In a previous post, I’ve mentioned that when I was a boy, a young goat was the meat of choice for our Easter dinner. Goat, however, was to be replaced by Spring lamb but even its reign was cut short, since my siblings weren’t at all enamored of it. As a result, Mom switched to serving some sort of roast for our holiday meal, reserving lamb for other, not so special, nights. (Sorry that I cannot be more specific but, as I’ve also mentioned before, my attention during holiday meals was always fixated on the platter of ravioli.) For those non-holiday dinners, she would serve lamb for the 3 of us and some other dish for my siblings. Lamb shanks were most often served for no other reason, I thought, than they were so easy to prepare. Remember, she had another dinner to cook for my siblings.
Although I don’t have Mom’s recipe in written form, I know it well. We spoke of it often and she was delighted to hear that I would be serving lamb shanks for dinner. It turned out that, as much as Dad and I enjoyed lamb, Mom was crazy about it. She’d rather make 2 meals than go without her lamb.
Today’s recipe is pretty much all Mom. I did make a couple of adjustments, though. Namely, Mom used red wine and I use white with a little sherry vinegar. Then, too, for today’s recipe, I used a slow cooker and Mom’s was nowhere near large enough for lamb shanks. If that’s you or you don’t like slow cookers, this dish can just as easily be made in the oven or on the stove top. Instructions to do so follow the recipe below.
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Whether you’re celebrating Passover or getting ready for Easter, the Bartolini Clan and I wish you a very Happy Holiday.
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Braised Lamb Shanks Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lamb shanks (See Notes)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 medium carrots, roughly chopped
- leaves and stalks from the top of a celery heart, about 1 cup
- 1 onion, sliced
- 6 cloves of garlic, smashed, separated
- 4 sprigs of rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup white wine (Mom used red wine)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 3/4 cup sherry vinegar (Mom didn’t use any vinegar)
- vegetable stock (See Notes) (Mom used her chicken stock)
- salt & pepper to taste
- lemon zest for garnish, optional (See Notes)
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Directions
- In a large fry pan, heat the olive oil over med-high heat.
- Add 2 smashed garlic cloves and sauté until golden. Remove the garlic and discard. (See Notes).
- Season the lamb shanks with salt and pepper and place them into the pan, browning them on all sides. This could take anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes.
- Remove and reserve the lamb shanks.
- Place all the vegetables into the pan, season with salt and pepper, and sauté until some color is achieved.
- Add the tomato paste and cook until fragrant and its color deepens, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Remove the mixture from the pan and place into the slow cooker, along with the garlic, rosemary, bay leaf, and sherry vinegar.
- Use the white wine to deglaze the pan and then add it to the slow cooker. Season with salt & pepper.
- Place the lamb shanks into the pot and add enough vegetable stock so that half of the shanks are submerged. Cover the slow cooker. (See Notes)
- Cook on low for 8 hours, turning over the shanks about every 90 minutes. (See Notes)
- Remove meat and cover while the liquids are strained and the sauce prepared. (See Notes)
- Serve, garnished with lemon zest, and with the sauce on the side.
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For those without a slow cooker
Instead of using a fry pan, brown the shanks and sauté the vegetables in a Dutch oven or heavy bottom pot with a lid. Follow the recipe and place everything into the pot. Add enough vegetable stock to submerge 2/3 of the shanks. Bring to a boil over med-high heat and cover. At this point, you can:
- Leave the pot on the stove, reduce the heat to a soft simmer, and cook for 90 to 120 minutes. Meat should be nearly falling off of the bone. Turn over the shanks occasionally.
- Place the pot into a pre-heated 250˚ F (120˚ C) oven and cook for 3 hours. Turn over the shanks occasionally.
Serve as indicated in the recipe above.
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Notes
Be sure to remove any excess fat and as much gray skin as you can. Rather than show you how I did it, you can see a pro do it HERE. It’s not the most thorough set of photos but they will give you a better idea than mine would have. (Work for food? Applications are now being accepted for a photographic assistant.)
