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 this yesterday, eight hours in my slow cooker, and it was delicious! Easily modified to suit slimming world regime. Added fresh rosemary mmm. Removed some of the “holy trinity” chunks with the shanks then blitzed the sauce. Plenty left which I will use as stock. Thank you for sharing x
AWESOME! So happy to hear you enjoyed this Carole, and thanks for letting me know! N x
While the lamb shanks were good…….the leftover sauce made the most AMAZING pasta sauce. I added cooked ground beef to the sauce and we have the best meat sauce! We’re actually thinking of buying more lamb shanks just to make the sauce. Thank you!
BA HA HA, I totally hear you Barb, the sauce rocks! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you for letting me know! N x
I was glad i found your recipe and i tried it…. my husband love it too. It was saucy, rich and delicious. Thank you for sharing it. I have the remaining sauce, which i am sure it will go well with any pasta.
I’m so glad to hear that Celia! Thank you for letting me know! N x
Winner winner lamb shank dinner!!!
This was a BEAUTIFUL dinner! So full of flavour, just delicious. I ran into issues because we have just moved house and I’ve lost my slow cooker, luckily I had a brand new never used French cast iron pan to use! Also halfway through realised we had no tinned tomatoes (how??? There’s usually loads of tins!!) so had to cook up tomatoes and make my own. Luckily it was well worth the effort.
This recipe will definitely be on regular rotation in our home now. Thankyou so much Nagi!!!
Touchdown! 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it Debs, THANK YOU for letting me know! N x
My girlfriend is a lamb lover but can’t eat onion and garlic, I am a girlfriend lover who hasn’t eaten meat in over a decade. Was thinking of making this for her but have not concept of what removing the onion and garlic would do to the recipe? would it will be tasty?
Hi Charlie! What about shallots / green onion? Or leeks? Finely chop either of those and saute with finely chopped celery and carrot. That will make up for not using onion and garlic!
Hi Nagi, alas it sounds like Charlies girl has problems with alliums in general so all three suggestions are likely to be problematic. I’d suggest redcurrants and rosemary in addition to the thyme, completely different flavours obviously but they go well with lamb nontheless.
Great recipe by the way.
Just wanted to thank you for the recipe, I made it yesterday & it was delicious. The sauce barely reduced but it was still very tasty.
Made this for my husband on a cold winters night in Perth. He had this while watching the footy and just loved it. Was his favourite meal all week. He just had this with bread and butter. Was a very happy man. Thank you for the recipe. Going to do the beef and Guinness stew tomorrow night. I’m on a roll!
Your hubby is one lucky guy! So glad you both enjoyed it Fiona….and if you liked this, I guarantee you will LOVE the Irish Stew!!
I made this recipe in a pressure cooker and it turned out beautifully. Rather than blend the sauce, I strained it and reduced the liquid on the stove (hubby is funny about thick sauces). I could not believe the flavour! Just divine. I’m making it again tonight. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it Elizabeth! Thank you so much for letting me know! N x
This recipe looks amazing! I’m planning on doing it tomorrow for friends coming over. I’m actually nervous because I never do meats but I’m hoping to do this in the slow cooker. I was looking at the lamb I bought.. I got lamb ribs instead of shanks! Do you think this will work with lamb ribs? I have about one kg of it (2 racks of 8 ribs). Thank you so much
Hi Karine! This will be lovely with lamb ribs! Follow the recipe but cook it for about 1.5 hrs or until the meat on the ribs is tender 🙂
we had this for dinner the other night. superb. really reccomend. Thanks for sharing. Simon
Woo hoo! So glad you enjoyed it Simon, thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know! 🙂 N x
Cooked this for dinner the other night and it turned out good! I threw in one potato together with the veg and blitzed it to make the sauce when the shanks were cooked. Sauce thickened up nicely to the consistency I liked without having to add any liquid. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it Ev! Thank you for coming back to let me know! N x
I used the slow cooker method, BTW. No hassle cooking 🙂
Hi 🙂 I want to cook this today in a slow cooker! does it need exactly 8hrs on low? It just seems long compared to other recipes im a bit worried to over cook the lamb! Recipe looks amazing!!
