Slow-cooked lamb shanks
This lamb shanks recipe is from my first cookbook, At My Table – I chose to share with everyone, because so many people say it’s the best lamb shanks recipe they have tried! Tender lamb lying provocatively on a bed of creamy luxurious mash and slathered in a rich, shiny sauce is a sight to warm the very cockles of any heart. This recipe can also be made in a slow-cooker set to low when you leave for work in the morning (see below for details). You can get fresh lamb stock in plastic pouches at good supermarkets and specialty food stores, and I reckon it’s worth the effort; but if you can’t find it, half chicken and half beef stock works well too. If you’re trying to impress someone, this is your recipe. It’s amazing.
For those of you worried about the wine – there will be no alcohol in the finished dish, as it all evaporates in the oven. If you would still prefer not to use it, use extra stock instead.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
4-5 large lamb shanks
Grape seed or rice bran oil, for frying
3 tbsp olive oil
25g butter
2 onions, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped
2 sticks celery, finely chopped
2 shallots, chopped
7 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups red wine (any kind)
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 bunch thyme, leaves finely chopped
2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves chopped
1 1/2 cups lamb stock (or use 1/2 beef 1/2 chicken)
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
Pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
2 bay leaves (fresh if you can find them)
1 1/2 tsp sugar
25g butter
Chopped fresh parsley, to serve
Method
Preheat the oven to 140c conventional bake.
Bring the shanks out of the fridge 20-30 minutes before frying if you can.
Cut through the tendon that connects the meat to the bone at the bottom of the shank – this will allow the meat to bunch up nicely. Season the shanks generously with salt and pepper.
Heat a large frying pan over a very high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of grape seed or rice bran oil, then brown the shanks a couple at a time, turning until really dark brown all over (browning creates a great depth of flavour you get once they’re cooked). Set the shanks aside in a large casserole dish (or a slow cooker).
Reduce the heat to medium and add the olive oil, butter, onions, carrot, celery, garlic and shallots to the same frying pan. Cook, stirring, for 10 minutes until the veges are golden and soft.
Turn up the heat to high, add the wine, bring to a rapid simmer and let it bubble for 30 seconds or so to burn off the alcohol.
Add the tomato paste, thyme, rosemary, lamb (or other) stock, tomatoes, cayenne pepper, bay leaves and sugar to the pan and stir to combine. Pour or spoon carefully over the shanks. Cover with the lid (or 2 layers of tinfoil) and bake in the oven for 4 hours (or about 8 hours in the slow cooker on low), spooning cooking liquid over the shanks every now and then. The meat should be almost falling off the bone by the end.
Gently remove the shanks using tongs or a large spoon (careful as they will be very delicate) and set aside in a dish covered in foil (at 50c in the oven if you want them to stay warm).
Strain the cooking liquid and veges through a colander/sieve into a large saucepan (you don’t have to strain it if you like a chunky sauce). Discard the veges (unless you want to eat them) but keep any bits of meat. How much cooking liquid you have leftover depends on how much steam evaporated during cooking. There’s no right or wrong amount.
Add the butter to the sauce and boil for about 10 minutes to reduce slightly, or until it’ a nice pouring sauce. You may need to add 2-3 tsp cornflour mixed with 1/4 cup water to thicken it up.
Season to taste with salt and cracked pepper.
Serve the shanks over creamy mashed potatoes, alongside steamed green vegetables drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with lemon zest. Pour the sauce generously over the top. Sprinkle with parsley and lemon zest if you like. And of course, if you’re partial to a glass or two of cheeky red, slurp away (you have half a bottle left, remember!). Shankerific!
.. I stumbled upon ur page somehow and i’m so glad i tried this..
Hun Bun also said this is the best lamb he have ever had.. :-)
my 8 yr old son doesn’t eat meat.. after the first time i made this he now wants his own shank every time.. lol
I was so proud to serve such a delish dish.. i just had to take photos and whatsapp to everyone i could.. hehe
I can’t cook that well… my sister.. immediately thought hubby made it..
A BIG TNX 2 U
xo
First recipe that popped up in my Google search. Decided to give it a go. 2 shanks but full sauce list.
YUM. cheers Chelsea.
How long did you cook 2 shanks for?
Apologies if you have already had this question – I don’t want to put the kids off this lovely dish but I may have overdone the cayenne today – any recommendations to cool it down if needed?