If at all possible, make you own vegetable stock and use the flavors that you will use to braise the lamb shanks. One or two days before you cook the shanks, place one onion (quartered), 2 celery stalks (roughly chopped), 2 carrots (roughly chopped), 2 cloves of garlic (smashed), 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, a few sprigs of fresh parsley, 1 bay leaf, and 6 or 7 cups of water into a medium sauce pan. Over med-high heat, bring the contents to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer. I let mine simmer for 2 hours and got a full quart of vegetable stock. I did not use any salt nor pepper in this stock so that I could better control both seasonings during the braising process.
Because less liquid evaporates from a slow cooker, less braising liquid is needed than when a Dutch oven is used to braise on the stove top or in the oven.
Using smashed garlic cloves to flavor the cooking oil is something Mom did all the time. It’s especially useful when sautéing vegetables, giving them garlic flavor without having pieces of garlic in the dish.
If you haven’t got 8 hours to wait for dinner, you can reduce the cooking time by setting the slow cooker’s setting to “High”. As a general rule, one hour of cooking on “High” is worth 2 hours on “Low”.
A few months ago, Chef Michael Symon mentioned that he uses citrus zest as a garnish when he serves braised meats. I decided to give it a try and, since then, I’ve used orange zest on beef cheeks and lemon zest on harissa chicken and today’s lamb shanks. In all cases, the zest added a bit of freshness to the dish that I liked very much.
Once you’ve strained the liquids and removed the fat, you can:
- serve the sauce as-is;
- reduce it and serve; or,
- if needed, use a thickening agent —I used arrowroot — to make gravy.
No matter how you finish the sauce, be sure to taste and adjust its seasoning as needed.
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It’s déjà vu all over again …
Since I’ve shared a lamb shanks recipe for Easter dinner, why not share a bread recipe, as well? Today’s blast from the past will take you to my post for the Easter bread of Le Marche, the ancestral home of the Bartolini side of my family. Braided and loaded with cheese, this bread will fill your kitchen with an irresistible aroma while it bakes. Be forewarned. Don’t bake this bread too far in advance of Easter, for it has a tendency to disappear. You can learn all about this crescia by clicking HERE.
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Coming soon to a monitor near you …
Roasted Vegetables Salad with Harissa
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from the Bartolini kitchens 
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Hope you have a wonderful Easter. Thanks for all the comments on the blog.
We went to the Easter Vigil tonight so won’t be getting up early for church in the morning.
Then hid plastic eggs in the dark back yard.
Good to be with family this whole week and drive back to Pittsburgh after dinner Sunday. School on Monday, Happy to support your wonderful blog, John.
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What a fantastic recipe. Lamb shank can make such a lovely dish, and it surprises me that it remains one of the less popular cuts of meat (at least here in the UK). I’m sure this tasted wonderful.
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I’ve never had lamb shanks! Only lamb kabobs at a Greek relative’s house for their annual Greek dinner party. Your shanks look and sound delicious!
I’m making Thanksgiving dinner (turkey, stuffing, potatoes and gravy, etc.) today. My favorite! Typically it is an organic bone in ham, but honestly, I’m not a huge ham fan, so I went with my own favorite meal. Selfish! Ha!
Blessings to you on this Easter Sunday, John! ~ April
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Don’t lamb shanks make you feel positively prehistoric? Childish, I know, but I always think of Fred Flintstone. Whatever version, I think those look wonderful. Hope you have a lovely holiday.
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I adore lamb shanks and like Michelle, that I always think of the Flintstones when I see the bone. 🙂
I have found that as they have gotten trendy they have become so expensive! A pity. They used to be one of my favorite cheap cuts. Happy Easter.
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Stunning dish John. I am a big fan of slow cooked lamb and I love the seasonings that you’ve added to this dish. Was nice seeing your variations upon your mother’s traditional recipe… I do the same with many recipes my mother used, just according to personal taste. I hope that the Bartolinis have/had a blessed and safe Easter (we’ve just finished our Easter Sunday and I’m about to head to bed!).
