# SMOKED LAMB SHANK MICROWAVABLE POT PIES



## ron in ohio (Apr 24, 2016)

*I love Lamb! I love Smoked Lamb even more! I had to find a way to have my Smoked Lamb and eat it too whenever I wanted without the hours long wait for the smoking process to be done. Then, I came across this recipe and with my wife and I putting our heads together, we adapted it to accept under-cooked Lamb into a quickly available meal.*

*Original recipe was from: Organic Gardening Magazine - Dec. 2014/Jan. 2015 Edition*

*As written, it was actually a casserole and not a pie and was meant to be oven baked. Instead of the original recipe's raw Lamb, we substituted Jeff's Smoked Lamb Shanks for Easter recipe from March 31, 2011 - Smoked the whole time with Orange Wood and Under-cooked by about 2 Hrs. in our Great Outdoors Smoky Mountain propane smoker.*

*Makes 8-10 servings
[WE MADE A HALF RECIPE & OUR CHANGES ARE SHOWN WITHIN BRACKETS]*

*Ingredients:*

*1/2 cup of Flour
1 tsp. Sea Salt
1 tsp. Black Pepper
1 Tbls. chopped Parsley
1 Tbls. chopped Rosemary [Essential ingredient with all Lamb - In my opinion]
4-1/2 Lbs. Leg of Lamb, trimmed and cut into 1" cubes [2 - 2-1/2 Lb. "UNDER-COOKED" SMOKED LAMB SHANK!]
1 cup Lamb or Veal stock [We went to a local butcher and purchased 25 lbs. of Lamb bones and made our own Stock]
Olive Oil as needed for frying
2 strips of thick cut Bacon, diced into small pieces
1) Leek, White & Green parts finely chopped **[Amt. As Needed for Reduced Recipe]*
*1) Onion, finely chopped **[Amt. As Needed for Reduced Recipe]*
*1) rib of Celery, finely chopped **[Amt. As Needed for Reduced Recipe]*
*1) cup of Red Wine **[Amt. As Needed for Reduced Recipe]*
*1) 14.5 oz. can of Tomatoes, diced or chopped **[Amt. As Needed for Reduced Recipe]*
*3) cloves of Garlic, minced **[Amt. As Needed for Reduced Recipe]*
*X 2) Carrots, grated [We used Frozen Peas & Carrots]*
*X** 1-1/2 cups frozen or fresh Green Peas [Included in the Frozen Peas & Carrots]*
*X** 2 Tbls. chopped Mint [Eliminated only because we thought the Mint flavor would be lost with the smoke flavor]*

*++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We eliminated the Potato Topping completely - Opting for traditional Pot Pie Crust:
X3) large Potatoes, peeled
X3 Tbls. Cream
X1-2 Tbls. melted Butter or as needed to coat topping
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++*

*Instructions for the Pot Pie Filling:*

*1) In a medium size bowl combine and mix the Flour, Salt & Black Pepper. Add the cubes of under-Smoked Lamb in batches*

*and toss until coated.*

*X 2) Heat a Tbls. of Olive Oil in an Oven-safe frying pan or a stove-top-safe baking dish over a medium-high heat. Brown the*

*flour coated Lamb cubes in small batches until the meat starts to caramelize - About 2 minutes per batch. Remove pan from*

*heat and set aside. [We eliminated this step when using Smoked Lamb]*

*X 3) In the same pan, lower the heat to medium and add another Tbls. of Olive Oil. Fry the Bacon pieces for a minute or two*

*before adding the chopped Leek, Onion, Celery & Carrots. Cook until all softens, about 6 mins. [No Smoked Lamb yet and no*

*Peas & Carrots until later]*

*4) Add the Red Wine and cook until the liquid evaporates, about 8 to 10 mins.*

*X 5) Add the Tomatoes with juice, Garlic, Parsley, Thyme, Rosemary & the Lamb or Veal Stock. [Still, no Smoked Lamb and no*

*Peas & Carrots yet]*

*6) Reduce to low heat, cover and allow to simmer for 1/2 hour. Remove lid and allow to continue simmering for 1-1/2 hrs.*

