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Slow-Cooked Lamb Shanks With Red Wine Sauce

Introduction & method

Lamb shanks are a frequently overlooked cut from the sheep - there's lots of cartilage and tendons and collagen in them. So they need a good long cook, either in the oven, or in a slow cooker/crockpot, or sous vide. In this recipe, I also show you how to make a simple but delicious red wine reduction sauce.

Slow-Cooked Lamb Shanks With Red Wine Sauce Recipe

Oven or Slow-Cooker


Season the shanks with salt and pepper. Coarsely chop onion, celery and carrot and place them in your crockpot or a casserole dish. Pop the shanks on top of the veg and add enough water to cover them. Add a sprig of rosemary and a bay leaf. If using the oven, set the temperature to 160°C (320°F), cover the casserole, and cook for at least 4 hours. If using a slow-cooker, you'll want to give it about 10 hours.

Sous Vide Method


Set your sous vide gadget to 66°C (151°F). Season the shanks with salt and pepper. Pop them in a ziplock or vacpac bag, add a good glug of olive or rapeseed oil and a sprig of rosemary. Extract the air, seal the bag, and cook for 24 hours.

Make the Sauce


Towards the end of the cooking time, strain off a cup or two of the cooking liquid, boil it rapidly to reduce by half, check for seasoning and add a pinch of salt if necessary. If your liquid is particularly fatty, you might want to put it in the freezer for half an hour and then remove the fat. Add a cup of red wine to the stock and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer. Sift one or two teaspoons of flour into the liquid to thicken it a little. Just before serving, melt in a knob of butter.

That's It!


Serve with buttered new potatoes and vegetables of your choice. Meltingly tender lamb shanks.




 

Ingredients & Info


THE MEAT
 2 lamb shankss
 1 medium onion
 1 carrot
 1 stick celery
 1 sprig rosemary
  SAUCE
 200 ml lamb stock
 200 ml red wine
 a knob of unsalted butter
 2 tsp flour

PLUS

1 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil if cooking sous vide


UNITS:
Metric
US Customary/Imperial

serves 2 
Prep time: 10 minutes.
Cooking time: 24 hours.
Total time: 24 hours 10 minutes.