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….
Hello from Texas! I made your lamb shanks recipe today. They were wonderful! I enjoyed following your instructions and the pictures are lovely. I halved the recipe to serve 2 and served it over arborio rice with fresh spinach. Yummy! Yes, it rendered more sauce than needed. I froze the extra sauce . I want to use it to cook lamb meatballs or something like that. Thank you!
AWESOME! I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed this one Shari! Hope you have a great weekend – N x
Hi Nagi, I’m doing this recipe this coming weekend for family to celebrate my birthday and can’t wait as Lamb Shanks are my favourite meal. I’m also please to see where you added in note 5 to cool down the puree before placing in the blender as only this week we saw on TV where in the States it was shown where two people used their “Bullet” with hot food in it and the “Bullet” exploded, burning them quite seriously. I would have thought that people would have realised the consequences in doing this. I myself have known this and not be experience, but just common sense, so thank you for being such the thoughtful person you are. I know we’re going to enjoy these as we’ve enjoyed so many other recipes of yours. I’m a little at odd ends though this time as you didn’t give us anything on Dozer or is it that Dozer got the shanks. Ha! Ha!
You know what?? I learned the HARD WAY about hot food in blenders when I ended up with pumpkin soup all over my kitchen!! Literally, it hit the CEILING!!! Actually, this recipe was from pre “Life of Dozer” being a regular in my posts! One day I will republish this recipe with a video and Dozer will most certainly make it in the post!! And HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I hope you have a wonderful one! 🙂 N xx
When I read in a recipe someone say use cheap wine I know the writer is not a good cook.
Errr….thanks Tuba. There’s 182 comments on this recipe and I’ve never had anyone say they did not enjoy it or that it was not nice made with cheap wine. You must have a much more refined palette than me, my family and my readers and my friends! 🙂
In reply: A good recipe is made less good by “cheap” ingredients. If the wine makes no difference then don’t include wine. If the wine does make a difference then use good wine. Cheap ingredients, be it wine, spices, or main elements detract from the final flavor, or said another way, keep it from tasting as good as it could. Good ingredients add to the flavor. You work on a recipe, you craft it, you prefect it and you select quality ingredients but then you toss in crappy wine and somehow think it makes no difference? Cheap wine is cheap wine for a reason: Poor quality… and somehow you think that does not affect the favor of your final dish? A compromise is to tell the readers to use their favorite red wine as the base. That way you avoid “cheap” even if it is but it will taste “good” to the consumer.
Hi Tuba! Thanks for offering your opinion! I still stand firm by my opinion that the majority of people in this big wide world do not have a refined enough palette to recognise the difference between good value and expensive wine used in slow cooked dishes like this, as long as they use the right sort of wine i.e. full bodied etc. Professional chefs should be able to tell. And I do believe it makes a difference for things like red wine sauce and faster cooked things. But not for things simmered for hours. You must have a very refined palette like the top tier professional chefs and I envy you for it! I’m just another home cook! 🙂 Thank you again for proffering your opinion! N x
My husband made the shanks yesterday in the crock pot and it was fantastic.
He googled ‘lamb shanks recipe’ and he was over the moon when he saw Nagi has a recipe (of course she does my darling, she’s Nagi).
As with all your recipes we had all the ingredients at home including the red wine we drink regularly……Big & Bold – $5 from First Choice Liquor, I recommend this wine to everyone including my CEO who now enjoys it.
The lamb was so moist and tender, the sauce complimented the meat perfectly.
Thanks again for another winning recipe Nagi!
😂 You make me smile like a fool with messages like this! Thank you x a million! N xx
Just to comment on this, cheap wine does not mean bad wine.
I am bothered that Tuba decided to well.. just be a jerk in the first comment rather than explain their thought process that came out later.
I get what Tuba is saying, but talk to any wine pro and they will rattle off a list of INCREDIBLE wines in the $8-15 range that have incredible flavor and surprising complexity for the price point and slow cooking it will impart some wonderful flavor into the dish. Maybe Tuba feels strongly that 2 buck chuck or Manischevitz won’t be good for this and I agree but if they are hung up on cheap vs good but budget friendly there is a better way to express it.
Nage, you also qualify that a cheaper wine works well with this and mention that for some steak dishes a more expensive wine is necessary. I will be making your dish tonight and I won’t be using any of my vintage Bordeaux’s, Brunello’s, or Barolo’s for this dish. A simple sangiovese or younger grenache will do the trick for this.
Hi Keith! You articulate my point much better than I do! I do hope you enjoy it 🙂 N x
Hi,
Lovely recipe, me and my family really enjoyed it, I added a couple of lamb steaks to as only had 2 shanks and was feeding 3 people, kept it in for the same amount of time and it was delicious, thank u
I Just browned the shanks, made the sauce and it is all in the oven. I added 10ml. of brown sugar to the sauce (just my own taste). It taste and smells devine. Will update when it is all done and consumed. Thank you for a wonderful and descriptive recipe.
