How to Cook Lamb Like a Michelin-Starred Chef

For many of us, lamb is a quintessential dish for springtime. But as we enter this season and the final frigid remnants of winter still haunt us, a rich, braised version of lamb is perfect for straddling the two sides of the equinox.

The chefs behind the London restaurant Fallow have been quite open source with how they cook, building out a YouTube channel with more than 2 million subscribers, and for one of their latest videos, they break down step by step how they make braised lamb shank, so you can take inspiration for making it at home.

Jack Croft founded Fallow in London with fellow chef Will Murray after the duo came up together at Michelin two-starred Dinner by Heston Blumenthal. “Jack and I bonded over finding ways to use kitchen by-products, which we turned into staff meals and snacks,” Murray told Luxury London. “The biggest lesson I learned there was to always look for ways to innovate, even with the humblest of ingredients.” From there, the pair started doing pop-ups that featured their style of nose-to-tail cuisine, and eventually created their YouTube channel to document not just the process of opening and running a restaurant, but to offer some helpful how-to videos along the way.

In one of their recent videos, Croft tells the story of the first Michelin-starred meal he ever had, when he was 16 and visited the legendary Le Gavroche, which was the first U.K. restaurant to earn three Michelin stars. Inspired by the lamb shank he ate at the now-shuttered London restaurant, he’s created a braised lamb shank ideal for Easter dinner. “I remember it being the best lamb shank I’ve ever had,” Croft recalls. “It’s one of those ones that’s steeped in Michelin heritage, but it’s not so complicated you couldn’t try it at home.”

The cooking process also involves lessons learned from Heston Blumenthal, which includes brining the meat for 24 hours to create a juicier and more tender end product. And one of the big additions to the braise is asking a butcher for lamb bones and fat that Croft roasts off to add another layer of flavour and richness to the braise. He sears off the shanks he’s pulled out of the brine and sears them to develop some more flavour, then roasts off his mirepoix in the same pan before combining it all in a Dutch oven and braising low for a few hours. He then strains off that braising liquid and turns it into a rich sauce to glaze the lamb shank with and provide some real depth of flavour. Croft also shows a carrot side he likes to serve with lamb, but what you want to make with it is really up to you. But what is certain is that this dish would make a great centrepiece to a big spring feast.

This story was originally published on Robb Report USA.