Lamb Trotter & Merguez Sausage Stew

As the temperatures drop, the time has come to start cranking out some warm, slow cooked, homey meals.  This cook called for a slow braising meat, so I used a huge lamb trotter.  It looks like a shank at first glance, but there are subtle differences.  It definitely came from a well fed animal.  The lamb was seasoned with Ras El Hanout.

In addition to the trotter, some lamb merguez sausages went onto the Egg at 225F with oak
and cherry wood chunks.

The base of the stew was made using dry aged lamb broth, which was crafted from the trimmings and bones of dry aged lamb loins.  The rest included cooking diced yellow onions with garlic until tender, then adding some tomato paste, bay leaves, fresh chopped cilantro, and fire roasted tomatoes.

The sausages were done after an hour and after 3 hours, the trotter was ready for some braising.

After 4 hours of braising, the trotter meat was finally fall-off-the-bone tender, so chickpeas and black lentils were added.  The stew cooked for an additional hour.

The stew was topped with a dollop of greek yogurt and fresh cilantro and served with fresh
baked onion-garlic bread. 

There was an intense amount of rich, hearty lamb flavor in this dish.  The merguez sausage
was spicy and very tender, making it an excellent pairing with the trotter meat.  The chickpeas
and lentils helped to add decent body to the stew, while also imbuing an earthy, nutty flavor.
A perfect meal for Fall weather.