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
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
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….
PLEASE can you make a recipe for lamb shanks with mint gravy!!! Terribly disappointing from the shops x
I have made this recipe several times and my family absolutely loves it! No need to change anything or alter ingredients. It is simply one my favorites! Thank you for sharing it with me.
Nagi I cooked the lamb shanks in red wine and they were absolutely delicious thankyou! I cooked in a slow cooker on high for 5 hours. Didn’t have celery, so substituted chopped parsley out our garden & added combo of chopped rosemary & thyme. To naturally thicken just added a tin of healthy brown lentils. Will be making again!!
I’m so glad you liked it Deb! N x
Hi Nagi! I tried your pea and ham recipe in the slow cooker – absolutely delicious! Next I will have a go at the lamb shanks and red wine sauce. Great recipes and thank you for posting them. 🙂
So glad I found this recipe after searching how to cook lamb shanks. I used a slow cooker and the meat was fall-off-the-bone tender and the sauce was delicious. The only change I made was to substituted beef stock for chicken stock. Served them with pureed cauliflower. This tasted like a restaurant quality dish, and I will definitely be making this again. Thank you and so glad to have found your website. I appreciate that your recipe could easily be scaled too.
Another amazing recipe from Nagi. Only thing I did different was to cook out the tomato paste and then deglaze with the wine before adding the stock and tomatoes. It’s a habit thing for me after watching too many cooking shows LOL. For those of you that keep asking about how to cook more or less shanks just simply hover over the number of serves on the recipe and you can scale up or down. and the ingredients adjust for the serves. It does say that on the recipe. Nagi’s recipes make it easy. And you don’t need a $700 Chasseur pot!! You can get a great dutch oven for less than $100 Au$. I have had mine for over 15 yrs and its still going strong. Cheers and a Happy and Healthy 2022 to all. .
Couldn’t find any lamb shanks in the supermarket ahead of New Years! Would this recipe work with leg of lamb?
No Lia, it won’t. I suggest this one for a leg: https://salesdock.info/slow-roast-leg-of-lamb/%3C/a%3E N x
Sooooo good! I wouldnt change a thing!
Great recipe and the recipe allows for some creativity. I added rosemary, I used fresh tomatoes, and did not have carrots and celery. I also used more chicken stock to ensure I had plenty of sauce left. The notes added to the recipe were so helpful!!
I wanted to make a special dinner for my husband’s birthday. So lucky me my market had great looking lamb shanks. Looked up recipes on my phone and choose yours. Purchased everything I didn’t have in the house and made it today. It turn out great. Served the shanks with mashed potatoes and that wonderful gravy. OMG!
It’s a winner!!! It will be my lamb shank go to recipe from now on!!
Thank you, Nagi
Omg. This is the best. Made it twice now and came out incredible both times. Your recipes are amazing Nagi. Looking forward to cooking more of them.
Absolutely fabulous, family want it again, thanks Nagi, made me look like a real Chef 😂💕
I use small mesh bags for all dried herbs and bay leaves. Easy to remove at end of cooking.
Recipe is spot on! When reheating the next day I cook them 2 and a 1/2 hours. That way if they need to cook a little longer I can, otherwise just reheat but I don’t have to be concerned about overcooking them.
Great tip Sarah!! N x
Absolutely delicious and an all round favourite. Have made it multiple times in my dutch oven and found it hassle free and delicious!
Thank you again for another truly awesome recipe. I added just a level tablespoon of Wilkins’s of Tiptree blackcurrant preserve to the gravy to enhance the cabernet sauvignon and add some stickiness…can’t wait to do this recipe again !
Oh, to own a $700 Chasseur cocotte!
Instead, I’ll be making mine in a $20 slow cooker. Bet it’ll taste beaut anyway ;-))
Didn’t have fresh thyme, so I used dried – a fine sieve should pick up most of it, then I’ll pass the sauce through it again, lined with muslin.
I’ve got a cauliflower, fresh out of the garden, to purée and serve on the side, along with green beans.
Dinner tomorrow night is going to be delicious!
Great recipe, I changed slightly by substituting the thyme for Rosemary, and adding some sugar to the sauce after I blended and sieved it. Served with Celeriac mash and buttered leeks/ peas and carrots. Heaven
What do you cook these in , is that a ceramic pot ?
It’s an enamelled cast iron casserole pot.
I have read so many wonderful comments about your lamb shanks I am going to try them for our Canadian Thanksgiving dinner. I want to make them the day before. How do I reheat them so they aren’t dried out? Should I separate the shanks and sauce before putting in the fridge?
Hi Sharron..I would leave them in the sauce and refrigerate and reheat in the sauce…that will keep them from drying out..in fact, they are even better the next day! N x
Thanks for your reply regarding reheating. I found that I had to cook them for about 3 hours in total … the meaty part of the shank around the top of the bone did not fall apart like the other part on the bone so I left them in longer. Can you overcook lamb shanks?
The sauce tastes amazing.
I had been eyeing of this recipe for a while and after reading all the positive reviews, I finally decided to make it.
It was amazing. Took a little bit of time with the prep but nothing crazy but then you just chuck it in the oven to do its thing.
2.5hrs later, you have beautiful, flavoursome, tender lamb shanks that just melt in mouth.
If you’ve been on the fence about making this recipe, don’t wait any longer. You won’t regret it!