Lamb shanks are the king of all lamb cuts!! Slow cooked until meltingly tender in a rich, deeply flavoured red wine sauce, this recipe is worthy of fine dining restaurants yet is completely straightforward to make. Serve it over creamy mashed potato with a side of peas or sautéed spinach, with crusty bread to mop your bowl clean!
* Here for the cookbook version? Find it here -> the elegant Restaurant Lamb Shanks in Red Wine Sauce.
Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks
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.
You literally cannot overcook lamb shanks.Leave it in for an hour too long, and the meat is still succulent and juicy. The worst that will happen is that the meat falls off the bone when you go to serve it.
And if you pull it out too early and the meat isn’t 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!
I love slow cooking meat on the bone. Lamb Shanks, Beef Short Ribs and Osso Buco – better flavour more succulent!
What are lamb shanks?
If you’re new to lamb shanks, here’s a rundown: lamb shanks are from the lower leg of lambs, and they are an inexpensive, tough cut of meat.
Because of this, lamb shanks need to be slow cooked – either braised or roasted – to break down the tough meat to soften into succulent tenderness.
The meat itself is full of flavour which adds to the flavour of the sauce.
BONUS: The marrow in the bone melts into the sauce, deepening the flavour and richness. We love freebies around here!!
Classic Red Wine Sauce for Lamb Shanks
Red wine sauce is a classic braising liquid for lamb shanks, with the rich deep flavours a natural pairing with the strong flavour of lamb.
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. (And the New York Times agrees….)
Maybe you could tell the difference using a $100 bottle. But that’s not within my budget….
Non alcoholic sub for wine?
The wine is a key flavour for the broth in this recipe. So if you cannot consume alcohol, it is best to substitute with non-alcoholic red wine.
Please do not use more beef or chicken stock/broth, even if it’s low sodium. This sauce has amazing flavour in it because it is massively concentrated down (essentially into a jus). So if you use more stock then it will end up too salty.
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
Slow cooked lamb shanks
Watch how to make it
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Lamb Shanks in Red Wine Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 lamb shanks , around 13 oz / 400g each (Note 1)
- 1 tsp EACH cooking/kosher salt and pepper
- 2 – 3 tbsp olive oil , separated
- 1 onion , finely diced (brown, yellow or white)
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 cup carrot , peeled, finely diced (Note 2)
- 1 cup celery , finely diced (Note 2)
- 2 1/2 cups red wine (full bodied (good value wine, not expensive! Note 3)
- 800 g / 28oz can crushed tomatoes
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cups 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)
To Serve:
- Mashed potato , polenta or pureed cauliflower
- Fresh thyme leaves , optional garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F (all oven types – fan and standard).
- Season shanks – Pat the lamb shanks dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Brown – Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large heavy based pot over high heat. Sear the lamb shanks in 2 batches until brown all over, about 5 minutes. Remove lamb onto a plate and drain excess fat (if any) from the pot.
- Sauté aromatics – Turn the heat down to medium low. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the same pot. Add the onion and garlic, cook for 2 minutes. Add carrot and celery. Cook for 5 minutes until onion is translucent and sweet.
- Braising liquid – Add the red wine, chicken stock, crushed tomato, tomato paste, thyme and bay leaves. Stir to combine.
- Add shanks – Place the lamb shanks into the pot, squeezing them in to fit so they are mostly submerged. (Note 1)
- Oven 2 hours covered – Turn stove up, bring liquid to a simmer. Cover, then transfer to the oven for 2 hours (see notes for other cook methods).
- Uncovered 30 minutes – Remove lid, then return to the oven for another 30 minutes (so 2 1/2 hours in total). Check to ensure lamb meat is ultra tender – if not, cover and keep cooking. Ideal is tender meat but still just holding onto bone.
- Remove lamb onto plate and keep warm. Pick out and discard bay leaves and thyme.
