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….
Matthew Benjamin Mickler says
Hi Nagi,
Yes I know. Many thanks for the quick reply.
🙂
Matthew Benjamin Mickler says
Ah There it is lol
Matthew Benjamin Mickler says
Hi Nagi,
Did my question re a lamb leg come up? I cant see it in the comments?
Nagi says
Yup! Just answered it – N x
Matthew Benjamin Mickler says
Hi Nagi. Such a beautiful presented menu and description. The Aesthetics are perfect.
I wonder if you could help me. Unfortunately I wasnt able to get some lamb shanks in time BUT I picked up a lovely half lamb leg for me and the girlfriend for valentines day. It weighs 1.2kg (2.6lbs) I have a slow cooker and is it safe to assume I can do the same prep with the leg as I can do with the shanks but leave it for 6-8 hours on low?
Im assuming that I can follow the same instructions?
Regards
Matt
Nagi says
Hi Matthew – I think that will work a treat! I’d say 8 hours on low. Just be aware that lamb leg is not as fatty as shanks so while it will get tender and juicy, it’s not quite the same as shanks. 🙂
Najmee says
My kids loves this. Simply delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
Nagi says
So glad you and the kids like this Najmee, thanks for coming back to let me know! N xx
Mishelle says
Just made this tonight!! It was amazing! I followed the recipe exactly except for using extras lamb shank. I was cooking for adults and two young and hungry toddlers. There was nothing leftover. The men even ate the meat out of the marrow they thought it was so good. Thank you for the recipe!
Nagi says
I’m so happy to hear that everyone enjoyed it Mishelle! Thank you for letting me know! N xx
Hannah says
I have mine in the oven as we speak all the way over in the UK for dinner tonight with my parents 🙂
Nagi says
oooh…..I hope you loved it! N xx
Rod Bauer says
Made this for guests Friday and it was very successfully received. The puree complimented the lamb very well. May add some cheese to it the next time. Used the leftover sauce and the meat from an extra shank with penne pasta for dinner Sunday. Fantastic! This has been moved to a regular spot. Thanks!
Nagi says
Woo hoo! So glad you enjoyed it Rod, thanks for letting me know! N x
Vince Ruta says
For what ever its worth – I usesd this as the basic, with 2 large lamb shanks (filled the base of the crock pot). _ i changed the canned tomatoes to the diced fire roasted ones (2 cans) – I quadrpeled the garlic – and prety much doubled the other seasoning except the bay leafe. I also eliminated the tomato paste – and added parsley along with celery seed – then cooked it on high for the 3 hours then left it on low over night-next moring removed the bones – with all the meat having fallen off. It has reduced nicely – and your point about the wine is spot on – sometimes I think the cheaper is the better but in this case a 15$ bottle of Merlot was perfect. As others have said I might go with beef stock next time instead of the chicken – but this made more then enough for 4 people with left over. (YUM!) – I ended up serving this with Broccoli tossed in – and the feta cheese crumbled on top, all over ramen noodles of all things.
FOr someone who hates cooking and usualy destroys whatever dinner is supposed to be – this was primo!
Nagi says
That’s fantastic Vince! Thanks so much for sharing what you did 🙂 I love hearing how people adapt my recipes to their taste or what they have! N x
Marilyn says
After researching all Lamb Shank recipes I found yours to be one that I can accomplish and it sounds delicious. The question I have is I only have 2 lamb shanks should I cut the rest of the ingredients in half?
Lisa says
No, just serve up as much sauce as you need and freeze the rest in portions. It is delicious thrown over pasta for a quick meal.
