Roast Turkey Shanks

It's been a busy week in the eat quaff laugh household and I haven't had much chance to sit down at the computer and write. With my parents over and school holidays in full swing, there has been plenty of baking, eating and drinking going on, but no time to blog.

Yesterday I came across some turkey shanks at the supermarket and knew that I just had to create something delicious with them. The fact that the weather had turned cold again made it almost irresistible to slow roast them. I love turkey, but generally only eat it at Christmas. I've certainly never had turkey shanks before, so was intrigued as to how they would turn out. I needn't have worried, as they were delicious.

After slow roasting, like lamb shanks, for 2 hours, the meat was tender and falling off the bone. Being the dark meat of the thigh, it had a stronger flavour than you would normally expect from turkey breast. I didn't want to overwhelm the flavour of the turkey, so I simply cooked it in onion, garlic and chicken stock. Now that I know that the shanks have a stronger flavour, I might try a tomato and wine based sauce next time.

I served my shanks with some lovely steamed asparagus and roasted cauliflower 'steak' topped with a panko crumb and sesame crumble. I had some left over sweet potato and cashew dip in the fridge that I spread on top too, but you could equally use pesto or just grated cheese and bread crumbs.

I was really impressed with the turkey and will definitely cook it again. The slow cooked meat would be lovely shredded and tossed through a salad, pasta or risotto. For a winter comfort dish, serve with creamy mash or polenta. Yum! The Steggles website has a number of recipes for different cuts of turkey, that sound great too.

Slow Roasted Turkey Shanks With Cauliflower Steak

2 turkey shanks

1 onion, cut into quarters and thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 cups of chicken stock

1/2 a cauliflower (you won't need all of it)

1/4 cup pesto or dip

1 Tbs panko crumbs or regular bread crumbs

1 tsp sesame seeds

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Steamed asparagus, or other green vegetable, to serve

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.

Heat a drizzle of oil in a fry pan over medium heat until hot. 

Add the turkey shanks and brown on all sides.  Season to taste.

Remove the shanks to an oven proof casserole dish with a lid.

Add the onion and garlic to the hot pan and gently fry until it begins to soften but doesn't brown.

Add the onion mixture to the shanks and then pour over the chicken stock.

Place in the oven and cook for about 2 hours, or until the meat starts to pull away from the bone.

Every half hour, turn the shanks so that the other side is in the stock, keeping the meat moist and helping it to cook evenly.

For the cauliflower, cut the piece in half and then cut a 2cm thick slice from each centre piece, to make two 'steaks'.

Place on a baking tray and drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until the cauliflower starts to soften.

Remove from the oven, spread with dip or pesto and sprinkle with sesame seeds and panko crumbs. 

Drizzle with a little more oil and return to the oven for another 10 minutes, or until the cauliflower is cooked through and the crumbs have browned.

To serve, place one shank, one cauliflower steak and a bundle of asparagus spears on each plate. Spoon over some of the turkey cooking sauce and onion.

Enjoy!

And To Drink....

We picked up this bottle of 2006 Charles Melton Voices of Angels Shiraz when we were in the Barossa Valley about 5 years ago. It probably wasn't the best match to have with the turkey shanks, but it certainly was a delicious wine. Having a bit of age on it, the tannins had softened and it had become a beautifully complex wine with some oaky spiciness, but still with plum and red berry characteristics. I could quite easily have drunk this wine without having any food with it at all!

My husband felt like a nicer red wine with dinner, and being a Shiraz fan, this was his selection. The turkey was really quite meaty and being dark meat, rather than white breast meat, it had a stronger flavour than I would have expected. A white wine, even an aged Chardonnoy, wouldn't have quite worked either. I think probably a Grenache or even a Merlot, with lots of fruit flavours, but without much tannin, would have been better.

Even though this Shiraz wasn't the perfect match, it did still have characteristics that were lovely with the meal. If I had cooked the turkey with tomatoes and red wine, it would have been wonderful!