This is one of our favourite recipes. We have been making it for years. I brown the shanks and then place in slow cooker. I cook veg and sauce until boiling and then poured ontop of shanks. I cook on low for 7 hours (or high for 4 hours.) So tender! I then remove shanks and thicken sauce with a water/cornstarch mixture. Yummy!!!!
This recipe is Lambtastic! The first time I made it, used half the amount of lamb and I halved all the other ingredients. It came out perfect. The second time I made this recipe I followed it exactly. I found that I ended up with way too much liquid. So instead of reducing down all that liquid I made a delicious risotto out of the extra liquid. It was easy. I sauteed some garlic in a pan, added the risotto rice to the pan and then continued to add the liquid until the risotto was done. I finished it off with some grated parm. The liquid that remained in the lamb dish was then reduced down to the perfect amount. I love this dish because I always have leftover red wine that I don't know what to do with. This dish is perfect for using up all that red wine that I hate to throw away.
These are delicious. The only change I made was omitting the tomatoes. I wanted to intensify the "meaty" flavor, so I used a very rich beef stock along with the chicken stock. It worked. The sauce was almost like a demi glace.
May I just say that this recipe is truly outstanding. Lamb shanks aren't easy to get hold of in the UK but it's well worth the effort of trying to do so - not least because of this particular recipe. I have done it about five times so far for dinner parties - including once for a Masterclass chef who thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm not a very good cook but this works so well that people seem to think I CAN cook! I'm writing this review now because I have guests for dinner tonight and I'm doing it again. I can smell it cooking right now and I've just been thinking that I don't actually want to share the contents of the pot with anyone! I want to eat it all by myself because it is soooo good. Thank you to S. Hodge who gave us this recipe - it's much appreciated. People think I can cook because of it!
This was a wonderful dinner! To those who say there was too much liquid...be patient and REDUCE the sauce. Thanks for a great recipe.
This is a classic dish for many reasons; simplicity ease of preperation and excellent results that is sure to please. A possible variation that I have found to be excellent is the addition of capers olives and dried figs. Essentially the same as this recipe with the addtion of apprxoimately 2 tbl spoons of capers 2 cups of dried figs (halved) and a good handfull of black olives (15-20). Intead of tomatoes (or in addition to) 1/4 cup tomatoe paste that you cook in a moderate pan until it changes to a deep burgondy red then add the stock and bring to the boil then add to the casarol dish with the lamb etc.
Chop the tomatoes before adding. A little tomato paste also gives it a richer flavor. Make sure to cook down the liquid to a slightly thick consistancy. I tend to agree to serve it the next day if possible...the flavors meld in the sauce. Reheat it covered in the oven. This is a keeper!!
Recipes such as this are the reason that I love allrecipes! This is a superb dish. The lamb is meltingly tender and flavorful and the sauce is veltety and lush. I seasoned the meat with seasoned salt, pepper and rosemary, and let it sit overnight. I also used about 1/2 of the wine called for but other than that I followed the recipe closely. Thank you for sharing this restaurant quality dish. We love it.
I LOVED this! I just got a new iron Dutch Oven and made Julia Child's Beef Burgandy....so next HAD to be Lamb! I had 2 nice Shanks plus 2 nice thick bone in shoulder steaks. I pretty much went by the recipe but used org beef broth only, fire roasted tomatoes, 2-3 Tbs tom paste, 3 c of Shiraz, LOTS of garlic, carrots, onions...and folded lots of fresh rosemary/thyme into a coffee filter package I made and tied...bouquet garni. I put it into (covered) a 400 oven lowered to 350 and left it about 3 hours. PERFECTION! And by doing it in the oven you get a beautiful reduction. Thick flavorful sauce ....delicious!!! No need to thicken..does it for you! I made small red potatoes steamed and tossed in lemon, butter, garlic and parsley to go with...YUMMMMY!!!! Thanks for an easy and foolproof recipe!
There's nothing terribly wrong with the recipe, but on the whole it was a little thin and boring. I halved the lamb and kept the veggies the same, and it still didn't have enough substance. For braised meats, I've never felt that side dishes should be a necessity, but they are in this cause since you have a lot of thin sauce and very few veggies--overall, I felt it should've been more stew-like. My suggestions are to double the carrots, add a turnip or two, a rutabega, and two potatoes. It'll be a much heartier dish. I would also replace the chicken broth with beef only, doubling the amount and halving the wine (since the wine is just flavour, it is wasteful to use a whole bottle). Another addition might be to add a dark beer (a porter, perhaps) instead of the wine.