Nagi says
Hi Marilyn! Not quite half, you need a certain amount of liquid to make this 🙂 Cut it down by roughly 1/3, then add enough water to almost cover the lamb (about 1/3 poking out above the water is fine). Then you’ll need to cook the liquid down, but that’s no problem, this cooks for so long there is plenty of time for that! As the liquid reduces, turn the shanks every 30 min or so to ensure it cooks evenly (but don’t worry, even the part above the liquid level cooks just fine, it sort of “steams”)
Sara says
I’m making this but the sauce barely reduced and it’s very thin… I’m trying to reduce it on the stove
Nagi says
Hi Sara! yes the sauce needs reducing, there’s a step for that in the recipe 🙂 Hope you love it!
Margaret says
Solid recipe, making it right now, and I’m sure it’s going to be fabulous. This is my first time on this site, I like the format, the interaction. I just want to point out the recipe calls for holy trinity, which is onion/celery/bell pepper, and then list ingredients as mirepoix, onion/celery/carrot. Just may be confusing for learning home cooks.
Like I say, I like the site and will be back!
Nagi says
Thanks for picking that up Margaret! Do hope you try some of my recipes – even though I got that terminology wrong, ha ha ha! N xx
Priya says
Excellent recipe!!! Made it once so far and received endless compliments. In fact, I have been requested to make it again for an upcoming gathering! Incredible taste and so easy too. Thank you for sharing!! I too have shared this wonderful recipe with some friends 🙂
Nagi says
YAY! So thrilled you enjoyed it Priya, thanks for letting me know!!!
Holly says
Absolutely perfect!!! A real memorable dish and definitely a crowd pleaser.. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Nagi says
Thanks for trying my recipe Holly, and for taking the time to come back and let me know you enjoyed it! N x
Carole Jones says
Made this yesterday, eight hours in my slow cooker, and it was delicious! Easily modified to suit slimming world regime. Added fresh rosemary mmm. Removed some of the “holy trinity” chunks with the shanks then blitzed the sauce. Plenty left which I will use as stock. Thank you for sharing x
Nagi says
AWESOME! So happy to hear you enjoyed this Carole, and thanks for letting me know! N x
Barb says
While the lamb shanks were good…….the leftover sauce made the most AMAZING pasta sauce. I added cooked ground beef to the sauce and we have the best meat sauce! We’re actually thinking of buying more lamb shanks just to make the sauce. Thank you!
Nagi says
BA HA HA, I totally hear you Barb, the sauce rocks! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you for letting me know! N x
Celia says
I was glad i found your recipe and i tried it…. my husband love it too. It was saucy, rich and delicious. Thank you for sharing it. I have the remaining sauce, which i am sure it will go well with any pasta.
Nagi says
I’m so glad to hear that Celia! Thank you for letting me know! N x
Debs says
Winner winner lamb shank dinner!!!
This was a BEAUTIFUL dinner! So full of flavour, just delicious. I ran into issues because we have just moved house and I’ve lost my slow cooker, luckily I had a brand new never used French cast iron pan to use! Also halfway through realised we had no tinned tomatoes (how??? There’s usually loads of tins!!) so had to cook up tomatoes and make my own. Luckily it was well worth the effort.
This recipe will definitely be on regular rotation in our home now. Thankyou so much Nagi!!!
Nagi says
Touchdown! 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it Debs, THANK YOU for letting me know! N x
Charlie says
My girlfriend is a lamb lover but can’t eat onion and garlic, I am a girlfriend lover who hasn’t eaten meat in over a decade. Was thinking of making this for her but have not concept of what removing the onion and garlic would do to the recipe? would it will be tasty?
Nagi says
Hi Charlie! What about shallots / green onion? Or leeks? Finely chop either of those and saute with finely chopped celery and carrot. That will make up for not using onion and garlic!
Adrian says
Hi Nagi, alas it sounds like Charlies girl has problems with alliums in general so all three suggestions are likely to be problematic. I’d suggest redcurrants and rosemary in addition to the thyme, completely different flavours obviously but they go well with lamb nontheless.
Great recipe by the way.
Lucy says
Just wanted to thank you for the recipe, I made it yesterday & it was delicious. The sauce barely reduced but it was still very tasty.