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!
My son cooked this recipe for Mothers Day and OMW …. most definitely the BEST lamb shanks I’ve ever tasted and I’ve been to some pretty amazing restaurants all over the world. Thank you so much for sharing Chelsea.
Lamb shanks are so yummy. Think about making extra sauce and make a couple of bags up and put in the freezer and use when you have lamb sausages, mash and veges. Yummy also
Superb as usual Chelsea. The perfect winter dish. Easy as, just can’t go wrong.
If you don’t have fresh thyme or rosemary, can you sub for dried herbs or say a teaspoon of mixed herbs? Fresh herbs are just so pricey these days and I don’t have any in my garden.
Any herbs are better than no herbs :-)
Half way through cooking and I hope you don’t mind but I added a dram or 2 of single malt to the sauce ,let’s see who picks it ha ha
My lock down go to dinner in my kitchen on great barrier island for tonight’s dinner, and I have all the ingredients oh and the time.
Thanks Chelsea
I’ve done this recipe for about four times. I love these lamb shanks, they’re absolutely delicious.
Cheers, Chelsea!
I have done Lamb Shanks in the crockpot before but just couldn’t get a tasty enough sauce. I tried this recipe tonight and I literally licked my plate clean, of and my husband’s. Definitely worth the prep time ☺️
Omg yum! Have made this a few times, we are wondering if it would work with a leg of lamb?
I cooked this recipe for my husband birthday in lockdown , it was Devine , delicious .what can you do with the left over juice . Can you freeze it . Thanks in advance
My husband and I were on “Come dine with me couples” last January, this is what I made, …..this recipe was plenty for six good size lamb shanks which I shared between two slow cookers,. It was a massive hit, I did it with dauphinoise potatoes, and green beans, we tied first place.. thank you Chelsea.
I have never bought lamb shanks, or tried them before, but i had some arrive in a mixed meat pack we bought, i googled “how to cook lamb shanks” and your recipe came up in the top 5 search, the first Persons reviews were not the best at all, Your reviews were glowing, so with that i set to work preparing our meal, im blown away with how simply it was, the flavours were amazing, the meat was perfectly falling off the bone, sorry i forgot to mention, this was done in the slow cooker on high for 6 hours, i strained the veggies to make the gravy, but then decided once the gravy was done, to put all these veggies back in, so as not to waste it, “”PERFECT” mix, i recommend adding this step, it made the meal so much fuller. my husband and adult daughter were most impressed, this recipe is a keeper, i also did not realize how filling one lamb shank was, i cooked 6 in my slow cooker thinking we were having 2 each, Yeah that didn’t happen we were too full after the one, so we all have a flash work lunch container for tomorrow. I posted my photos and review on my facebook page and had a friend comment she has your book and loves how all your recipes are delicious and simple. You have a new fan and ill be buying your book. Thank You.
We’re only 2 – can I halve the entire recipe? & would this change the cooking time? (I’ll be using the oven). Thanks, looking forward to trying these!
Hi there Chelsea
made this up last nite for dinner. The gravy i poured into a pot and hand blended it. Vert thick and very nice .great way to get none vegie eaters to eat vegetables…
Thank you
Have made this recipe twice and is truly is delicious. To make the gravy thicker without using cornflour, I blitz the veggies with a stick blender and wammo, beautiful gravy with no lumps and all the goodness of the veggies.
Still my go to recipe in 2019. Succulent meat, so tender it just falls off the bone. Delicious :)
This recipe is delicious and so easy. Just wondering if it could be used for a leg of lamb?
Made them tonight for the 3rd time…wholly crap you forget just how incredible they are!!! Cheers Chelsea your a legend ?
chelsea can i cook these lamb shanks in the slow cooker and then freeze and then reheat through and then drain the veg and make and thicken the sauce .
Wowzer!! Just made this for dinner tonight on a cold winter day. Just an idea…I didn’t want to waste the verge in the sauce bs because my children don’t really like chunks, I blitzed it with stick blender and didn’t need any cornflour at all. Soooooo yummy!!! Thanks so much Chelsea!!!
Oops spell check errors…veges not verge.
I CANNOT GET ENOUGH OF THIS BEAUTIFUL RECIPE!!!!
It is so easy, so simple, yet absolutely glorious. It goes down a hit every time! There’s nothing better than coming home to the smell of this cooking away in the croc pot.
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. I am in love!
Hi Chelsea, where so you buy the authentic pouches lamb stock from?
You can get it at specialty food stores :)
Wondering if i do these shanks in the slow cooker, would I need to do the first few steps up until adding into the slow cooker for 8 hours or could i add all ingredients into the slow cooker at once to let it cook away?
You need to do the first steps first, then 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 on low :)
Simply delicious! Packed full of flavour and we even had some left over jus we froze for another meal. On my list of favourite recipes.
Bunch of thyme…how much is that…a large handful? Love your recipes.
