These slow cooker lamb shanks with red wine, balsamic vinegar and rosemary are a rich and hearty winter meal. Left all day in the slow cooker the meat becomes meltingly tender and very very moreish.
The love affair between lamb and rosemary certainly isn’t a secret. Add in some red wine and balsamic vinegar and leave them alone in a slow cooker all day to get nice and cosy and the result is glorious. These lamb shanks were excellent. I served them with fluffy herb and lemon cous cous and they were the perfect winter meal. Soft, succulent, rich lamb meat that just fell off the bone, and lashings of rich, slightly tangy gravy. Super yum.
Lamb shanks are such a wonderful cut to work with. The meat is so rich and full of wonderful lamb flavour that it holds up well against strongly flavoured gravies and sauces. Good quality lamb shanks, like these ones from our organic butcher, can also be quite lean and meaty with very little sinew, meaning one medium sized shank provides more than enough meat for even the biggest carnivore.
Lamb shanks used to be one of those cuts of meat that was avoided but these days you find them everywhere – pubs and restaurants regularly add them to their winter menus and they’re easy to find at your butcher or supermarket to make at home. So easy to prepare, try them like this cooked in the slow cooker with a delicious gravy, or they can be slow-roasted and served with potato or sweet potato mash, or pumpkin puree. Lamb shank meat also makes a wonderful addition to a pasta sauce – once cooked remove the meat from the bone and finely chop or shred it, then stir it through the sauce and serve it spooned over your favourite, perfectly cooked pasta.
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Cook time:
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Serves: 4
- 4 medium lamb shanks
- ½ cup plain flour
- 1 tsp salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 carrots
- 1 brown onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 strip lemon rind, pith removed
- 1 bay leaf
- 100g cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 cup beef stock
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp golden syrup or molasses
- 1½ cup cous cous
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley
- 1 tbsp fresh mint
- 1 tbsp finely grated lemon rind
- Place the flour, salt and pepper on a large plate and stir to combine. Dust the meat of the lamb shanks all over with the flour.
- Peel and slice the carrot and onion.
- Heat the oil in a large fry pan over a medium-high heat and brown the shanks on all sides until a deep golden colour. Lay the shanks into the bowl of a slow cooker.
- Pour off any excess oil that has accumulated in the fry pan, leaving about a tablespoon. Add the carrot and onion to the pan and cook for 5-7 minutes until softened and starting to brown.
- Peel and slice the garlic and add this to the pan and cook for another minute.
- Add the carrot, onion and garlic to the slow cooker over the shanks.
- Put the rosemary, lemon rind, bay leaf and cherry tomatoes into the slow cooker.
- Combine the red wine, beef stock, balsamic vinegar and golden syrup in a jug then pour into the slow cooker.
- Put on the lid and cook on low for 7-8 hours, or high for 4-5 hours.
- Half an hour before serving, turn off the slow cooker. Carefully remove the lamb shanks and place them on a plate, covering with foil to keep warm.
The shanks will be very soft so its best to use a pair of tongs and a slotted spoon to carefully lift the shanks out of the sauce by gripping on the side and bottom of the meat. If you pull by the bone, the meat will likely all fall off the bone (which will still taste delicious, you just won't be able to serve it on the bone). - Carefully transfer the sauce to a large saucepan and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes to reduce slightly.
- Heat the chicken stock and butter in a medium saucepan until boiling.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the cous cous. Place a lid tightly over the saucepan and leave to sit for 5 minutes.
- Fluff gently with a fork to break up the cous cous grains.
- Just before serving, finely chop the herbs and lemon rind and stir through the cous cous.
- Pile the cous cous onto serving plates, top each carefully with a lamb shank and spoon over the sauce. Garnish with extra lemon rind and herbs if you like.
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