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….
Made the lamb shanks in red wine and I have to say it was “restaurant ” standard! Superb and it looked just like the photo. Used a Barbera d’asti which blends perfectly with the tomatoes as it is Italian of course. You only get out what you put in, so worth a good £10 bottle of red. The lamb just melted and for once sticking to the recipe proved to be a masterstroke. Cant wait to try more! Signed up already!!
I cooked this recipe with 2 shanks on Sunday and it was superb! My son couldn’t believe I’d made it and said it tasted restaurant quality. Cooked in the slow cooker for 7 hours. It stayed on the bone until the first mouthful then fell apart. Perfect! My local shop didn’t have celery so I had to leave it out. I’ll be making it again next week with 5 shanks, can’t wait. Thank you so much.
Hi Nagi…firstly congratulations on great recipes. Have cooked many. Just with the slow cooked lamb shanks in red wine there are 5 of us. Should I get 6 shanks and 1/2 the recipe contents again??
Hi Deb, click the servings and scale up to the number of portions you need, all the ingredients will scale for you! N x
Trying this tomorrow but also interested in what you can do with the leftover onion, carrot and celery mix, anyone who has used this for other dinners please let me know
Chop what you need so you’re not left with extra, or just add in the extra! 1 cup of each would be roughly 1 onion, 1 large carrot, and 1 large stalk celery.
Made this, it was really nice. Sauce seemed quite watery and took awhile to reduce. Ended up put only abit in a fry pan to reduce quicker. Was a lot of liquid. Checked the amounts and put in what it said. Why did this happen?
I had a high amount of liquid also, but it thickened as I slow cooked it in the oven and then the stove. My family enjoyed the sauce over rice since it was so flavourful.
One trick is to brown the shanks in the broiler. Just rub with oil, then broil for 3-5 minutes per side (depending on your broiler). Also, to your onion, carrot celery trinity, add anchovy and BACON! Both are loaded with umami and add incredible depth of flavor. A couple of anchovies (mashed) and a couple of strips of bacon (finely diced) are all you need. I’m making this tonight and will update this tomorrow.
That’s a great idea, since my browning wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be because of uneven surfaces on the meat. Thank you!
Hi Nagi,I just cooked the beef bouruignon. The flavour is fantastic, just used normal onions.
Today I’m making lamb shanks.
Thanks
Helen
I’m so glad you loved it Helen, thanks so much for letting me know! N x
I made this for Sunday dinner tonight and it was lovely. Recipe is so easy to follow and fuss free. I did however find it quite tomato heavy. I was expecting it to be richer and more on the red wine side (I used a bottle of Pinot noir). Would you recommend halving the tomato next time?
Can it stay longer than 8h in the slow cooker?
Hi Kristine, I wouldn’t as the meat will become too tender and fall apart. N x
can I use Holland House red cooking wine for a substitute
Thank you so much!! I’m just about to make this incredible dish. Can’t wait
Hi Ingrid, yes that should be fine! N x
Is this sauce freezable? I’ve a lot of it leftover but I don’t really want to bin it.
Your recipe for lamb shanks is the absolute best and also easier than most recipes. They always cook just right and the flavors are incredible. Thank you once again for a forever recipe.
Omg, this is such an amazing recipe, so easy to follow too! Made it without the celery, my husband and I loved it! We will definitely be making it again… Any recipe of yours that I have made has been fabulous!
Another one of your recipes that is now one of our favourites! And so easy to do – just set and forget! Thanks 🙂
I made this for my New Year celebration and it was very delicious. Coz I had grandchildren over, I followed the non-alcohol method. Mashed potatoes worked out very well here. Thanks for the lovely recipe.
Each time I search for a recipe, I end up choosing yours and I never messed up with it. Definitely the tastiest, the easiest and best explained recipe. I will make this one tomorrow night and I am sure it will be delicious.
Hi, I’m going to try this for New Year’s Eve. We can’t go out but lamb shank and a good bottle of red will be amazing by the fire. BUT is it 180deg with or without a fan oven ? I have a fan oven so not sure if I need to lower the temperature and I could not see this anywhere
Hi! I need urgent help. I’d love to try this recipe tomorrow and thought I had everything . However, I couldn’t find the main ingredient : lamb Schanks. 🙁 I did find a Lamb Rack, do you think this will work well with your recipe ? Maybe less time in the oven ? Thanks !
Hi Dayan! Oh no, don’t do this with lamb rack, too expensive! Lamb rack is meant to be cooked until pink. Either use this recipe: https://salesdock.info/rosemary-crumbed-rack-of-lamb/%3C/a%3E. But if you don’t have breadcrumbs, just do a simple garlic & herb version using this recipe https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/rack-of-lamb-with-garlic-and-herbs-1222178 N x
Hi Nagi… For slow cooker 8hrs? Im using Crockpot slow cooker and will cook for 6 persons. thanks
Hi Nagi! Looking at making this for Christmas Day with some of your yummy sides. If I double the recipe how long would you suggest in the oven? I may need to use 2 cast iron pots!
Hi Liz, it shouldn’t take the same time – just split the recipe over two pots and cook as per the instructions 🙂 N x