Braised Lamb Shanks Recipe
Published April 6, 2022. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Sink your teeth into this incredibly delicious, braised lamb shanks recipe that is slow-cooked in an amazingly flavored broth. I served these tasty shanks up with some of my creamy risotto and it is outstanding.
The goal of going to a restaurant is to get something that you usually would not or could not make at home. What if you made food in your kitchen that is just as good and, if not better, than what you got at your favorite spot? Interested; Then you should definitely check out my Chicken Piccata or Linguine with Clam Sauce.
Lamb Shanks
Lamb shanks are cut from the leg of the lamb and tend to be a more tough cut of meat. It is best slow-cooked for more extended periods of time to help break down the meat. It will become melt-in-your-mouth good as this is one of my all-time favorite dishes.
You can purchase lamb shanks from any butcher shop, and most grocery stores will carry them as well. They cost roughly 10-12 per pound, while 1 lamb shank weighs about 12 ounces, with about 3-4 ounces being the bone. One shank will quickly and entirely feed 1 person.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Lamb – Pick up some lamb shanks from your favorite butcher shop.
- Herbs – I like to use a combination of fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, rosemary, and thyme. You can, however, subtract or add to this list.
- Vegetables – You can use many different vegetables, but I prefer onions, carrots, celery, garlic, parsnips, and turnips.
- Wine – An excellent red wine like cabernet sauvignon, merlot, malbec, or shiraz will do well.
- Stock – You will need some good beef stock in this recipe.
- Oil – I like to use olive oil, but you can use any other neutral-flavored oil for this.
- Tomato Paste – This will thicken our braising liquid and, eventually, our sauce.
How to Make Braised Lamb Shanks
Use these step-by-step instructions for making this unbelievably delicious braised lamb shanks recipe:
Season the lamb shanks well on all sides with salt and pepper.
Sear the lamb shanks in a large rondeau or Dutch oven with olive oil over medium-high heat until well browned on all 4 sides.
Set the lamb to the side and add the prepared vegetables to the pot and continue to cook over medium-high heat until they are well browned, which takes about 10 minutes.
Deglaze with red wine and cook until the amount of liquid is reduced by ½.
Stir in some tomato paste until it is completely mixed in. This will help thicken it. If the high heat is concerning you at this point, turn it down to medium.
Pour in the beef stock and then add in the fresh herbs, salt, and pepper, and stir to combine.
Add the lamb shanks back into the pot, cover, and cook at 350° for 2 to 2 ½ hours or until the meat is gently removed from the bone.
Drain the sauce, discard the vegetables, and cook the sauce for 4-5 minutes or just until it’s thickened up like a thin gravy. It does not need to be thick to add flavor to the dish.
Serve the lamb shanks on top of some creamy parmesan risotto.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: This is meant to be eaten once it is finished cooking. However, keep it warm over very low simmering heat for 1 hour before serving.
How to Store: Cover and store the lamb in the sauce in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. You can cover it and freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for 1 day before reheating.
How to Reheat: Add the desired number of lamb shanks to a rondeau or saucepot along with some of the sauce and cover and heat in the oven at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until hot.
chef notes + tips
- Feel free to add in a 15-ounce can of crushed tomatoes for more tomato flavor.
More Restaurant-Style Recipes
Video
Braised Lamb Shanks Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 lamb shanks
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 peeled and medium diced yellow onion
- 2 peeled and medium diced carrots
- 2 medium diced ribs of celery
- 1 peeled and medium diced turnip
- 1 peeled and medium diced parsnip
- 4-5 garlic cloves
- 12-15 fresh thyme sprigs
- 2 fresh rosemary sprigs
- 1 small bunch of parsley
- 2 cups of red wine
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 48 ounces beef stock
- Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Lamb: Season the lamb on all sides with salt and pepper.
- Add the olive oil to a large pot, rondeau, or Dutch oven over medium-high heat and sear the lamb until golden brown on all 5 sides, which takes about 3-4 minutes per side. Once brown remove them from the pot and set aside.
- Next, add the onions, carrots, celery, turnip, parsnip, and garlic into the pot and brown well, which takes about 10 minutes while stirring occasionally.
- Deglaze with the red wine and cook until the amount of liquid is reduced by one half.
- Add in the tomato paste and stir until combined and cook for a further 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add in the stock followed up by adding in the parsley, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper, and mix until combined.
- Next, add back in the lamb shanks, place a lid over the pot and cook in the oven at 350° for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
- Remove the lamb from the pot and strain the vegetables. Cook the remaining liquid over high heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until it thickens up a touch more.
- Serve the lamb shanks with optional risotto and pour some of the sauce over the top.
Was going to make for Easter dinner but our oven is broken. Can this all be cooked on the stove top if it is low and slow? Thank you
yes it can.
Awesome. Everything turned out great. Super flavor. One thing I’m going to do next time is cook some gnocchi in the sauce instead of the risotto.
Fantastic
I’ve made multiple times. Always awesome. This time, my butcher didn’t have the usual lamb shanks. Was more like a lamb ham. Still turned out great. Fork tender. And goes great with the risotto.
Perfect
So good. Made with creamy polenta.
nice
Followed instructions. Trimmed some fat off beforehand. I’ve never had these before, so I was surprised by their size and cost ($84 for 4 at our great local meat market). I had to buy a new pot so they would all fit. 2 shanks served 4 of us with some left over so this recipe should serve 8. Exquisite flavor, perfect texture and enough for another dinner tomorrow. Thank you!
amazing!
Great sauce love ‘‘em been eating lamb for years only Colorado and Texas lamb grain fed last 80 days.
Delicious!
Made this for 12 people, everyone raved about it and said it was like eating at a restaurant. I easily followed the recipe, did it exactly how it’s described in the recipe, and again, it was so good.
I followed directions to a T and this was soooo good. My husband asked for me to put some sauce iver his rice for his lunch the next day. Amazingly delicious.
I had to make some changes due to dietary requirements, but followed the recipe as closely as I could. I also dropped it to 2 shanks since it was mostly for my mom. This recipe is incredibly forgiving. I added sweet potato, carrots, golden beets, and tri color chopped tomatoes (out of paste). I dislike rosemary so I replaced it with some fresh basil. Turned out incredible! Will make again!
We made this last night for dinner and it was outstanding! We really let the vegetables caramelize for the brazing liquid and also the onions for the risotto. After pulling the meat out I strained the brazing liquid into a pot and started to cook it down as directed. I noticed that much of the brazing liquid had splattered and dried onto the sides of my Le Creuset pot during the brazing, basically turning into an incredible demi glace. I scraped all of that off with a tablespoon and melted it into the strained brazing liquid. That my friends, is flavor like you can’t imagine….