You can add some yoghurt to the mixture to cool it down :)
Just cooked these in the slow cooker for dinner tonight….YUM! I only used two and added a dash of white wine and more stock and my husband loved it! I’ll definitely do them again when I want to impress someone with a restaurant quality meal.
Just cooked these for dinner, and utterly glorious they were! I always order lamb shanks at any restaurant that serves them as they are my favourite and these beat them by far!!! Also your chicken and pumpkin lasagne is beautiful :) tried that one about two weeks ago. Thumbs up. Thanks chelsea x
Thanks Livvi :)
Just cooked these for dinner, and utterly glorious they were! I always order lamb shanks at any restaurants that serves them as they are my favourite and these beat them by far!!! Also your chicken and pumpkin lasagne is beautiful :) tried that one about two weeks ago. Thumbs up. Thanks chelsea x
I’ve cooked shanks before, but want to try your style,will post on your fb page tonight
I bought knuckles instead by mistake will this still work??
Yes!
Shanks were great will do them again
I always find the gravy so fatty, what can I do about that?
Try and skim the fat it off the top once cooked, if you like. Or let it cool and the fat will harden and you can pick it off the top.
this is the very best lamb shank recipe I have ever cooked! I can’t wait to do this again, for guests next time.
Husbands made this….. And wondering why we can’t. Eat the veggies we cooked with it! Please advise.
You can!
Yet another brilliant recipe. YUMMY. Did overdo the cayenne pepper while cooking but put in some additional celery, a diced potato and a little more sugar and sieved the sauce and all turned out just spot on. Well done Chelsea.
Awesome recipe! By far the best lamb shanks i have ever had! I use the left over sauce to put with my pasta the next night! Flavor explosion!!!!!
We keep kosher and seldom see lamb shanks. They brought them in for Passover this year and I made some last night. Delicious! Wasn’t sure how big a bottle of wine is in NZ so may have added too little.
These lamb shanks are hands down THE BEST I have ever tried!! Thank you so much for sharing it so we can all enjoy it:-)
I agree it needed more time. I cooked it about 4.5hrs at 150 and I think it could’ve gone for 5. Also I only had beef stock but WOW best lamb shanks I’ve had. Awesome recipe. Will definitely be repeated :)
OMG yum! First ever attempt at lamb shanks and this recipe is so easy and tastes amazing. The meat just melted and the sauce made a delish gravy *drool*
Oh my gosh! Made these for dinner tonight in the slow cooker.
To die for! So many divine flavours.
Thank you for sharing some of your recipes.
AMAZING, AMAZING, AMAZING!!!! <3
Have never cooked lamb shanks before – usually husbands job! Made this for dinner tonight in the slow cooker and both my husband and my boys absolutely loved it! They said it was the best shanks they’d ever eaten!! Quite the compliment. There is nothing left over, whole lot was devoured within minutes. Even my fussy 9 year old went back for seconds. Thanks for another fabulous recipe.
Hi I just have two lamp shanks should i still use the same messerments for the two would it make much difference or just be more saucer want to give this ago but with out wine recipe sounds delicious
Cooked this last night for friends and family it was lovely went down a treat will be cooking this again very soon, lamb shanks from Costco beautiful
Tried this for the first time today. My husband is a huge fan of your recipes, everything I have made of yours is a huge hit with him. According to him, these were the “best lamb shanks I’ve ever made”.
Awesome!
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Amazing recipe – this was not only the first time cooking lamb shanks – this was also my first time for eating them and I chose your recipe Chelsea as it looked so delish! Cooked this recipe in the oven, but did go over the cooking time and must have had them in the oven for 5 hours or so.Highly impressed and thank you for inspiring me !
If using this recipe in the crock pot, would you halve the liquid ingredients?
You may only need 2/3 of the liquids, but you can always thicken it in the end with cornflour in a saucepan!
Good suggestion given to me by my mother is put a thick piece of baking paper to collect the steam and water then drain it out into sink to retain the flavours and avoid “watering down” the sauce. Keep tipping out the water as it builds up on baking paper with the lid on.
Hi, tried cooking in slow cooker on low for 8 hours, meat was cooked yet tough. Could lamb shanks need longer in slow cooker than 8 hours? Any tips would be appreciated, thanks :)
I guess it all comes down to your slow cooker! mine were done after that amount of time, but if not, just keep them in there until done – or turn to high for an hour or two!
Hi Chelsea,
How do you reckon dark beer would go instead of red wine? I know it’s great with beef, but would it be a bit much for the lamb?
Should be delicious!