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Oh, I love that your mum prepared two meals rather than go without her lamb. Lucky you! I can relate. I’m sure I’d do the same if my boys weren’t lamb-lovers (which thankfully they are). We especially love our shanks. For a sheep-filled country they’re strangely so expensive here, but absolutely worth the investment. Yours look beautiful, and full of flavor. The splash of sherry vinegar would cut through the richness beautifully. Shanks very much for a great post John.
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John, guess what we had for dinner tonight? Your lamb shanks!!!!!! I made them yesterday morning and saved them for our dinner tonight, to make this Monday super special!
if my pictures turned out ok, I will be blogging on them next month – but for the time being, my beloved husband says: tell him I am giving this recipe two thumbs waaaay up!
They were outstanding! (I have leftovers, thinking I’ll turn them into some type of a lamb ragu for pasta, what do you think?)
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You’ve made my night, Sally! I was at the Cubs game and read the notification email for your comment. The Cubs’ win – a rarity – paled in comparison to this news. Thank you so much for letting me know. I agree that the leftovers would make a great ragu. I very much enjoy a ragu made with chunks of meat — pork, beef, veal, lamb — rather than ground. You get a great pasta and the meat makes a great secondo piatto. All you need is some grated cheese and a chunk of bread. Yum! 🙂
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My mouth is watering. So good! Happy, blessed Easter my friend.
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Hi John, I hope you had a fabulous Easter weekend! As the weather drops in Sydney lamb shanks are sure to be a regular on our dinner table, thanks for this great recipe! xx
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“Will photograph for food.” Ha! Great minds think alike–we did a post awhile ago comparing lamb braised in the oven with the same dish in the slow cooker. Tough to lose either way. This recipe sounds wonderful, but i have to say, I’d also love to sample your family’s Easter Goat. Hope you had a great holiday. Ken
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Holy moly, John! This shank has left me drooling at my computer…not so good for keyboards as it turns out. I LOVE that you made it in your slow cooker. This is such a sophisticated “crockpot” meal that I could hardly believe you used the slow cooker. Your shank looks dripping with crazy amazing flavor, and I would think I was eating like a queen should I have gotten to eat at your table that day. Hope your Easter was wonderful.
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Every year for Passover, I swear I am not going to make brisket. I always plan on making lamb instead. Well, there is always next year. This looks like a great recipe and everyone in my home loves lamb-except me. But I don’t eat beef anymore either. So there is no excuse. Next year I will give them some variety. This sounds great John. I hope you had a marvelous holiday!
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Forgot to mention on the next post – love the idea of freezing the sauce in ice cube trays. So clever! This lamb shank looks beautiful! As you know, I love the smell of lamb as it’s cooking, but haven’t quite gotten into the flavor. That said, I’d be in heaven at your holiday meal – the smell of lamb cooking, but an alternate meal for the non-lamb eaters. Sounds perfect to me. 🙂 And I too have tried citrus zest on meats and think it’s delicious!
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Actually, freezing harissa was a mistake. In Winter, I keep some foods frozen in my barbecue on the back porch. I mistakenly put a container of harissa out there, finding it a week later, frozen solid. It thawed fine and a friend said she was going to put some into ice cube trays. The rest is history. 🙂
I’ve yet to try lime zest on meat but i will. If it’s as good as lemon and orange zests, it will be fantastic!
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They’re forecasting our first cold snap for the year – perhaps I’ll get to treat myself to this wonderful looking recipe on the weekend!
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Sounds like perfect weather for lamb shanks, Meredith. You’ll love the aroma in your kitchen. 🙂
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Well, the cold change arrived, and the house is perfumed with that wonderful aroma … should be ready right on time 🙂
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Excellent! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Buon appetito!
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The lemon zest was the final grace note, John. Simply delicious – and best of all, there’s a second meal in the freezer for the next cold snap! Thanks John 🙂
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That’s music to my ears, Meredith. I am so pleased to read that you enjoyed the shanks. Yes, isn’t that touch of lemon zest perfect? You have to try orange zest on braised beef. It’s equally good and so unexpected.
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I will make myself remember, John! 🙂
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Hello John. This Lamb Shank looks wonderful. I didn’t know you had a Greek side to you. I always think of lamb shank as Greek. 🙂
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