- 3 small lamb shanks, cut in half (ask the butcher to do it)
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 1 1/2 cups short grain white rice
- 2 teaspoons allspice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- Rinse the rice until the water runs clear; drain well. Place the rice in a large bowl. Add salt, pepper, and allspice; mix well.
- Add the beef to the rice mixture, plus about 2 tablespoons water; mix well with a fork. It should appear as pictured below.
- Rinse the lamb shanks and place them on the bottom of a large pot.
- As the grape leaves are rolled, they will be placed into the pot on top of the shanks.
- Rolling the grape leaves: Lay the grape leaves, upside down on a plate. Add about 2 teaspoons of the meat and rice mixture and roll up the leaf as you would a burrito, making sure not to roll them too tightly.
- Add the rolled grape leaves to the pot, stacking them on top of the lamb shanks in a circular pattern.
- Add water to the pot by bringing the pot to the sink and tilting it on its side as far as you can without allowing the grape leaves to fall out. With the pot tilted, add water until the water is about to pour out of the side of the pot. This is the perfect amount of water.
- Cook over medium-high heat until the water starts to boil; reduce, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, or up to 3 hours on an ultra low simmer.
- Before serving, pour lemon juice into the pot and gently swirl the pot around to incorporate the lemon juice into the cooking liquid.
Stuffed Grape Leaves
This is my family's favorite special occasion dish.
Ingredients
- 3 small lamb shanks, cut in half (ask the butcher to do it)
- 1 1/2 pounds beef round (thinly sliced beef such as carne aside – see photo at bottom of page)
- 1 (16 oz) jar grape leaves in water, drained
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 cups short grain white rice
- 2 1/2 teaspoons allspice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- A few grinds freshly cracked pepper
- Water
Instructions
Rinse the rice until the water runs clear; drain well. Place the rice in a large bowl. Add the salt, pepper, and allspice; mix well.
Finely slice, then chop the beef (to the point where it somewhat resembles ground beef). One method to thinly slice the beef is to lay one slice on top of another and roll them up tightly. Then, starting from the end, thinly slice the meat – this will create ribbon like pieces which can then be chopped up in the opposite direction. Another method is to freeze the meat for about 30 minutes, then stack the slices of meat and chop well.
Add the beef to the rice mixture, plus about 3 tablespoons water; mix well with a fork. It should appear as pictured below.
inse the lamb shanks and place them on the bottom of a large pot. As the grape leaves are rolled, they will be placed into the pot on top of the shanks.
Rolling the grape leaves: Lay the grape leaves, upside down on a plate; Add about a teaspoon of the meat /rice mixture and roll up the leaf as you would a burrito, making sure not to roll them too tightly.
Add the rolled grape leaves to the pot, stacking them on top of the lamb shanks in a circular pattern.
Add water to the pot: Bring the pot to the sink and tilt the pot just enough that the grape leaves won’t fall out. Slowly add water, just until the water reaches the top of the tilted side of the pot.
Cook over medium/high heat until the water starts to boil; reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 1.5 hour-2 hours, or until tender.
Before serving, pour lemon juice into the pot and gently swirl the pot around to incorporate the lemon juice into the cooking liquid.
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