- Sauce – 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. If needed, bring to a 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 (Note 5 on sauce taste).
- Serve the lamb shanks on mashed potato or cauliflower puree with plenty of sauce! Garnish with thyme leaves if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published August 2015, updated with new photos, video and a slightly refined recipe in 2018. Previously the base recipe said to blitz the sauce at the end. It looks much posher (ie fine dining style) and actually does taste nicer just to strain it because the sauce stays glossy – if you blitz, sauce becomes more matte and is not as smooth. 🙂 Recipe then further improved when it was decided to include this lamb shanks in my debut cookbook Dinner – that “restaurant” version is exclusive to my cookbook!
Life of Dozer
And I stuck my tongue right back at him….
Kte says
Can you do it in the slow cooker on high for 4 hours?
Tien says
Would you recommend less stock in the slow cooker? I found my sauce didn’t thicken up and I had to add some cornstarch. Other than that, this meal was absolutely delish!! We had ours with cauliflower mash.
Lala says
I put mine in the slow cooker on high for 4 hours, and that was perfect. The meat was tender and tasteful. I also marinated my meat for 30 hours 🤤🤤🤤🤤 so the flavors are totally savoring
Alex Khoshain says
Hi Nagi, wondering if 180 degrees is for traditional or convection oven?
Nagi says
It’s the same for both ovens here Alex 🙂 N x
Mitchell says
Hi There, love your recipe and have impressed friends with it!
I’m wondering if I can brown the lamb shanks the night before and leave all the sauce ingredients in the pot in the fridge, then cook in the oven the night after? Looking to cut down on the prep time and throw straight in the oven when I get home from work for a Friday night dinner.
Thanks!!!
Nina says
I forgot to ask you another question…. I am going to sieve the sauce. You mentioned using the vegetables in a pasta sauce do you have a recipe for this and how you make it. Thank you.
Bianca says
Yummmmm! I’ve made this a couple of times, but tonight was the first time I tried to use the leftovers. I ended up blitzing half of the sauce, shredding the lamb, removed the bay leaves and bones etc and added some more tomatoes to get it to resemble more of a lamb ragu pasta sauce (taste continually to get the flavour you want). Then cooked up some fettuccine, added some of the pasta water to the ragu before throwing in the cooked pasta. Serve with Parmesan ❤️
Nagi says
Hi Nina, yes – I talk about this in note 5. N x
Nina says
Hi Lockdown Greetings from the Uk. I have only just discovered your amazing website. I am cooking these lamb shanks for two today, can you tell me how much onion, celery and carrot is half a cup? One carrot, small onion? One stick celery, I don’t have any American cups. Have you written a cookbook? Many Thanks keep safe
Nagi says
Hi Nina, it’s hard for me to judge that way as onions & carrots etc. differ in size & the most accurate way is to measure using a cup 🙂 I do have a cookbook on the cards in the near future. N x
Nina says
Thanks Nagi x
Steve says
Sorry, keep forgetting to hit the 5 stars.
Nagi says
Thanks Steve! 🙂
Steve says
Wow just wow. I thought I could cook lamb shanks, until I used this recipe, my lovely wife is in the kitchen looking for a container for that lovely sauce, not wasting that! Thank you Nagi, we now live by your recipes only, thank you so much.
Nagi says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Steve – save that sauce and use over pasta, top with a chunk of burrata and a side of garlic bread & you’ll be in heaven!
Antia Geustyn says
Hi there,
Just wanted to send out a high five for this recipe and a huge thanks – anniversary dinner was a hit!
Loving your recipes and the website is fast becoming my “go to” when I’m looking for a new dish.
Thanks!