*stirring occasionally. [Now! Add the Smoked Lamb]*

*7) When the Lamb is tender and the sauce thickens, turn off the heat and stir-in the [Thawed Carrots and Peas]. Taste-test*

*the seasoning before adding additional Sea Salt & Black Pepper to taste.*

*++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Eliminated Potato Topping and original baking instructions:
X 8) Prepare the Potato slices using a mandolin set at 1/8".*

*X 9) Mix well before adding a layer of the Potato slices. Brush the Potatoes with melted Butter and drizzle with a little Cream.*

*Repeat until you have 3-4 layers of Potatoes or until they are all used. Brush the top layer with melted Butter and sprinkle*

*with Rosemary, Sea Salt & Black Pepper.*

*X 10) Pre heat oven to 350°F. Bake for 50-60 mins. or until Potato Topping is golden brown and thoroughly cooked. Allow to*

*rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++*

*Final Pot Pie Assembly Instructions:*

*Prepare individual, baking or microwavable Pot Pie sized baking pans with prepared Pie Crust. Fill each with Smoked Lamb*

*filling and add top crust.*

*Place each pie in a freezer bag , we used our Foodsaver Vacuum Sealer bags. Freeze for individual, quick lunch, Pot Pies.*

*when ready to eat, rub a bit of Butter on the top crust and just pop-in the microwave for about 5 mins. check afterwards to*

*see if all is done inside. If not just "nuke" until ready.*

*We've found that there is really no rule of thumb about these Pot Pie's microwave times. Just break-open the top crust and*

*look for yourself, it won't hurt the Pot Pies if they need "re-nuking". I'm gonna' try the instant read thermometer next time*

*and see how that works on one. Of course, overnight thawing in the 'fridge will shorten the microwave time but, that sorta'*

*takes away the spontaneity of it all.*

*PS:
Furthering my Lamb craving, I stuff my Jumbo Smoked Jalapenos with a mixture of ground Lamb & Cheddar cheese  and*

*wrap them with a Bacon slice. The skin is cooked-thru and not as crunchy as the grilled Stuffed Jalapenos.*

*Also, I use the same mixture to make Bacon wrapped Smoked Grilled Lamb Kebabs. With apologies to my Jewish friends,*

*those are my politically incorrect versions to show my distaste for Moo-Slime terrorism worldwide.*

*Sorry about the lack of pics. This was such a multi-tasking process for both of us that a camera just wouldn't fit in.*


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## chef jimmyj (Apr 24, 2016)

Sounds like a good recipe. Can I assume the assembled pies are baked off and cooled before bagging and freezing?...JJ


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## dirtsailor2003 (Apr 24, 2016)

Sounds great! Every year we make meat pies and put them in the freezer to for later use. When I was fishing we would make them in the mini foil pot pie pans. We had diesel sites with ovens on the boat. It's take 2-3 hours to thaw and cook in the oven. Always a tasty treat in the middle of the ocean on a cold damp drizzly day!


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## ron in ohio (Apr 24, 2016)

*No sir! We filled each pie with the already cooked filling and basically let the microwave heat it up and bake the crust. We assumed that if we baked them before freezing we would have over-done Pot Pies. After reading your question I had some brief second thoughts especially after remembering Banquet Pot Pies health related recalls from 7 or 8 years ago. So, I did an Internet search and the consensus of opinion was; We screwed-up and did it right!*

*The proof has been in the tasting. I have already had a few of them for lunches and with the exception of a bit of over-seasoning on my part (Something that I too often do) they were great! They cooked thoroughly and although the Lamb was a bit overcooked from when it is a main entree it was still cooked as well as its fellow ingredients.*


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## chef jimmyj (Apr 24, 2016)

I never tried raw pie crust in a microwave. Does the crust get any color and flakey like in an oven? Your flavor profile sounds great....JJ


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## SmokinAl (Apr 25, 2016)

Pretty impressive!

Al


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## okie362 (Apr 25, 2016)

I too am curious about the crust.  I thought it would be a gooey mess but I've never tried it so....


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