (5-10 minutes).
- If the BBQ sauce is too thick for your liking, it can be thinned with some water while you are heating it.
- Baste the shanks when they come off the BBQ one more time with the cooked sauce.
- Set aside remaining BBQ sauce to serve with shanks.
- Serve BBQ lamb shanks topped with chilli mix and coriander, with lime cheeks & BBQ sauce on the side.
Just before you cook with abandon…
Make ahead and freeze: If you want to have these lamb shanks waiting in the freezer, you can freeze them after they're cooled in the braising liquid and then defrost overnight in the fridge. They can stay frozen 3-6 months easily if well sealed in several layers of plastic wrap. The curry paste can also be made in advance and frozen in a container for up to 3 months.
Galangal or ginger: While galangal and ginger have similar appearances and are both rhizomes, they are quite different in flavour. The galangal gives the dish a much more earthy deep flavour. If you can’t source galangal easily, ginger is a good substitute. Also, you need to choose the freshest (least woody) galangal you can find as it can be a bit challenging to get chopped fine enough if you don’t have a strong food processor. If all you can find is old woody galangal, it might be a good idea to swap to ginger!
Kecap manis (sweet soy sauce): Kecap manis is an Indonesian sweet soy sauce and is also spelt the Dutch way, ‘ketjap manis.’ It is important to source this product as normal soy sauce is not an alternative. If you are keen you could try making it yourself!
Tying the shanks with string: Using butcher’s string or kitchen twine is optional. I do this to stop the meat falling off the bone after I have braised the shanks. I then have a great show of presenting a plated lamb shank. But if you want to serve the lamb in pieces as part of a Thai style salad or on a BBQ buffet table, feel free to skip the trussing up!
Roasting pan: I fit six shanks into an 8cm x 27cm x 37cm roasting pan, but they were peaking out of the braising liquid a bit. This is OK if you have them covered and gently turn them halfway through. I wouldn’t recommend braising them in a deep pot, unless you’re happy for all the meat to fall off the bone. In that case, skip the tying up with string step.
Baking paper cartouche: Yes, it’s a fancy term. Have a look at my photo of this step. Essentially you take a large piece of baking paper, crumple it up tightly, you can even run it under water and squeeze it out. Then you stretch it out again and place it over the shanks, tucking them in with your cartouche. Finally, you seal the pan with aluminium foil. The cartouche helps to keep the steam from escaping while the shanks braise.
The BBQ sauce: I am of the view that, if you are going to the trouble of making your own curry paste, you might as well make a lot. The first time I tested this recipe I barely had enough BBQ sauce to baste the shanks once. When it comes to condiments, I take the ‘more is more’ stand! So, you might have some sauce leftover.
Also, I don’t heat the kecap manis and curry paste mix before basting the shanks, as the BBQ heat is going to do that for you. But I do cook it before using it as a condiment, otherwise it has a slightly uncooked taste about it even though the curry paste was fried off. Don’t worry if it thickens up too much, make sure you keep stirring and don’t hesitate to thin it out while it is cooking with some water. You want it looking nice and glossy, like a BBQ sauce!
BBQ or oven roast: I admit the BBQ is in the name but I rarely put these shanks on the BBQ. They are quite delicate when you’re trying to keep the meat on the bone. I put them straight into the hot oven when they are cold and sauced up and find that helps them hold their shape. I take the string off before basting. As they heat up, make sure you turn them gently to baste. You can use a BBQ but watch that the temperature doesn’t get too high or the sugar will start burning before they are heated through. Keep the BBQ lid down and keep a close eye on them.