There’s nothing quite like slow cooked lamb shanks for a dinner that feels both comforting and heartwarming. This old fashioned and fool proof way of cooking lamb shanks creates fall off the bone tender lamb meat. Perfect for a special dinner like Valentine’s Day with some pasta, or for a cozy weekend. Full step by step, expert tips and video below!
Today’s post is sponsored by the American Lamb Board, your one stop destination for everything you need to know about American Lamb. All opinions are my own.
We’ve been making lamb shoulder chops for Valentine’s Day for years now, but since it happens to be on a weekend this year, we prefer this cozy succulent slow cooked lamb shanks recipe. It can be made in the oven or in a slow cooker, so you don’t have to worry about it.
So we urge you this year to give lamb shanks a try. And as always, make sure you buy American lamb because it’s the freshest lamb you can get! It’s also one of the best ways to support our local ranchers that pour their hearts out everyday to bring you quality, tasty and fresh lamb! Make sure you ask before you buy.
What Are Lamb Shanks?
Lamb shanks are the lower part of the leg, a flavorful cut that contains a lot of connective tissue and collagen. This makes them ideal for slow cooking because long low heat breaks down the fibers, turning them into rich, gelatinous tenderness that simply falls off the bone.
When cooked slowly, the marrow in the bone contributes to the dish’s deep, luxurious flavor, and the meat becomes incredibly soft without drying out.
Why You’ll Love Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks
- Unmatched tenderness: Long cooking breaks down tough tissue into succulent meat.
- Rich, complex flavor: The aromatics, herbs, sun dried tomatoes and stock (or wine) create a sauce that’s as good as your favorite restaurants.
- Hands off cooking: A slow cooker or a Dutch oven that goes into the oven does all the work.
- Comfort food elevated. These lamb shanks are succulent when you strain the braising liquid and use it a sauce. Pair that with Best Mashed Potatoes Recipe, Sun Dried Tomato Pasta, or crusty bread and you have made a gourmet dinner with minimal effort.
- BEST leftovers: In our home, nothing is more welcome than leftover lamb! You can turn them into Lamb Tacos, load them over your fries, salads, serve them with a new side dish and more! Just reheat them gently and they’re ready.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Lamb shanks.The star of the dish; choose fresh, deep-colored shanks with good meat coverage.
- Stock. Lamb, beef broth, or chicken broth, they all provide savory richness. You can add a splash of red wine or soy sauce for an umami flavor. You won’t actually taste the alcohol.
- Sun dried tomatoes. While classically tomato paste, canned tomatoes are more popular, you HAVE TO try sun dried tomatoes instead. It enhances umami and sauce body while offering sweetness and richness to the lamb shanks.
- Onion, garlic, carrots, celery: Classic aromatic mirepoix that flavors the sauce.
- Herbs. Use your favorites, we use rosemary, thyme, bay leaves and parsley. Earthy aromatics that pair beautifully with lamb.
- Kosher Salt & black pepper: Essential seasoning, and any spices you prefer. Optionally you can add Italian seasoning.
- Optional extras: Worcestershire or balsamic for richer acidity, flour or cornstarch for thickened gravy.
- Oil. You need a really high smoke cooking oil to sear the lamb. You can use beef tallow too!
How to Make Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks
Brown the Lamb (Flavor Foundation)
Pat the shanks dry and season generously with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a heavy duty pan or dutch oven and sear on all sides to build richer flavor and color. Don’t forget the tops of the shanks and all over, as best as you can. Browning is a key flavor base!
Remove the browned lamb shanks on to a separate plate.
Sauté Aromatics
In the same pan, sauté onions, garlic, carrots and celery briefly until they soften. Stir until they absorb some of the lamb flavor and soften up well. This step adds depth and richness to the cooking liquid.
Deglaze & Build Sauce
Add the sun dried tomatoes, herbs and stock to the pan and bring to a simmer, scraping up browned bits. Those bits carry intense flavor. Season the liquid and bring to a boil to make sure the whole pot is well deglazed.
At that point you can either cover the Dutch oven and place it in a preheated oven. Or use a slow cooker.
Transfer to Slow Cooker or Crock Pot
Place the seared lamb shanks and boiled sauce mixture into your slow cooker. Ensure the liquid covers at least a third to half of the shanks for even cooking.
Slow Cook
Cook on low for 8–10 hours or on high for 4–6 hours until meat is incredibly fork tender and pulls away from the bone easily. The cooking time will depend on how many lamb shanks and the type of slow cooker you use. Oven method will require about 2-2.5 hours.