Happy to hear you enjoyed this Johan! Thank you for letting me know! N xx
The recipe lived up to all my expectations. It was delicious. It will be my go to recipe for the future. Thank you. Johan from South Africa
Whoot whoot! Very happy to hear that Johan, thanks for letting me know! N xx
I so want to try this for valentines day but this year it’s quite the busy day. I dont have a slow cooker to help me out. Could I do some prep beforehand, like searing the lamb?
Thanks,
Brooke
Hi Brooke! I think that will work fine – sear the lamb (still raw inside) then leave all in the fridge to simmer slowly later. 🙂
Hi Nagi,
Yes I know. Many thanks for the quick reply.
🙂
Ah There it is lol
Hi Nagi,
Did my question re a lamb leg come up? I cant see it in the comments?
Yup! Just answered it – N x
Hi Nagi. Such a beautiful presented menu and description. The Aesthetics are perfect.
I wonder if you could help me. Unfortunately I wasnt able to get some lamb shanks in time BUT I picked up a lovely half lamb leg for me and the girlfriend for valentines day. It weighs 1.2kg (2.6lbs) I have a slow cooker and is it safe to assume I can do the same prep with the leg as I can do with the shanks but leave it for 6-8 hours on low?
Im assuming that I can follow the same instructions?
Regards
Matt
Hi Matthew – I think that will work a treat! I’d say 8 hours on low. Just be aware that lamb leg is not as fatty as shanks so while it will get tender and juicy, it’s not quite the same as shanks. 🙂
My kids loves this. Simply delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
So glad you and the kids like this Najmee, thanks for coming back to let me know! N xx
Just made this tonight!! It was amazing! I followed the recipe exactly except for using extras lamb shank. I was cooking for adults and two young and hungry toddlers. There was nothing leftover. The men even ate the meat out of the marrow they thought it was so good. Thank you for the recipe!
I’m so happy to hear that everyone enjoyed it Mishelle! Thank you for letting me know! N xx
I have mine in the oven as we speak all the way over in the UK for dinner tonight with my parents 🙂
oooh…..I hope you loved it! N xx
Made this for guests Friday and it was very successfully received. The puree complimented the lamb very well. May add some cheese to it the next time. Used the leftover sauce and the meat from an extra shank with penne pasta for dinner Sunday. Fantastic! This has been moved to a regular spot. Thanks!
Woo hoo! So glad you enjoyed it Rod, thanks for letting me know! N x
For what ever its worth – I usesd this as the basic, with 2 large lamb shanks (filled the base of the crock pot). _ i changed the canned tomatoes to the diced fire roasted ones (2 cans) – I quadrpeled the garlic – and prety much doubled the other seasoning except the bay leafe. I also eliminated the tomato paste – and added parsley along with celery seed – then cooked it on high for the 3 hours then left it on low over night-next moring removed the bones – with all the meat having fallen off. It has reduced nicely – and your point about the wine is spot on – sometimes I think the cheaper is the better but in this case a 15$ bottle of Merlot was perfect. As others have said I might go with beef stock next time instead of the chicken – but this made more then enough for 4 people with left over. (YUM!) – I ended up serving this with Broccoli tossed in – and the feta cheese crumbled on top, all over ramen noodles of all things.
FOr someone who hates cooking and usualy destroys whatever dinner is supposed to be – this was primo!
That’s fantastic Vince! Thanks so much for sharing what you did 🙂 I love hearing how people adapt my recipes to their taste or what they have! N x
After researching all Lamb Shank recipes I found yours to be one that I can accomplish and it sounds delicious. The question I have is I only have 2 lamb shanks should I cut the rest of the ingredients in half?
No, just serve up as much sauce as you need and freeze the rest in portions. It is delicious thrown over pasta for a quick meal.
Hi Marilyn! Not quite half, you need a certain amount of liquid to make this 🙂 Cut it down by roughly 1/3, then add enough water to almost cover the lamb (about 1/3 poking out above the water is fine). Then you’ll need to cook the liquid down, but that’s no problem, this cooks for so long there is plenty of time for that! As the liquid reduces, turn the shanks every 30 min or so to ensure it cooks evenly (but don’t worry, even the part above the liquid level cooks just fine, it sort of “steams”)
I’m making this but the sauce barely reduced and it’s very thin… I’m trying to reduce it on the stove
Hi Sara! yes the sauce needs reducing, there’s a step for that in the recipe 🙂 Hope you love it!
Solid recipe, making it right now, and I’m sure it’s going to be fabulous. This is my first time on this site, I like the format, the interaction. I just want to point out the recipe calls for holy trinity, which is onion/celery/bell pepper, and then list ingredients as mirepoix, onion/celery/carrot. Just may be confusing for learning home cooks.
Like I say, I like the site and will be back!
Thanks for picking that up Margaret! Do hope you try some of my recipes – even though I got that terminology wrong, ha ha ha! N xx
Excellent recipe!!! Made it once so far and received endless compliments. In fact, I have been requested to make it again for an upcoming gathering! Incredible taste and so easy too. Thank you for sharing!! I too have shared this wonderful recipe with some friends 🙂
YAY! So thrilled you enjoyed it Priya, thanks for letting me know!!!
Absolutely perfect!!! A real memorable dish and definitely a crowd pleaser.. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Thanks for trying my recipe Holly, and for taking the time to come back and let me know you enjoyed it! N x