Aussies love slow cooked lamb shanks, and this might be the king of them all! With a rich, deeply flavoured red wine sauce, this is the sort of food you’ll find on the menu of fine dining restaurants. Oven, slow cooker, pressure cooker or stove top!
I have a real soft spot for slow cooked lamb shanks. I just love the look of a hunk of meltingly tender meat wrapped around the bone. Hits my carnivore sweet-spot, every time.
Honestly, if you put this and a towering frosted cake in front of me, this would win every day of the week and twice on Sunday:
COOKING LAMB SHANKS IS EASY!
Being a tough cut of meat that needs slow cooking to make it fall-off-the-bone tender, lamb shanks are actually very forgiving so it’s a real easy cut to cook with.
Leave it in for an hour too long, and the worst that will happen is that the meat falls off the bone when you go to serve it. If it’s not yet fork tender, just add more liquid and keep cooking.
The only key tip I have is to brown that shank as well as you can. It is a hard shape to brown evenly, but do what you can. Browning is the key flavour base for any protein that’s slow cooked in a braising liquid, like Beef Stew, Pot Roast, Chicken Stew. If you ever see a slow cooked stew recipe that doesn’t call for browning the meat before slow cooking, proceed with caution!
ABOUT THIS SLOW COOKED LAMB SHANK RECIPE
Lamb shanks are ideal slow roasted or braised. This is a braised version, and I’ve chosen a classic red wine sauce as the braising liquid.
The red wine sauce is super simple to make but after hours of slow cooking, it transforms into an incredible rich, deeply flavoured sauce that’s silky and glossy, and looks totally posh-restauranty.
Just a quick note on the wine – I do not use expensive wines for slow cooking. I truly believe from the bottom of my heart that even the snobbiest of all food snobs would not be able to tell the difference if you made this with a discount end-of-bin $5 bottle or a $50 bottle.
Maybe you could tell the difference using a $100 bottle – and if your budget stretches that far, please could you make a donation to a Aussie Farmers’ drought relief appeal* instead. Such as: Buy a Bale, Drought Angels, Aussie Helpers and Lion’s Need for Feed. 😇
* I’ve written a wee bit more about this below. ❤️
This is one of those recipes that truly is terrific to make in the oven, stove, slow cooker or pressure cooker, as long as its started on the stove to brown the shanks and saute the onion etc. Right now, being winter here in Sydney, I choose the oven so it keeps my house nice and warm! – Nagi x
OUR DROUGHT CRISIS
Australia is currently in the midst of a drought crisis. Every day, I see and read heartbreaking stories of our farmers struggling to cope with the devastating drought conditions. Without enough water to produce food to feed their animals, our farmers are forced to pay for feed to keep their animals alive – and those who cannot afford it bear the heartache of watching their animals die.
Farmers are the heart and soul of Australia. Making a living on the land to bring us the produce we enjoy on our tables is a tough gig, and they do it for the love.
Helping people in need is what it means to be Australian, and right now, our farmers desperately need our help. Whether donating to a registered charity such as Buy a Bale, Drought Angels, Aussie Helpers or Lion’s Need for Feed. Or buying Australian made, even if it costs a bit more.
Every little bit helps.
Thank you for reading. – N xx
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Recipe video above. A classic way to prepare shanks, these are slow cooked in a deeply flavoured red wine sauce until they are meltingly tender. You can't taste the red wine at the end, it completely transforms into a rich sauce. Make this in the oven, on your stove or even in a slow cooker - instructions provided for all!
- 4 lamb shanks , around 13 oz / 400g each (Note 1)
- 1 tsp each salt and pepper
- 2 - 3 tbsp olive oil , separated
- 1 cup onion , finely diced (brown, yellow or white)
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 cup carrot , finely diced (Note 2)
- 1 cup celery , finely diced (Note 2)
- 2 1/2 cups / 625 ml red wine , full bodied (good value wine, not expensive! Note 3)
- 28 oz / 800g can crushed tomatoes
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cups / 500 ml chicken stock, low sodium (or water)
- 5 sprigs of thyme (preferably tied together), or 2 tsp dried thyme
- 2 dried bay leaves (or 4 fresh)
- Mashed potato, polenta or pureed cauliflower
- Fresh thyme leaves, optional garnish
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Preheat the oven to 350F/180C.
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Pat the lamb shanks dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
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Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a heavy based pot over high heat. Sear the lamb shanks in 2 batches until brown all over, about 5 minutes.
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Remove lamb onto a plate and drain excess fat (if any) from the pot.
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Turn the heat down to medium low. Heat remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil in the same pot, if needed. Add the onion and garlic, cook for 2 minutes.
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Add carrot and celery. Cook for 5 minutes until onion is translucent and sweet.
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Add the red wine, crushed tomato, tomato paste, thyme and bay leaves. Stir to combine.
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Place the lamb shanks into the pot, squeezing them in to fit so they are mostly submerged. (Note 1)
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Turn stove up, bring to a simmer. Cover, then transfer to the oven for 2 hours (see notes for other cook methods).