The meat would be super tender and the connective tissue will have richly melted into the sauce. Follow this Leg of Lamb Recipe for the oven method. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Serve the Lamb Shanks
Remove the shanks and strain any liquid you have in the crockpot or Dutch oven. The liquid should be thick enough, but if you prefer a thicker sauce then cook it down on the stove.
Adjust seasoning, and yo can make a thick gravy following the Braised Lamb Shanks guide.
Tips for Cooking Lamb Shanks
- Make sure you buy quality American lamb. It’s lamb that’s raised to the highest industry standards and it’s the freshest lamb you can get. It also happens to be buttery and sweet tasting, so less gamey and really tender. The best tip is to ask before buying.
- Brown before you add any liquid. This dramatically enhances flavor and color.
- Sauté the aromatics rather than adding them raw into the liquid, this also enhances the flavor dramatically!
- Use sun dried tomatoes instead of tomato paste for a rich and sweet flavor to the sauce.
- Add umami enhancers to your stock like soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, red wine and more if needed.
- Low and slow is best. Slow cooking at low temperatures breaks down collagen into gelatin for ultra tender meat.
- Liquid level matters so make sure to keep shanks partially submerged to ensure even cooking and moist results.
- Don’t rush the process. Let the lamb shanks sear well, sauté the aromatics well and let the meat slow cook slow.
- Let the meat cool before removing it from the liquid otherwise it will fall apart.
- The USDA recommends cooking lamb to a minimum internal temperature of 145 degrees F for safety.
Variations
- Balsamic, basil and thyme: A simple twist with balsamic vinegar, basil pesto and dried thyme for a tangy sweet shank.
- Dry fruit infused slow cooker style: Add dried fruit (dates, prunes or apricots) and cinnamon for a sweet, savory Moroccan influence. Use the same spices as this How to Cook Lamb With Moroccan Spice.
- Orange and Rosemary: The classic rich and timeless flavors that pair so well with lamb and you can find them in this Braised Lamb Shanks.
- Mediterranean: A rich garlic, oregano, lemon, pomegranate molasses and herbs like dill add a new dimension to the meat. Finish with feta and and plenty of fresh mint.
What to Serve with Lamb Shanks
- Best Mashed Potatoes Recipe
- Burrata Pasta
- Coconut Rice
- Crispy Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Salad
- Roasted Asparagus
- Steakhouse Mushrooms
- Sun Dried Tomato Pasta
How long should I cook lamb shanks in a slow cooker?
For tender, fall off the bone results, cook the shanks for 8–10 hours on low or 4–6 hours on high.
Do I need to brown lamb shanks first?
YES! Browning adds flavor and color that elevate the final dish. You also need to sauté the aromatics in the same pan before adding in any liquid for maximum flavor.
What liquid is best for slow cooking lamb shanks?
Beef, chicken or lamb stock or broth is great. A mix of stock with tomato paste or pomegranate molasses make rich sauces. Red wine, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegars are great add ons to the stock. Just avoid water only liquid as they dilute the flavor dramatically.
Can I use a pressure cooker instead of a slow cooker?
Yes, a pressure cooker or instant pot speeds up the process dramatically while still yielding tender meat, however slow cooking deepens flavor more gradually.
How do I know when lamb shanks are done?
The meat should be so tender it easily pulls away from the bone with a fork, this is a classic sign of doneness.
Valentine Lamb Recipes
- Lamb Chops
- Lamb Loin With Halloumi Salad
- Rack of Lamb Recipe
- Lamb Loin Chops
- Roast Boneless Leg of Lamb
- Lamb Shoulder Chop Recipe
- Lamb Steaks
Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks
There’s nothing quite like slow cooked lamb shanks for a dinner that feels both comforting and heartwarming. This old fashioned and fool proof way of cooking lamb shanks creates fall off the bone tender lamb meat. Perfect for a special dinner like Valentine's Day with some pasta, or for a cozy weekend. Full step by step, expert tips and video below.
Ingredients
Lamb Shanks
- 3 Lamb Shanks American Lamb
- 1 Tablespoon Salt
- 1 Tablespoon black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon beef tallow or high smoke cooking oil
To Slow Cook
- 2 small onions or 1 large, diced
- 1 carrot diced
- 1 celery stalk diced
- 4-5 cloves of garlic whole and smashed
- 2/3 cup sun dried tomatoes
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 7-9 cups beef stock or lamb
Instructions
-
Pat the shanks dry and season generously with salt and pepper. Heat the oil or tallow in a heavy duty pan or dutch oven and sear on all sides to build richer flavor and color.