Wow tthe pork belly recipe is absolutely gorgeous. With a husband and 4 growing boys this was a winner!!!! I will be cooking this again for sure. Thanks so much :)
Hi would this recipe base work for beef cheeks?
Yes, use a few of them though!
Thank you very much for the easy-to-follow recipe, Chelsea.. I made this tonight as my first meal for the in-laws and it went down a treat. Better than I had hoped for.
Kia ora Chelsea. This certainly IS the best lamb shanks recipe ever! I made it on Sunday for my lovely man. He’s had a bit of man flu and had to go out to volunteer fireman training. So I gave him a choice between fish…and ‘something you can smell cooking when you walk up the path’. Well of course he chose the latter.
I am SO pleased I went to the extra effort – not that it’s a tricky recipe, just had to do a quick dash to the supermarket to pick up a couple of ingredients. I served it with some greens and mash. YUM
We had one shank leftover, so next night, I ripped the meat into bite size pieces, warmed it in the sauce added some cooked peas and a little of the pasta cooking liquid (we hadn’t saved quite enough sauce) and tossed it through some spaghetti noodles…delicious. Thanks so much!
Hiya, these look yum. Could I make them in the pressure cooker? Or best to slow cook? Thanks
Best to slow cook, thanks Adriana!
Made these today in our crockpot, they were the best and melted in your mouth!
Hi Chelsea,
Thank you for this receipe, it is amazing and so easy. I use the crock pot. I am making it for the 3rd time tomorrow : )
I am keen on making this recipe for a weekend away. Would I be able to cook slowly in the oven for 3 hour, take out, thicken the sauce and cover shank, cover and refrigerate until the next day where I’d reheat for an hour covered in the oven at 180’C? I’m looking for an easy entertaining option. Cheers Jane
Yes, that would be fine!
What kind of red wine would be best to use? I have never cooked with wine before.
Thanks
Merlot is nice.
I made this last week; it was so easy and the best lamb shank dish I have ever made. The flavours are awesome and left the guests (die hard rugby fans!) slurping and munching with such delight they almost forgot the rugby was on while they ate! Thank you Chelsea, a great dish that will be a firm favourite.
Lovely to hear, thank you!
To use 6 lamb shanks, would I need to increase the other ingredients also ? Thanks :-)
Yes, maybe add another half of everything.
I have made this so many times over a few years and it is the best recipe. Thank you for sharing
I have never made lamb shanks & hubby had never eaten then you made this recipe so easy & they were Devine Chelsea thank you!
I tried this for the first time today and it was delicious. Easy to follow recipe and relatively inexpensive. I have saved to my faves and will definitely use it again. Thanks Chelsea
This is an amazing recipe. The sauce that comes out is delicious! I had to add a lot more cornflour but it was fine. Might have to go out and buy the book now :-)
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Cooked this tonight in the slow cooker, was ready after about 6 hours, served with parsnip & potato mash (we’ve got heaps of parsnips in the garden) and green beans, lovely winter meal, the hit of cayenne pepper warms you through, will definitely make again, thanks for sharing the recipe.
I don’t have red wine, do yu think this wild work out ok with the same quantity of port ?
You can just use stock instead, maybe a splash of port :)
Hi, in regards to the rosemary sprigs with the leaves removed, do I add the woody sprig and discard the leaves?
Sorry, use the leaves :)
Is there any way of doing this without the wine? I wanted to make it for guests who aren’t able to consume wine for religious reasons …
Sure just use extra stock instead!
I have used grape juice instead of wine … delicious.
It’s an awesome recipe thanks Chelsea.
Thanks so much for an awesome recipe. Making it now! Just don’t have shallots, and my bay leaves are dry, but I have everything else. I dint have a fry pan big enough or oven proof. I hope a glass casserole dish with a lid works.ok. I only have a small slow cooker ????
there is no wine once it is cooked out you really do need the flavor of wine, you r not upsetting any church going ppl with this recipe my church non drinking friends love it.
I use a splash of balsamic vinegar instead of wine to give it a similar flavour. You don’t need heaps.
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YUUMMM CHELSEA!
I just did this recipe in the crockpot and it was absolutely divine. Even my husband said it was lovely and he would have it again, when up til now he has been put off lamb shanks as he finds the smell of the shanks off putting. I think that could be adrenaline in the meat. I will definitely be doing this again. We even have enough sauce to use with something else as we only did two shanks. Might possibly do a spag bol with the leftovers.
Thanks for the recipe.
This looks amazing just have to try it!!!!