Braised Lamb Shanks in Red Wine

Red Wine Braised Lamb Shanks

This is the easiest way to make red wine braised lamb shanks.  You can use a dutch oven or braise the lamb in a slow cooker with red wine, and rosemary.

The other day I met a fellow Nashville Blogger, Luv Cooks, at Bare Bones Butcher, because she needed bones to make bone broth.   I was so impressed with what they do and how they do it, and I immediately set my eyes on lamb, specifically the lamb shanks.

It’s easy to find local pork and beef in Nashville, but lamb is another matter. Thanks to Palmer Farms, I was able to bring home  local pastured lamb shanks.  I had never made lamb shanks before and Laura, who works at Bare Bones Butcher, suggested I think classically French  and braise in red wine.

I’m not sure how classical this is, because I had no carrots, but I did have dried plums. I learned this trick from making the extremely popular Hunger Games Lamb Stew, One of our personal top ten recipes here.

I added onions, garlic and lots of red wine. And, I have a dutch oven and lots of herbs laying around.

I browned the shanks, sweated the onion, added the garlic, added the red wine. After that cooked down for a bit, I added the broth.

Use a Good Wine for Red Wine Braised Lamb Shanks

You can purchase very decent wines to cook with in the $15 range, such as a Louis Jadot Beaujolais and you don’t always need to use the whole bottle.  I added two cups of organic chicken broth to the wine. You may need more to add more, as you want the liquid about halfway up the meat.

I cooked this very slow and low for several hours, placing the dutch oven in my oven at 300 degrees. This would work well in a slow cooker also.

The red wine braised lamb was fork tender. I cooked down the sauce to get it thicker and it was absolutely delicious. It’s not the prettiest of meats, but it’s so tasty, as anything falling off of a bone is.

Serve with no-lump Mashed Potaotes.

Serve with Tuscan Kale Salad.

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4.50 from 8 votes

Lamb Shank in Red Wine

Lamb Shanks braised in red wine.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time4 hours hrs

Total Time4 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Course: Entree

Cuisine: American

Servings: 4

Author: Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 lamb shanks
• salt and pepper
• 1 large onion large diced
• 4 carrots large dice (or 4 dried plums)
• 4 garlic cloves sliced
• 4 cups chicken or beef broth organic
• 1 sprig rosemary see notes
• 1/2 bottle of red wine approximately 2 cups
• bay leaf

Instructions

• Season lamb shanks with salt and pepper
• Heat oil in heavy bottomed pan. I used a dutch oven.
• Brown lamb on all sides. Remove from pan.
• Add in carrots, onion and soften about five minutes. I didn't have carrots and I used dried plums. They add a bit of sweetness and I used them for a lamb stew that is quite popular..
• Add in sliced garlic.
• Add in red wine, and simmer for about 5 minutes.
• Add in 2 to 4 cups of broth. I used chicken broth. You can use beef broth.You want the liquid about half way up the shanks.
• Add in lamb, rosemary, bay leaf.
• If using a dutch oven, place in oven with lid for 3 to 4 hours at 300 degrees. You can turn down to 250 degrees after three hours or if the liquid is boiling. Keep it at a simmer.
• If using a slow cooker, you can cook on low all day.

Notes

In place of fresh rosemary, use 1 teaspoon of dried.
You can also use two teaspoons of herb de provence.

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