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….
This has become our standard go to across all generations of our family when cooking Shanks. When we say were cooking lamb shanks, we mean Nagi’s 🙂
Oh that’s so sweet Kristy – thanks so much!
Hi, Love your website, recipes are so detailed they always come out so well. Want to make this tomorrow but lamb shanks are expensive in the UK, can I use a different cut of lamb?
I’ve never had lamb shanks before and omg! I’m in love!
What would you recommend I do when reheating the leftovers?
Wahoo! I’m so happy you enjoyed it! To reheat, cover and microwave – N x
Wonderful recipe! Did it in my slowcooker for 5 1/2hrs on low. In my opinion the sauce doesn’t need anything more done to it, it’s fantastic as is.
That’s great to hear Kirsten!
I made this last week for the family, it was a big hit , making it again this evening! The sauce is really nice , thanks for a great recipe
Wahoo! Thanks so much Andy!
Hi Nagi,
I plan on cooking this recipe tonight but I could only find lamb chops at the local grocery store, would they still work fine for this recipe?
Hi David, lamb chops are completely different to shanks unfortunately. You can cook in the same sauce and method, they won’t take as long as shanks and the meat wont be the same texture but will still taste delicious!
Hi Nagi,
Recipe looks terrific. I am cooking this recipe tonight for the first time, however I have a question. Why are you using chicken stock and not lamb or beef stock?
Thank you.
Hi Tim, Lamb stock isn’t readily available here and I find beef too strong a flavour – N x
This recipe turned out spectatularly! My wife brought home a couple of lamb shanks and although I’ve had them at restaurans, I had no idea how to cook them. Thank you for a wonderful dinner.
Made this tonight and it was perfection in every way. Thanks for another winner Nagi x
You’re so welcome Jay ❤️
I would like to try to make this for my mother in law but I am wondering if I can use passata instead of the crushed tomatoes? Thanks
Hi Sharlene, you could use passata, just reduce the tomato paste to 1 tbls and you may need to add a little water – N x
I made this last night and it was way better than good. Sensational silky sauce and perfectly cooked lamb shanks served on garlic mash. I’ll be trying more of your recipes in the future. Superb recipe
I’m so glad you loved it Simon!
Hi Nagi,
Can I cook this overnight and then do the sauce and reheat when I get home from work?
Sure can Lily!
I need to cook this for 6, how much should I add to the ingredients? Thank you.
Hi Lesley, you can adjust the serving size by using the scaler – this will then adjust all the ingredients for you – N x
Omitted to rate; very much deserved 5 star recipe.
Thanks Graham!
Absolutely delicious; thank you.
Prep time of 10 mins was ambitious -it took me 45 mins to amass and prep the ingredients!! Recommended you to lots of friends.
Graham in the French Alps
I did this recipe in a slow cooker, and it was food from heaven! I had friends over, and everyone loved it.
I’m so glad it was a hit Sherif!
When I tasted this straight out of the oven there wasn’t a lot of oomph to the sauce, so I left it for 24 hours. What a difference a day makes. The sauce was so much richer, just how I wanted it. Thank you Nagi, great recipe.
I love leftovers, the flavours seem to develop!
How long do you think the leftover sauce will last? I want to make it into a pasta sauce but it’s been 7 days in the fridge.
Hi Sur, If it were me I’d toss it just to be safe. You can always freeze next time!
I’ve loved every recipe of yours that I’ve cooked so far. This is no exception! I have a question about using the leftover veggies from the strained sauce option – could you give me a little more guidance for making a pasta sauce from them? I am a recipe follower to my core, so have no idea about how to ad-lib a basic sauce! Thanks 🙂
Hi Lexi, I talk about this in step 5 – theres a tip on how to use in a sauce 🙂
Well i’ve had leg of lamb in my younger years but never cooked any kind of lamb in my 66 yrs i must of got a diff. Recipe I was comming back to see what to do with the broth/veg they called for red wine vinegar 3 cups glad i only had 2 i used a extra cup of chicken broth is there any way to save it? For now it’s going in the fridge! If i didn’t mention it i’ve also NEVER ooked with ANY kind of WINE!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME !and the lamb did fall off the bone!
Hi Gloria, you can always freeze it too 🙂
OMFG THIS IS THE BEST SHANK RECIPE EVER!!!!!!!!!! Had the full restaurant experience last night at home, accompanied with creamy buttery mash and brocollini. Magnificent. Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe
Sounds like you nailed it!! WOOT!!