Lamb Shanks in red wine sauce

Lamb shanks in red wine sauce.

One of my favorite cuts of meats to cook with are lamb shanks.

When slowly cooked, lamb shanks become succulent, juicy, full of flavor and have a bone filled with nourishing marrow that melts in your mouth.

The transformation continues with the braising liquid turning into a thick, rich, red sauce that is so versatile and tasty you just can’t resist pouring it over everything!

What part of the Lamb does the shank come from?

Lamb shanks are the cut of meat taken from the lower part of the lamb leg and can be either from the animals’ front (foreshank) or back legs (hindshank).

It is a hard-working muscle, therefore full of connective tissue resulting in a tough cut of meat. When preparing, it requires low-temperature cooking for a longer time. This way, it becomes incredibly tender and easily falls off the bone; everyone will love it.

What is the best way to cook lamb shanks?

Lamb shanks are low in fat and high in connective tissue resulting in a tough piece of meat that requires long, slow cooking.

The best way to improve the texture and flavor is to use the braising cooking method. You first pan-sear the lamb shanks at a high temperature to seal in the flavor before adding a small amount of liquid and boiling on low heat for a prolonged cooking time.

The lamb shanks can be cooked on the stovetop, covered for around 1 1/2 hours, in a pressure cooker for about 40min or a slow cooker on low heat for 7 hours with the lid closed. Slowly cooking in the oven for around 4-5 hours, covered, on low heat (140ºC) also give great results.

The slower and longer the lamb shanks cook for, the more tender and juicier the meat will be.

If you cook this recipe in the oven and do not have a Dutch oven dish, use any baking dish you have on hand with a tight-fitting lid to trap in the moisture while cooking. 

I remember my mum using raw dough to trap in the moisture if the lid didn’t seal well. While having the lid on the pot, she would make a quick dough mixture, roll it into a long flat strip and wrap it around the lid’s edge, making sure it didn’t leave any gaps between the lid and the pot. This method would create a tight seal while cooking and trap the steam inside. It was easy to break the dough apart and open the lid once cooked.  

If your oven dish doesn’t have a lid, cover the baking tray with a sheet of baking paper and then a piece of foil on top to trap some of the moisture in. That’s what makes it juicy!

How to serve the lamb shanks?

This meal is so versatile. Serve as it is over pasta, rice or any other grain. For example, I serve it over millet (a nutritious grain that looks like couscous) or zoodles (spiralized zucchini).

You can also serve this dish over mashed potatoes, creamy polenta or buttery cauliflower mash.

If you want to stretch this meal into two meals, serve the lamb shanks by themselves with a side of salad and freeze the sauce to use another day, over pasta or grains.

What is the nutritional value of lamb shank?

Lamb shanks are also very nutritious. They contain a range of beneficial nutrients including protein, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals. They have a high amount of collagen, which has many health benefits for our skin and body, different B vitamins, iron, zinc, selenium, and small amounts of phosphorus, magnesium and potassium.

Lamb shanks in red wine sauce

Angeliki

When slowly cooked, lamb shanks become succulent, juicy, full of flavor and have a bone filled with nourishing marrow that melts in your mouth. The transformation continues with the braising liquid turning into a thick, rich, red sauce that is so versatile and tasty you just can't resist pouring it over everything!

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs

Course Main Course, Meat&Seafood

Cuisine Mediterranean

Servings 5

Calories 602 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 5 lamb shanks
• ½ cup tapioca starch or corn flour +2 teaspoons extra for thickening the sauce at the end
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper
• ½ cup olive oil + 2 tablespoons extra
• 1 large onion finely diced
• 2 carrots finely diced
• 3 celery stalks finely diced
• 4 garlic cloves finely diced
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 1 cup dry red wine (cabernet sauvignon or Shiraz)
• 2 cups tomato puree (tomato Passata)
• 1 teaspoon raw sugar (optional)
• 3 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dry
• 1 spring of fresh rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon dry
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage or 1 teaspoon dry
• 1-2 cups of liquid (water or stock)

Instructions

 

• Mix the ½ cup of tapioca, salt and pepper in a small plastic food storage bag and add the lamb shanks. Close the bag and shake to coat the meat well.
• In a deep, heavy-based casserole, heat the olive oil on high heat and sear the lamb shanks in two batches. Make sure the meat is browned well on all sides; this will take about 5 minutes. Remove lamb shanks onto a plate, cover and leave on the side.
• In the same casserole, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the chopped onion, carrots, celery and garlic and satay for couple more minutes until the onion is translucent.
• Add the tomato paste and stir well until it coats the rest of the ingredients.
• Add the lamb shanks back into the casserole together with the wine. Continue cooking with the lid off for 2 more minutes for the alcohol to evaporate.
• Lastly, add the Passata, optional raw sugar, herbs and enough water or stock to cover the meaty end of the lamb shanks. Bring to the boil.
• Cover with the lid and cook on the stovetop on low heat for around 11/2-2 hours. Check and turn the lamb shanks once. When cooking on the stovetop, the liquid evaporates quickly, and the food can easily burn; keep checking it after the hour, making sure the bottom of the pot isn’t catching.
• If the sauce hasn’t thickened enough at the end of the cooking time, you can uncover and increase the temperature to high for a couple more minutes but keep an eye on it. The sauce will reduce and thicken a little more.
• Alternatively, you can thicken the sauce with tapioca starch or corn flour. Mix ½ cup of water with the reserved 2 tablespoons of tapioca starch, and while still boiling, add a tablespoon at a time of the tapioca mix to the pot while stirring. It will start thickening. Wait a few seconds before you add more. You don't want it to be too thick. Depending on how much liquid you have left, you might not use all the tapioca mix.
• Discard the fresh rosemary and thyme springs if using and serve over pasta or mashed potatoes (check my suggestions above on other ways to serve the lamb shanks).

Notes

1. I recommend using a wide casserole to place lamb shanks in one layer; that way, the lamb shanks will be submerged in the liquid, and the bones will release their flavor into the sauce while boiling.

2. The lamb shanks can be cooked:

-in the oven. Use a baking dish with a fitted lid or cover the oven tray with a sheet of baking paper and then a large piece of foil over this, making sure it’s sealed tight around the edges. Cook covered for 4-5 hours on 140ºC. Uncover the last 20minutes and increase the temperature to 180ºC to brown the meat.
If you are short of time, increase the oven temperature to 180ºC and only cook for around 2 hours, depending on the size of your lamb shanks.

-in a slow cooker on low for 7 hours, transfer the sauce to the stovetop to reduce and thicken.

-in a pressure cooker on low for 30-40min.

3. Serve over pasta, rice, mashed potatoes, creamy polenta or buttery cauliflower mash.

Nutrition

Calories: 602kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 43gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 19gCholesterol: 129mgSodium: 793mgPotassium: 1185mgFiber: 4gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 4788IUVitamin C: 18mgCalcium: 71mgIron: 6mg

Keyword Slow cooked lamb shanks in red wine sauce

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