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….
I cooked this the other night. The flavour was delicious and the lamb fell off the bones. We decided to just leave the vegetable lumps but found then the sauce was very thin and we had to eat it with spoons. Next time I’d either strain, blitz or thicken it. The 2 of us got 2 lamb shank dinners out of the recipe and then I reduced the leftover sauce and smaller meat bits with some tomato paste into a pasta sauce for another dinner and small lunch each. Some very economical meals in price and effort. 😅
cam i modify this recipe to use on a leg of lamb?
Thanks!
Great recipe thank you 🙂 I will be eating this tonight mmm. I also donated to the farmers and shared your donation info on my social media page. Our farmers need us and we have to stand up with them and give support when its needed. Much appreciative of your page. Cute dogoo by the way haha. Cheers
Nagi, I made your lamb shanks for tonight’s dinner, here in rural Maryland, pretty far from Sydney. I had to special order the lamb from the supermarket and the checkout lady didn’t even know what they were. She’d never eaten lamb (my what she’s missed). They came out great!!! As tender and delectable as you described.
Now I’ve got a lot of leftover gravy/sauce. I don’t want to throw out so much deliciousness. What do you suggest I do with it?
This was a superb recipe. I blitzed the sauce with a stick blender and used all sauce that was leftover as the passata within a bolognese sauce with tasted fabulous. If I don’t want to use immediately I freeze the sauce for when I need it
Cooked Sunday – excellent dish. Next time, though, I’ll be adding some chopped bell pepper and a bit of oregano. I also recommend a very dry, full bodied wine, though not expensive.
I cooked this on Sunday. Started before I went out. Out for 2 and a half hours test driving cars! Came back to mouth watering, soft, unctuous lamb. The sauce that is created in the slow cooking of this dish was phenomenal. I cook a lot and some dishes feel complex with many processes and can still be underwhelming. This was simple but what reward! What flavour! So far your recipes have never failed me. Superb.
HI, this looks delicious, can I skip wine all together? Or substitute as we can’t have any wine. Thank you
Nadia…perhaps add extra stock and a plash of balsamic or red wine vinegar. I think that would compensate for the flavor of the wine.
I was watching “James Martin’s Home Comforts” where he did a braise of lamb shoulder with sliced potato on top and he suggested you could do it with mash and turn it into a shepherd’s pie – so I thought this recipe might lend itself to that. So I made it and it works brilliantly! So very delicious – rich and gorgeous as a shepherd’s pie. Thanks Nagi 😀
Glad you enjoyed this Frances! Thank you for letting me know! N x
Just made this and it was delicious. I opted to blend all the veggies in the sauce
What do you do with the leftover gravy/sauce?
Can you do this recipe with lamp shoulder blade cuts?
Absolutely! Just adjust the cook time until the meat is tender, then take them out and reduce the sauce 🙂 N x
As you know I like your slow cooked recipes and this is definitely one that I will be making.
By the way, I agree 100% with your comments on the wine. With strong flavours from the meat and vegetables you need a strong full bodied wine to go with it. The good news is that they are often the cheapest.
Living in a wine region I just pop to the local bodega and buy the wine there. If you take your own bottle and just fill it up from the pump it works out at just 1€ a Litre. A rich red Grenache wine, what could be better?
THAT’S SO CHEAP!!! #jealous
Wow! These were luxurious! I made huge ones on the slow cooker, and when I checked after 6 hours, the meat fell of the bones, however it was very convenient because my son’s friend stayed for dinner and rather than share a shank I just had chunks of tender meat in the sauce. Thank you so much !
Thanks for the feedback Mariana! Glad you enjoyed this 🙂 N x
This was a beautiful dish and sooooo flavorful and decadent. Pureed all the veggies so didn’t have to thicken sauce. Absolutely will be adding to my personal favorites! Thanks!!!!
However your written instructions do not address adding the stock. You need to modify your written instructions. The recipe is absolutely delicious!
Does the stock get added with the wine? Thank you
Yes oops sorry, updated 🙂 N x
Thanks Nagi! These were insanely delicious!! Will definitely make them again.
Wow, what a winner! The meat was full of flavour from the sauce and so tender. We put the carrots etc back in the sauce after we thickened it and it was scrumptious.
Oops! Just watched the video again and saw the stock go in. Ignore previous post from me!
Lorraine.
All good! N x
However your written instructions do not address adding the stock. You need to modify your written instructions. The recipe is absolutely delicious!
Hi Nagi, I’m just making this yummy shanks recipe. I didn’t see where you added the stock, so I just added it at step 7. Hope that’s right. Cheers and thanks, Lorraine
Nagi, you are the world’s best food porn photographer!!! Those pics and video made me drool but it’s 94 degrees here and shanks are not available in the stores until fall, so I’ll just have to impatiently wait. The pic of you and Baby Dozer in the email is so sweet. He may not have been the pick of the litter but I’ll bet his siblings aren’t international celebrities like his is!
My ego is swelling with every word I read!! 😂
OMG yes. This is one of those ultimate comfort food meals. I’m in love. Any meat braised in wine until it’s fork tender is just what life is about. Especially lamb. I buy my wine at the 99 cent store LOL. As cheap as I can get!!
I would too if we had wine at a 99 cent store!!!
Thank you for the comments regarding the increasing drought tragedy all over Australia. Mother Nature seems to have left the Lucky Country. With our driest months of the year to come, the reality will only worsen. At the moment the farmers are doing it heartbreakingly tough – I hate to think of the food prices to come for us city folk! Love, love lamb shanks . . probably my favourite meat . . . and know I have two packets in the freezer . . . and never have put the best drop in a dish like this: that goes straight into the glass of the waiting cook 🙂 !
I can’t tear myself away from the stores Eha! It’s just utterly heartbreaking 🙁