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….
Reading this recipe and it all sounds amazing but questioning the tomato side of things. I’m a huge fan of Red wine Demi glaze – I know, different thing but it sounds like the flavor would be similar, except for the tomato. Seems like it would make it very marinara tasting. Is it for acidity or flavor? Have you made it without tomato paste or crushed?
Hi Marcy, the red wine gives this a rich flavour, it’s very different from a marinara. The tomato is the base of this sauce and is needed here, it wouldn’t be the same without it. N x
I have cooked shanks many times but this was the best!!
Question: I had heaps of the sauce left over, with the vegges still in, that I have frozen. Am keen to use it in lasagna – as you suggested – but not sure if I should use it ‘as is’ and substitute it for all the liquids to make the lasagna base for the beef or add other things to it.
Your comments would be appreciated..
Hi Graeme, if you want to make lasagna, I would sear the beef and then add the sauce to it – depending on how much you have left over it may require more tomatoes/stock. N x
I made this and it worked out perfectly. Kept the veggies in – because why waste the flavour! I love your recipes, this ones no exception.
Hi Nagi, I am doubling this recipe to 8 shanks, 4 in one pot and 4 in another seperate pot. Both pots will go in the oven at the same time. Do I still cook them for the 3 hours or double the time given the number of shanks? Thank You 😊
I wanted to make this tonight and accidently bought shoulder lamb chop bone in product of Australia. can I use this in place of shanks??
Hi Tom, no cook as per the recipe 🙂 N x
Must add, olive oil and high heat are bad for you.
Beef fat is naturally the way to go.
Hi Brewster, yep – you just don’t want to get the olive oil at smoke point (which isn’t done in this recipe) so it’s completely fine 🙂 N x
Contradiction here;
“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 strain, sauce becomes more matte and is not as smooth”
Thanks Brewster! It should read “if you BLITZ, sauce becomes more matte..” 🙂 Fixed! N x
Nagi I have this cooking right now and my house smells incredible because of it…. mouth watering can’t wait to dig in. Thank you for your amazing recipes you’ve cured my kitchenphobia!
Hi Nagi. I have been wanting to try this since I first saw it. Looks fantastic. My wife has bought lamb shanks from butcher which have a mint and rosemary marinade. Will these work or should I send her out again;-) other option maybe wash the marinade off so it is not as strong flavouring. Any suggestions. Thanks Matt
Hi Nagi, about to try this but only have 3 shanks (400g each). Do I reduce the quantities of everything else to accommodate?
Hi Vicky, you can if you like, of if you keep it the same they will just be extra saucy – N x
Would I be able to substitute Guinness for the red wine.
Loved how soft and juicy it turned out. I honestly never left any comment on any recipe, but this one is a must. That’s how good and yet simple it is! Hubby absolutely love it; my first born said her favorite part of the day was eating the yummy dinner lol. Another favorite Sunday dinner for sure.
The Red Wine Lamb Shanks cooking in the Dutch Oven makes the house smell like home. The tender meat just falls off the bone and the silky gravy has layers of flavor. Served over mashed potatoes with a side of peas and this Irish woman died and went to heaven. ♥️
Absolutely first class – a lovely recipe – highly recommended + is was easy and I had all the ingredients in the house!! I had a lot of sauce left which I am planning to do a pasta with.
This is sooo good. Made it for the second time today & it went down so well. Thanks, Nagi!
Another delicious recipe, thank you!
We have some leftover sauce – any ideas for options we could use it for? I plan to freeze it
Hi Lauren, it’s great on pasta! N x
Hi. I wanted to know if we could substitute the lamb shanks with mutton pieces cut from the lamb shoulder
Hi Anupama, I imagine so but I haven’t tried to be honest! Cook time will just be dependant on the size of the pieces you have. N x
So yummy! My go to lamb shank recipe. I cook on low in the slow cooker for 8 hrs, strain the liquid and simmer for about 20 mins until thick. So silky. 10/10 Makes a huge difference cooking everything briefly before adding to the slow cooker.
Hi Nagi, I am only now learning to cook, i am almost 50 and never really experimented with cooking at all, i have now cooked your cottage pie, curried sausages and meatloaf and they have all turned out perfectly, my children LOVE them. I have now put my lamb shanks in the slow cooker as per your insructions, i just hope that the red wine doesnt dominate as it smells very dominant of red wine at the moment. I will continue to follow your recipes as they are all so easy and delicious. THANK YOU 🙂
We loved this recipe! Any tips on what to do with leftover sauce? I have so much left. I plan to make the bolognese sauce as suggested with the strained bit but wondering what I could do with the smooth sauce as there was so much!
Hi Nagi – your recipe for lamb shanks is to die for, thank you. I have used your recipe twice now – once when I blitzed the vegetables. Both ways excellent, and rave comments.
I used the pressure cooker – so in less than an hour, there it is! B