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Remove from oven, remove lid, then return to the oven for another 30 minutes (so 2 1/2 hours in total). Check to ensure lamb is tender - if not, cover and keep cooking. Ideal is tender meat but still holding onto bone.
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Remove lamb onto plate and keep warm. Pick out and discard bay leaves and thyme.
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Strain the sauce into a bowl, pressing to extract all sauce out of the veggies (Note 5 for repurposing the veggies). Pour strained sauce back into pot. Bring to simmer over medium heat and reduce slightly to a syrupy consistency (see video) - I rarely need to. Taste then add salt and pepper to taste.
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Serve the lamb shanks on mashed potato or cauliflower puree with plenty of sauce! Garnish with thyme leaves if desired.
1. The size of lamb shanks vary considerably so make sure you get ones that will fit in your cooking vessel! 4 x 400g/13oz lamb shanks fits snugly in a 26cm/11" diameter Chasseur dutch oven which is what I use. They don't need to be completely submerged, just as long as most of the meaty end is mostly submerged, that's fine.
If you don't have a pot large enough, you can switch to a baking dish for the slow cooking part, and cover with a double layer of foil if you don't have a lid for it.
You can also ask your butcher to cut the shaft so it bends if you are concerned, or to trim it slightly.
2. Onion, carrot and celery is the "holy trinity" of slow cooking, creating a beautiful flavour base for the sauce. It's not a deal breaker to exclude the carrot and celery, but it does give the sauce an extra edge.
3. Use a good value full bodied red wine, like cabaret sauvignon or merlot - no need to use expensive wine. I use discount bottles from Dan Murphey's end of bin specials. Shiraz is ok too, or any mix of these Pinots are not suitable, they are too light. You can tell if a red wine is "full bodied" by looking at the colour - if they are a dark, deep red, then they are full bodied. If they are lighter and almost see through, then they are light reds.
4. Most of the alcohol in the red wine will evaporate during this step but not completely - it will finish evaporating during the slow cooking. The sauce does not taste winey at all, it completely transforms.
5. Sauce options: The other option is to blitz the sauce using a sick blender. The sauce will be thicker, and you'll have more of it (leftovers great tossed through pasta). This is what I used to do, but nowadays I prefer to strain the sauce because I like how glossy and rich it is - also very restauranty. You could also skip straining or blitzing, it just means you get little veg lumps in the sauce. All are tasty options, it mainly comes down to visual.
TIP: If you strain the sauce, keep the veggies etc in the strainer to make a terrific sauce, they are loaded with flavour even though all juice is squeezed out of them. What I do is make a basic tomato sauce with garlic, onion, canned tomato and water. Then I blitz that with the veggies. Use it to make a killer pasta or lasagna!!
6. OTHER COOK OPTIONS:
Slow cooker - Follow recipe to step 7. Bring sauce to simmer, scrape bottom of pot to get all brown bits into the liquid. Place shanks in slow cooker, add the sauce. Cook on low for 8 hours. Remove shanks, strain and reduce sauce to desired thickness on stove (if you blitz per Note 5, you won't need to reduce).
Pressure Cooker - Follow Slow Cooker steps, cook for 40 minutes on high. Release pressure according to manufacturer directions.
Stove - to cook this on the stove, cook for about 2 hours on low, ensuring that you check it at 1 hour then every 30 minutes thereafter to ensure there is enough braising liquid (because liquid evaporates faster on the stove). Turn the lamb shanks twice. You won't get the brown crust, but the flavour is the same!
7. Cauliflower puree - boil cauliflower florets until soft, drain and let steam dry for few minutes. Then puree with butter, milk or cream, salt and pepper. Use milk to adjust the consistency to your taste.
8. Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks Nutrition per serving. This is conservative - it doesn't take into account fat trimmed from shanks or discarded fat. Also assumes all sauce is consumed which it probably won't be.
Originally published August 2015, updated with new photos, video and a slightly refined recipe. Previously the base recipe said to blitz the sauce at the end. It looks much posher and actually does taste nicer just to strain it. 🙂
LIFE OF DOZER
And I stuck my tongue right back at him….
As you know I like your slow cooked recipes and this is definitely one that I will be making.
By the way, I agree 100% with your comments on the wine. With strong flavours from the meat and vegetables you need a strong full bodied wine to go with it. The good news is that they are often the cheapest.
Living in a wine region I just pop to the local bodega and buy the wine there. If you take your own bottle and just fill it up from the pump it works out at just 1€ a Litre. A rich red Grenache wine, what could be better?
THAT’S SO CHEAP!!! #jealous
Wow! These were luxurious! I made huge ones on the slow cooker, and when I checked after 6 hours, the meat fell of the bones, however it was very convenient because my son’s friend stayed for dinner and rather than share a shank I just had chunks of tender meat in the sauce. Thank you so much !
Thanks for the feedback Mariana! Glad you enjoyed this 🙂 N x
This was a beautiful dish and sooooo flavorful and decadent. Pureed all the veggies so didn’t have to thicken sauce. Absolutely will be adding to my personal favorites! Thanks!!!!
However your written instructions do not address adding the stock. You need to modify your written instructions. The recipe is absolutely delicious!