-
Don't forget the tops of the shanks and all over, as best as you can. Browning is a key flavor base!
-
Remove the lamb shanks on to a plate.
-
In the same pan, sauté onions, garlic, carrots and celery briefly until they soften. Stir until they absorb some of the lamb flavor and soften up well. This step adds depth and richness to the cooking liquid.
-
Add the sun dried tomatoes, herbs and stock to the pan and bring to a simmer, scraping up browned bits. Those bits carry intense flavor. Season the liquid and bring to a boil to make sure the whole pot is well deglazed.
-
Add the lamb shanks back to the pot.
-
At that point you can either cover the Dutch oven and place it in a preheated 350 degrees oven. Slow cook the lamb in the dutch oven with the lid on tightly for about 3 hours, checking every hour on the amount of liquid.
-
Place the seared lamb shanks and boiled sauce mixture into your slow cooker. Ensure the liquid covers at least a third to half of the shanks for even cooking.
-
Cook on low for 8–10 hours or on high for 4–6 hours until meat is incredibly fork tender and pulls away from the bone easily. The cooking time will depend on how many lamb shanks and the type of slow cooker you use. Oven method will require about 2-2.5 hours.
-
The meat would be super tender and the connective tissue will have richly melted into the sauce.
-
Remove the shanks and strain any liquid you have in the crockpot or Dutch oven. The liquid should be thick enough, but if you prefer a thicker sauce then cook it down on the stove.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Tips for Cooking Lamb Shanks
- Make sure you buy quality American lamb. It's lamb that's raised to the highest industry standards and it's the freshest lamb you can get. It also happens to be buttery and sweet tasting, so less gamey and really tender. The best tip is to ask before buying.
- Brown before you add any liquid. This dramatically enhances flavor and color.
- Sauté the aromatics rather than adding them raw into the liquid, this also enhances the flavor dramatically!
- Use sun dried tomatoes instead of tomato paste for a rich and sweet flavor to the sauce.
- Add umami enhancers to your stock like soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, red wine and more if needed.
- Low and slow is best. Slow cooking at low temperatures breaks down collagen into gelatin for ultra tender meat.
- Liquid level matters so make sure to keep shanks partially submerged to ensure even cooking and moist results.
- Don’t rush the process. Let the lamb shanks sear well, sauté the aromatics well and let the meat slow cook slow.
- Let the meat cool before removing it from the liquid otherwise it will fall apart.
- The USDA recommends cooking lamb to a minimum internal temperature of 145 degrees F for safety.
Variations
- Balsamic, basil and thyme: A simple twist with balsamic vinegar, basil pesto and dried thyme for a tangy sweet shank.
- Dry fruit infused slow cooker style: Add dried fruit (dates, prunes or apricots) and cinnamon for a sweet, savory Moroccan influence. Use the same spices as this How to Cook Lamb With Moroccan Spice.
- Orange and Rosemary: The classic rich and timeless flavors that pair so well with lamb and you can find them in this Braised Lamb Shanks.
- Mediterranean: A rich garlic, oregano, lemon, pomegranate molasses and herbs like dill add a new dimension to the meat. Finish with feta and and plenty of fresh mint.
What to Serve with Lamb Shanks
- Best Mashed Potatoes Recipe
- Burrata Pasta
- Coconut Rice
- Crispy Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Salad
- Roasted Asparagus
- Steakhouse Mushrooms
How long should I cook lamb shanks in a slow cooker?
For tender, fall off the bone results, cook the shanks for 8–10 hours on low or 4–6 hours on high.
Do I need to brown lamb shanks first?
YES! Browning adds flavor and color that elevate the final dish. You also need to sauté the aromatics in the same pan before adding in any liquid for maximum flavor.
What liquid is best for slow cooking lamb shanks?
Beef, chicken or lamb stock or broth is great. A mix of stock with tomato paste or pomegranate molasses make rich sauces. Red wine, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegars are great add ons to the stock. Just avoid water only liquid as they dilute the flavor dramatically.
Can I use a pressure cooker instead of a slow cooker?
Yes, a pressure cooker or instant pot speeds up the process dramatically while still yielding tender meat, however slow cooking deepens flavor more gradually.
How do I know when lamb shanks are done?
The meat should be so tender it easily pulls away from the bone with a fork, this is a classic sign of doneness.
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