Few things come out of an oven looking as good as a braised lamb shank. The meat shrinks back from the bone, the sauce turns dark and glossy, and the whole kitchen smells of garlic, thyme and slow-cooked lamb. It is a dish that looks like hard work and is anything but.
Lamb shanks are a tougher cut that needs time, not skill. Give them a hot pan, a good braising liquid and three hours in a low oven, and they will be fork tender every time. This lamb shank recipe covers the classic oven braise, a halal braising liquid that does everything red wine does, slow cooker and pressure cooker methods, and a spiced lamb shank curry for when you want something with more heat.
The shank is the lower part of the leg, a hard-working muscle wrapped in connective tissue around a central bone. Cooked quickly, all that connective tissue stays tight and the meat is chewy. Cooked slowly in liquid, the collagen melts into gelatine, which does two things at once: it makes the meat soft enough to fall off the bone, and it gives the sauce a rich, sticky body that no amount of flour can match.
That is why lamb shanks are one of the best slow cooked recipes there is. The cut does most of the work for you, as long as you do not rush it. It is also good value: a shank is one generous portion on the bone, and it costs far less than a leg or a rack.
Allow one lamb shank per person. Look for shanks with a good covering of meat, a pale pink to light red colour, and a thin layer of white fat. The thin membrane on the outside can stay on; it softens during braising.
THB's lamb shanks are cut fresh, never frozen, certified halal and delivered chilled within 24 hours. Freshness matters for a long braise, because meat that has been frozen and thawed loses moisture before it even reaches the pot. If you want a deeper, richer result, mutton shank works with the same method and about 45 minutes more cooking; the guide to mutton vs lamb explains the difference.
Most braised lamb shanks recipes rely on red wine for the sauce. Wine brings three things to a braise: acidity, a little sweetness, and depth of colour and flavour. In a halal kitchen you can get all three another way, and the result is every bit as good.
Lamb or beef stock is the best base, and chicken stock works well too. If you use stock cubes, check that they are certified halal.
Preheat the oven to 160°C (140°C fan). Pat the lamb shanks dry and dust them in the seasoned flour. Heat the oil in a large casserole or Dutch oven over a medium high heat and brown the shanks on all sides, two at a time, for 8 to 10 minutes until deeply coloured. Lift them out onto a plate. If your casserole is small, use a large frying pan for this step and transfer everything to a roasting tray later.
Turn the heat down to medium. Add the onion, carrot and celery to the same pot and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft and starting to colour. Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes more. Stir in the tomato paste and let it fry for 2 minutes until it darkens; this is where much of the depth comes from.
Add the crushed tomatoes, pomegranate molasses, stock, thyme, rosemary and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. This is your braising liquid.
Return the shanks to the pot, nestling them into the sauce so they are at least two-thirds covered. Add more stock or a little water if needed. Cover with a tight lid and put in the oven.
Cook time: 2.5 to 3 hours at 160°C (140°C fan). Turn the shanks once, halfway through. They are ready when the meat has shrunk back from the bone and a fork slides in with no resistance. If they are not quite there, give them another 30 minutes. You cannot really overcook a lamb shank in liquid, only undercook it.
Lift the shanks out and keep them warm. Skim the fat from the top of the sauce. If it is thin, simmer it on the hob over a high heat for 5 to 10 minutes until it reduces and coats the back of a spoon. Taste and season with salt and pepper, and add a squeeze of lemon if it needs brightening. Return the shanks to the sauce to serve.
The slow cooker is ideal for lamb shanks: put them in before work and dinner is ready when you get home.
Follow steps one and two in a frying pan or pot on the hob, so the meat is browned and the sauce has its depth, then transfer everything to the slow cooker. Use about 400ml of stock rather than 600ml, as very little liquid evaporates.
Cook on low for eight hours or on high for 5 to 6 hours. Reduce the sauce in a pan on the hob at the end if you want it thicker. Slow cooker lamb shanks are especially soft and are the best choice if you like the meat almost melting off the bone.
For a weeknight, a pressure cooker or Instant Pot does the job in under an hour. Brown the shanks and build the sauce using the sauté function, add 400ml of stock, seal, and cook at high pressure for 45 to 50 minutes. Allow a natural release for 15 minutes, then reduce the sauce on the sauté setting. The texture is a little firmer than a long oven braise, but the flavour is excellent.
Lamb shanks take spice beautifully, and a spiced shank curry, similar to the nalli gosht cooked across Pakistan and North India, is one of the best uses of the cut.
Brown 4 lamb shanks in 4 tablespoons of oil or ghee and set aside. In the same pot, fry 2 sliced onions until deep golden, then add a tablespoon each of ginger and garlic paste, 2 chopped tomatoes, 1 teaspoon each of chilli powder, ground coriander and ground cumin, half a teaspoon of turmeric, a cinnamon stick, 4 cloves and 4 green cardamom pods. Cook until the tomatoes break down and the oil separates.
Return the shanks with 800ml of water, cover, and simmer over a medium low heat for 2.5 to 3 hours, or cook in the oven at 160°C (140°C fan). In the last 20 minutes, stir in 4 tablespoons of whisked yoghurt and a teaspoon of garam masala. Finish with fresh coriander, sliced green chillies and ginger. Serve with naan or rice.
If you enjoy slow-cooked spiced meat on the bone, THB's guide to nihari uses the same principles with beef shank.
The classic pairing is creamy mashed potatoes, which soak up the sauce. Other good options: buttery polenta, a crusty bread for mopping up, pearl couscous with herbs, or plain basmati rice for the curry version. For greens, steamed tenderstem broccoli, green beans or buttered cabbage cut through the richness.
Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat gently, covered, in a low oven or in a pan with a splash of stock until piping hot all the way through. Braised lamb shanks freeze well in their sauce for up to three months. Leftover meat can be pulled from the bone and stirred through pasta, or turned into a pie with the sauce.
Lamb is a good source of protein, iron, zinc and vitamin B12. Shanks contain a mix of saturated fat and monounsaturated fat; skimming the fat from the top of the sauce before serving removes a good deal of it.
About 2.5 to 3 hours in the oven at 160°C (140°C fan), eight hours on low in a slow cooker, or 45 to 50 minutes at high pressure in a pressure cooker. They are done when the meat pulls away from the bone easily.
They have not cooked for long enough. Lamb shanks go through a tough stage before the connective tissue breaks down. Give them another 30 to 60 minutes covered in the braising liquid.
Yes. Use good stock with tomato paste fried until dark, crushed tomatoes and a spoon of pomegranate molasses. It gives the same depth, sweetness and acidity as a red wine sauce.
Yes. Keep the pot tightly covered so the liquid does not evaporate and the shanks steam as well as simmer. Uncover only if you want to reduce the sauce at the end.
One shank per person is the standard serving. For big appetites or for leftovers, allow one and a half.
Yes. All THB lamb is certified halal, hand-slaughtered in accordance with Islamic principles, and delivered fresh, never frozen.
A pot of braised lamb shanks asks for very little and gives back one of the most comforting dinners there is. Order fresh halal lamb shanks from THB today, delivered chilled tomorrow, and explore the full lamb range. For another slow-cooked favourite, try the guide to cooking lamb shoulder.
