Braised Lamb Shanks

Braised lamb shanks with rosemary and port wine sauce.  Learn to braise lamb shanks the easy way and serve them with a delicious rosemary and port wine sauce.  We will explain the braising cooking method and how to use this cooking technique at home to make lots of delicious recipes. 

INGREDIENTS  

• 1.2 kilos (roughly 2.5 lb) lamb shanks 
• 1 white onion. 
• 1 medium sized shallot. 
• 1 carrot 

• 2 garlic cloves 
• 1 bay leaf 
• 1 heaped teaspoon tomato paste 
• Salt and pepper to season. 
• 600 ml brown lamb stock or beef stock 

• 150 ml ruby port wine 
• 2 small twigs of rosemary 
• 25 grams plain unsalted butter 
• 2 tablespoons grapeseed or sunflower oil 

INSTRUCTIONS 

• Oil and season the shanks and brown them well on all sides on a medium heat in a  tablespoon of oil in a pot. 
• Reduce heat slightly and saute the vegetables, bay leaf, rosemary and tomato paste (add more oil if necessary). 
• Deglaze with the port wine. 
• Return the shanks to the pot and pour the stock over them.  The stock must only cover a small portion of the shanks. 

• Cover the pot and place in an oven preheated to 170C (338F).(fan forced)  
• Cook in the oven for 2 ½ – 3 hours until done.  NOTE:  The oven temperature you need to use may vary depending on the size of you shanks and can be as little as 160C (320F) or as much 180 C (356F) with the oven time adjusted as necessary. 
• you need to keep an eye on the shanks while they are cooking. if the liquid reducing too much add some sotck or water
• Remove shanks and place with a little of the sauce on a tray and cover with foil and keep warm in a slow oven say 70C (158F).   
• Reduce the sauce in a pan and boil on a medium to high heat with the lid off until it thickens – maybe 5-10 minutes. 
• Sieve the sauce into another pan ensuring the that the vegetables are not pureed into the pan. 

• Bring the sauce back to the boil, season to taste, add a tablespoon of the port wine, turn off the heat and add the butter.  Gradually mix all together until the butter is melted. 
• Serve on a bed of mashed potato with the sauce generously poured over the shanks. 

Cooking Notes:  I have cooked this at 170C for 2 hr 30 min in a fan forced oven in the middle shelf and it worked fine for me.  However, depending on your oven, things may be different, so keep an eye on the reduction of the sauce during cooking and if needed add some more stock (or water if you run out of stock).   You can also just use a lower temperature of 160C instead of 170C.  

Braised lamb shanks video recipe:

Stephane