Braised lamb shanks are absolutely delicious.
Whether you are a true lamb lover or not, I think you will love this beautiful recipe for lamb shanks.
In this recipe the lamb shanks are cooked with a few savory vegetables, like onions and carrots, for great flavor.
Add some stock and red wine (or all stock if you don’t want to use the wine) for even more flavor.
Already, with these few ingredients in hand, you can see that we are on our way to deliciousness.
Stir in a few tasty fresh herbs like thyme or rosemary (take your pick or use a bit of both).
Garlic of course and just a little tomato paste for even more flavor and a kick of color.
The recipe also calls for mushrooms. I use the small button mushrooms, either white or brown, because I love the look of the whole mushroom in the braising sauce.
You can certainly use larger mushrooms and just slice them into thick slices. It will taste just as delicious.
You can see from these ingredients, before you even look at the actual recipe, that this is going to be good eating. And it is.
What are Lamb Shanks
Lamb shanks are the lower leg of the lamb.
That part of the lamb obviously gets a lot of exercise, so the shanks need a long slow cook to become wonderfully tender.
I know that not everyone likes lamb and it took me a while to really appreciate it.
Lamb can have a stronger taste than beef or pork, and isn’t used as often as other meats in North America. But cook it properly and lamb is a fantastic meat.
You can cook lamb in so many different ways.
How To Cook Lamb Shanks
Lamb shank recipes often call for the shanks to be braised. Braising meat means cooking it in a savory flavored liquid, like we have in the recipe below.
Long slow cooking in a flavorful braising liquid makes these lamb shanks so tender and delicious.
The braising liquid really adds a lot of flavor to the meat, but it also makes it super tender.
Lamb shanks have some sinew in them. They are after all the leg of the sheep and that area gets a lot of exercise.
It takes slower, longer cooking of that kind of meat to give you an amazingly tender piece of meat.
This wonderful recipe does just that. It makes the most of that wonderful lamb flavor and transforms the shanks into delicious and tender meat.
If you are a lover of lamb recipes, give this one a try. I really think you will love it.
Use the comments section below to let me know how you made it and how it turned out for you.
I hope you enjoy.
Braised Lamb Shanks
Equipment
- 1 Dutch oven or covered roasting pan
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds lamb shanks, (1 large lamb shank or two smaller ones per serving)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 onion, medium, chopped
- 1 carrot, medium, sliced
- 1 pint button mushrooms
- 1 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups beef stock
- 2 cups dry red wine, (or more stock)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, or rosemary, chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried
- 4 stalks parsley
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch, (optional)
- 1 tablespoon water, (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250°F.
- Season the lamb with salt and pepper.
- Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear the lamb until brown all over (five minutes per side). Transfer to a plate.
- Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat. Add the onions and carrots and sauté until they are softened a bit. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic, beef stock and wine. Scrape up browned bits on the bottom of the pan and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Add the bay leaf, thyme and parsley. Add the lamb back to the pot.
- Cook, covered, in 250°F oven for three hours or until the lamb shank is tender.
- Transfer the meat to a platter and cover it to keep it warm. Strain the braising liquid if you want. Add the mushrooms to the liquid and bring it to a boil, then boil it to reduce it by 1/3.
- For a thicker sauce, whisk in cornstarch combined with water and boil the mixture for two minutes or until the sauce is thickened. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning if you need to.
- Serves 4.
Nutrition
I love to serve this recipe for lamb shanks with a green side vegetable like steamed broccoli or green beans. The color of the broccoli next to the braised lamb shanks make them look even more delicious.
Mashed potatoes would really round out the meal and soak up some of that wonderful braising liquid. Rice would work well too.
Here is another recipe for braised lamb shanks, this one with Moroccan flavors.
Browse all of our lamb, beef, pork and chicken recipes here.
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This is my favorite recipe when I am in the mood for lamb. Easy to put together and then just let it cook for a few hours. Delicious.