Kia ora Chelsea, thank you for sharing this Shanks recipe, I have made it several times, with some adjustments and my panel of sons and husband find it amazing! I love the red wine as a base and believe its a hit for our family.
Just made it tonight. It was delicious. It changed my husband’s opinion about lamb shank? thanks Chelsea for sharing this recipe!
Devine! I added a couple of anchovies and a handful of prunes. The whole family loved them. Thanks for the great recipe.
fabulous dish keeping it in my store of recipes to re use
Hi Chelsea
I love this recipe, first cooked it years ago on a snow day it doesn’t get any better than coming in from the farm when you’ve put this in the oven earlier, smells & tastes amazing. Anyway was wondering if the recipe would work with venison I have fallow deer shanks which are not gamey like red deer, plenty of meat on them but being venison not so much fat. Is there any changes you would make?
I’d personally leave it as it is, I’ve even done this with goat shanks :)
Two questions, are the Celery and Shallots compulsory or would it still be just as good without them? And of course fresh ingredients are always best but for the Thyme and Rosemary will it still be as good with dried ingredients? Thanks :)
I cook because I “have to” sadly and usually its something super quick and easy but I couldn’t get away from trying this recipe. It has lived up to every compliment you’ve received every time even when cooked by me! So thank you Chelsea x
:-)
I want to cook 10 lamb shanks and use a slow cooker. Should I just double the sauce recipe and would they take any longer than 8 hours?
wondering if I could cook these the day before and simply reheat for a lunch the next day? As I would love to try for Mothers Day and wouldn’t have the time to do all on Sunday
Thanks, Natalie
Yes sure!
Wow! made this for the first time tonight, both my husband and my 10 year old son were raving. Stunning recipe, will definitely be making it again. Thanks Chelsea :)
Hi Chelsea, could you please advise what 1 cup measure is in millilitres please? looks very yummy and can’t wait to try it ?
250mls :)
I already cooked the glorious lamb shank twice, and my family and friends love it. Now, I make sure that I have shanks in the freezer for when I cook again for family and friends.
I made these tonight in the slow cooker and they were divine! The sauce was so rich and flavoursome – and had a lot of it to go around (cooked in the slow cooker. Thanks for sharing – will definitely be making them again…and again…
Hi Chelsea my family and I love these lamb shanks can you tell me what book the recipe is in so I can buy the cook book. Thanks Andrea
They are from At My Table!
THE BEST EVER!!!! I had never cooked lamb shanks before this recipe. Followed the instructions & it turned out yum as! A+++
As a widow, and pensioner, money is tight. I occasionally go to Australia to look after my little brother. Also retired. We loved this recipe, it lasted us for 4 meals with mash and green beans. Delicious, and very economical, with a glass of wine to go with dinner. Thank you Chelsea for this utterly delicious recipe. Suza.?
Hey, I am currently making this and its looking fab, just wondering though what is the measurement for the butter in the sauce? I cant see it – may be blind though
I made this for the kids and I and it was ridiculously good, even for a really amateur cook like me! As an added bonus, I happened to freeze what was left over of the sauce and it made an awesome sauce for a diced chicken on udon noodles. perfect for someone who hates spending a lot of time cooking!
Hi Chelsea
Love the recipe. Can you tell me what type of plate you have served this in. To me it looks like a pasta plate
Hi Chelsie I love your recipies! Thankyou for making them
So available! I intend to cook this for 16ppl would tripling the recipe be sufficient? Thankyou
Thank you Chelsea Winter. This is the first recipe of yours I’ve made. I’m known by my family as cooking with more love than skill; but tonight my husband congratulated me on a delicious meal. I’ll buy one of your recipe books and give some more a go.
I made this recipe a couple of nights ago for some very special “foodie” friends who were visiting from Australia…it was a rainy autumn night and the perfect dish to warm them up after their weather-beaten drive from Lake Taupo. My son, who is a chef, and my daughter who adores him, found the two crockpots filled with the divine bubbling ingredients and told me to “go away”…they had this under control. They strained the sauce and reduced it by about 2/3, seasoned it to perfection, then pureed the vegetables into a second, chunkier sauce that they nestled the shank into (actually, I used knuckles). We had kumara mash and green beans with it. It was so amazing…I can’t stop thinking about it. We’ll definitely make this again…and again…and again! I’d attach a photo if it were an option…I know you would have approved, Chelsea! Thank you so much for sharing it with us :-)
I have just made this in Melbourne on a rainy Autumn day, the smell is amazing and the flavour and meat is just melt in your mouth delish. I did mine in slow cooker for 8 hours on low. And added some Pinot paste into the sauce at the end instead of the main recipe. Parmesan mash and broccoli, thank toi Chelsea! ???
Tried this today, first time cooking lamb shanks and my husband throughly enjoyed it. Thanks for the great recipe.
Thank you for sharing this recipe Chelsea. My first time cooking shanks with some homekill lamb we had laying around in the freezer, and It came out amazing.