Hi Deanna, it’s hard to overcook lamb shanks, it’s such a tough cut of meat and it is very forgiving. My lamb shanks were also quite large, if you have small ones you could cook it for 6 hours. But honestly, 8 hours is safe! 🙂
Absolutely delish!!! Have tried a few braised lamb shank recipes but this one is KING! Depth of flavors are divine……
Thanks for sharing:)
Thank you Jodi, I’m so glad you enjoyed this! N x
YUMMY! That sauce is divine! Made these in an enamel roaster and I did find that there was still heaps of liquid left after 2hrs so left the lid off for the last 30mins and that reduced everything down perfectly…skimmed the fat off the top then blitzed with the stick blender and the sauce was perfect just as is – no need for thinning or seasoning?. Made some roast veges in the oven at the same time – parsnip, red yams and pumpkin. Green beans In the microwave. Then served everything with lashings of that perfect sauce- heaven on a cold, wintry, rainy night here in NZ. Thank you for another fabulous recipe Nagi!
Ooooh! I’m so glad you love this too Su! Thank you for trying my recipe and coming back to let me know! N x
Wowww!! YUMMMM!!!! This is absolutely delicious!!!! My husband and I made this yesterday for Mother’s day as both my mum and my husband’s grandma love lamb, especially lamb shanks!! My mum doesn’t really like alcohol, but she couldn’t taste any alcohol in this, even after I mentioned it :))) It was just absolutely delicious and everybody enjoyed it and almost licked the bones as well!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanksssss so, so much for sharing your wonderful, yet easy recipes freely with us, Nagi; I deeply appreciate it, and I have been using your recipes for all of our meals for the whole last week!! We had this served on mashed potatoes, as suggested, along with corn, carrot and peas (from a frozen mix) plus garlic bread, and the whole thing was just delicious!!! We doubled the recipe for 8 shanks and today used up the leftover delicious sauce with some meat leftover in it with pasta!! Also, since we didn’t have a big enough dish for 8 shanks for the oven, we cooked this on the stove in two big pots and the result was just DELICIOUS!! :))))
The best shank recipe ever
YEE HA! Thanks Yewande! 🙂
Will the same measurements for the sauce be enough for 8 shanks?
Hi Kristy! I think there is not quite enough sauce for 8 shanks. This recipe is for 4 shanks, but if you don’t want to double it, I think it is best to at least increase it by 50% 🙂 (Sauce part only)
Hello Nagi!! wow wow wow! Tasty and Wunderbar! We were licking the bone and dipped bread to finish the gravy.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this Mel! Isn’t the sauce ridiculously delicious??? N x
Hi Nagi, the recipe sounds absolutely delicious. I would like to try it tomorrow for family dinner but with leg of lamb. Do you recommend any adjustments to the cooking time? I have about 1.2 kg / 2lb leg of lamb.
Katrin
Munich, Germany
Hi Katrin! I haven’t tried this with lamb leg because I don’t have a pot large enough. To make this with a lamb leg, I would cut chunks of meat off – around the size of a baseball – so it fits in my pot and the meat is submerged in the liquid. This way the cook time should be roughly the same. I’d stick the bone in too, because it will be hard to cut all the meat off plus you’ll get extra flavour from it!
Hi Nagi! I made this recipe for dinner tonight and it was a hit with my family (my kids can sometimes be picky eaters!). Just wondering what you do with the extra fabulous sauce? I made 6 shanks, so have some left over, but I don’t want to let the sauce so to waste! Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe!
Hi Jenn, so glad you enjoyed it Jenn! I agree, the sauce is brilliant, toss it in cooked pasta!