Nagi says
WOOT! That’s awesome Anita! N x
Melissa Wilson says
This blew my family away. So fantastic. And as suggested to keep the sauce and reuse. I turned it in to pasta sauce with meatballs… another hit. Thank you
Nagi says
Sounds fabulous Melissa! N x
Jenny Lee says
Thank you! This was a hit in our household 🙂
Nagi says
Wahoo, that’s great to hear Jenny! N x
Sylvana says
Wow!! Simply delicious! I usually cook lamb shanks in the slow cooker, but wanted the dish for lunch so used your oven method. It was perfect! The sauce was amazing. So flavourful! I strained the sauce and then blitzed the remaining veggies etc and it added volume to the sauce which was served over the shank. Served with mash potatoes (or course) and some blanched broccolini. It was a perfect meal!
Corrie says
I made this recipe yesterday, easy and so tasty. We used leftovers for a pasta dish today. Highly recommend.
Amy says
Family loved it! I browned off the shanks in a pot and used the pressure cooker on high pressure for 40mins as suggested for that cooking method. Sauce was delicious and the meat cooked beautifully, flaked off the bone. With the left over sauce, which still had lovely tomato and meat chunks throughout, I reduced slowly for about 40mins and plan using this evening with Pappardelle. I should note that I used diced tomatoes rather than crushed as that is what I had on hand, so that may have affected the overall consistency of the sauce in terms of reduction time afterwards, regardless it was delicious. I love a meal that I can stretch into two, great taste and great value! Thank you!
Nagi says
Sounds perfect Amy!! N x
Andrew says
Sort of agree with you about the wine. Aving cooked for some 50 years now i have found the rougher the plonk the more magnificent the sauce!!! and trust me 50 years of practice i have a good idea i am right
Maria Murphy says
Made your lamb shank in red wine for Easter Sunday dinner as we could not get a small enough leg of lamb. It was absolutely amazing. Never had lamb shank before but your recipe raised it to another level. Can’t wait to do serve it again. Thank you Maria and family, Belfast N. Ireland.
Abbe says
Amazing!!! I constantly cook with your recipes and they are all amazing (steak sandwhich anyone)! I’ve never eaten lamb shanks before and OH MY GOD so easy and soooo delicous! My partner just polished off his 3rd! Thank you for all the amazing recipes your making iso a lot more interesting!
Nagi says
WOOT! Love hearing this Abbe! N x
Kat says
This recipe turned out absolutely perfect! Thank you!!!
I have lots of leftover sauce, can I reuse it next time I make it and therefore skip the entire part of cooking the onions, garlic, carrots, and celery and just add in my sauce to the browned lamb shank in the slow cooker?
Hj says
Just had this for our Easter Sunday dinner ~ it was delicious!! Loved by my 7 year old and 5 year old too. Halved the recipe, 2 lamb shanks was plenty for 2 adults & 2 kids. Pureed the sauce which was lovely with rice.
We also served with your roasted sweet potato wedges, very very tasty. Thanks Nagi!
Nagi says
Wahoo, that’s great to hear Hj! N x
Hj says
Oh meant to say, only changes I made was that I used lamb stock (I am in the UK) and left out the celery cos I had none in my fridge 😉
Hj says
Hey, it’s me again! We have just had the leftover sauce with cheese on jacket potatoes for lunch today ..mmmmmm!
Milena says
Hi Nagi! 2 questions I made this recipe before and it was delicious. I’m going to make it again for Easter but the only size the local butcher had was 600g each. How much longer do you think I should cook them for and what about leftovers? Can I reheat? Best wishes!
Lilly says
Hi Nagi! Thank you for the beautiful website with video. And your pet is so beautiful, too. Looks so happy.
I have read that wine substitute Worcestershire sauce ie. I am not religious but I hate anything alcoholic because of its taste-I don’t like the taste. To me, it’s like drinking a ‘bad vinegar’ 🙂 I like using vinegar because its healthy benefits. And also don’t mind the taste comparing to alcohol. I also don’t like Worcestershire sauce. I was thinking maybe instead of using Worcester sauce, or alcohol, I can substitute it with vinegar with mother. I will try. Thank you. All the best.