Wow, what a winner! The meat was full of flavour from the sauce and so tender. We put the carrots etc back in the sauce after we thickened it and it was scrumptious.
Oops! Just watched the video again and saw the stock go in. Ignore previous post from me!
Lorraine.
All good! N x
However your written instructions do not address adding the stock. You need to modify your written instructions. The recipe is absolutely delicious!
Hi Nagi, I’m just making this yummy shanks recipe. I didn’t see where you added the stock, so I just added it at step 7. Hope that’s right. Cheers and thanks, Lorraine
Nagi, you are the world’s best food porn photographer!!! Those pics and video made me drool but it’s 94 degrees here and shanks are not available in the stores until fall, so I’ll just have to impatiently wait. The pic of you and Baby Dozer in the email is so sweet. He may not have been the pick of the litter but I’ll bet his siblings aren’t international celebrities like his is!
My ego is swelling with every word I read!! 😂
OMG yes. This is one of those ultimate comfort food meals. I’m in love. Any meat braised in wine until it’s fork tender is just what life is about. Especially lamb. I buy my wine at the 99 cent store LOL. As cheap as I can get!!
I would too if we had wine at a 99 cent store!!!
Thank you for the comments regarding the increasing drought tragedy all over Australia. Mother Nature seems to have left the Lucky Country. With our driest months of the year to come, the reality will only worsen. At the moment the farmers are doing it heartbreakingly tough – I hate to think of the food prices to come for us city folk! Love, love lamb shanks . . probably my favourite meat . . . and know I have two packets in the freezer . . . and never have put the best drop in a dish like this: that goes straight into the glass of the waiting cook 🙂 !
I can’t tear myself away from the stores Eha! It’s just utterly heartbreaking 🙁
Hi Nagi
I just wanted to say thank you so much for all of the wonderful recipes you post for us all. I discovered you some time ago and have made you my go-to blog for new ideas and inspiration. I’m pleased to say that my family meal repertoire has increased dramatically over the past 12 months due to your delicious meals. My children (especially my fussy 10 year old) are now much more adventurous with Asian flavours which my husband and I are really pleased about. I don’t normally write or comment in these types of formats, but I really just wanted to say hi and thank you again for being so passionate about food and providing these wonderful, thorough and well planned meals.
Cheers
Marisa
You’re so welcome Marisa, I”m glad you are enjoying my recipes! Thank you for taking the time to write in, I love hearing from readers! N x
Nagi, I like all of your recipes, but would read your posts even without them, just to keep up with Dozer! Love him!
I LOVE HEARING THAT!!! 😂
Awww …look at him cute as ever! 😂
Loving the recipe…
I have been reading about the drought, but the info you have shared, has me very concerned. It’s sad and I hope it changes for the better soon. 😔
Hugs 😊
I don’t think I’ve ever seen him NOT be cute. It’s his biggest asset.. 😂
I’m not a fan of lamb, but this would be great with a different cut of meat! Lol. I haven’t heard that saying, ” twice on Sundays” in a long time! I’m laughing so hard bc I can just picture you sticking your tongue right back at Dozer!
Have a great weekend coming up Nagi!
And I looked ridiculous doing it, the shop assistant was looking at me like I had a second head! 😂
😂
Mmmm, I have some shanks in my freezer just waiting for this sauce. I usually make one with cranberry sauce and red wine but I’m definitely going to try this one!
Oooh I love that idea of adding cranberry sauce!! N xx
I love lamb shanks and this recipe looks divine. Unfortunately, wine triggers migraines for me so I’ve avoided recipes calling for wine.
Years ago I heard there are 2 red wines that don’t trigger migraines but I can’t remember what they were. I’m wondering if any of your readers happen to know what they are?
I might try replacing the wine with cranberry juice and see if that would work.
Love your recipes!! I’ve made several since I discovered you. Thanks for sharing your talent with us!!!
What about the wine without alcohol in it that you can buy at the supermarket? Is it the alcohol or something else that triggers the migraines?
Now THAT is a great sub for this recipe!
Hi Esther,
Avoid dry red wines, the dryer the wine the more tannin it has; a well known migraine trigger.
Also if you can find a local wine producer who doesn’t use sulphates in his wine that would help too. Sulphates is a preservative used to give wine shelf life but a small grower whose wine is sold and consumed quickly might not use it. You could try a sweet rose like moscatel and add a little gravy browning to the finished dish. Hope this helps, I get migraines too and sometimes I want to just die from the pain.
Jan
That’s so generous of you to share the information Jan. I’m sorry to hear you suffer from migraines 🙁 N x
Esther….this may be hard to find however ask at the local liquor store for a red wine “without” sulfates. The sulfates are what gives one a headache.
I didn’t know that! Thanks so much for sharing that tip Kat! 🙂 N x
Thank you for these tips, Wendy, Jan and Kat! I love cooking with wine but it’s not worth the migraine! I’ll have to try your suggestions and see if it’s sulfates or tannin that are the triggers for me.
Non alcoholic wine is worth a try, too.
sometimes I can find Pork Shanks reasonable….do you think that would work????
YES this would be wonderful with pork shanks! 🙂 N x