Braised Lamb Shanks with Rosemary, Lemon and Garlic
I’m rarely succeed in snaring a bargain at the butcher’s shop, but recently in desperate need of coffee beans I raced into our local fresh food market on a Sunday morning only to find my regular butcher clearing his stock before the close of weekly trade. My prize was a tray of six lamb shanks, untrimmed, priced under $1 each!! A frenched lamb shank in the depth of winter when in high demand can cost up to $4, so I was very happy indeed. Though the days were still warm, the cooler weather was imminent, so I packaged the shanks and put them into the freezer.
We’ve come to the coast for the weekend. The sun is shining, but there is a very cold south westerly wind blowing, an early wintery blast. My seaside neighbour has an enormous rosemary bush by his front gate. It’s gnarled and twisted and hardened by the prevailing salt bearing coastal winds. I “trim” his rosemary regularly. Yesterday I made this delicious braise with coastal rosemary.
4 lamb shanks trimmed, frenched if you prefer
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large carrots diced
3 sticks of celery, diced
1 cup sliced green onion tops
6 cloves garlic
Large sprig of fresh rosemary
1 lemon, zest only
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 tablespoon honey
500mls vegetable stock
1 glass white wine
Pre heat the oven to 160C. Trim the shanks.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan, brown the shanks until well coloured then transfer to an ovenproof dish with a close fitting lid.
Pour off the lamb fat from the pan then heat with the remaining olive oil. Add the diced vegetables, garlic, rosemary and lemon zest. Sauté until the vegetables become translucent then transfer then to the casserole dish. Deglaze the pan with the white wine then add the stock, mustard, tomato paste and honey. Bring to the boil, then pour over the shanks. Lay a piece of baking paper over the surface of the shanks, cover tightly and braise slowly in the oven for 2 1/2 hours. Chill overnight, then lift the fat from the surface. Reheat and serve.
Delicious with mashed potatoes and steamed greens.
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22 comments on “Braised Lamb Shanks with Rosemary, Lemon and Garlic”
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Please Pass the Recipe by Sandra Gay is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
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Oh, that looks beautiful, as usual with all of your dishes! I love lamb but it’s not something I do often. Another one for my “to do” list!
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Thanks you. Braised meat is one of the winter I love about winter, rich sticky unctuous sauces mmmmmm
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Sounds wonderful. I finally prepared lamb last week for the first time and we loved it! I am very ambitious to try different recipes and this one is a must.
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It’s a simple recipe and absolutely delicious. Lamb is THE most popular red meat in Australia. It’s incredibly versatile, roasted,braised, grilled,BBQ. Some cuts can have a lot of fat, but handled well that doesn’t matter. There was TV ad promoting lamb many years ago when a young woman said no to a date with Tom Cruise because her Mum was cooking a lamb roast for dinner! Pretty much sums up the Aussie love affair with lamb.
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Interesting! I’m sold.
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I’ll definitely save this recipe for the next winter, the dish looks really divine and gorgeous, comfy slow-cooked dishes are always the best for cozy and windy winter days ^^ thank you for sharing the recipe 😉
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It’s a pleasure
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Lamb shanks are perfect for braising! Great flavors in your recipe with the vegetables and my favorite herb, rosemary. Definitely keeping this one on hand for the next pot roast:)
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Thank you
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Every Winter I look forward to preparing lamb shanks. The meat is perfectly suited for a long, slow braise. I’ve never added lemon zest to the pot, though, and I will definitely give it a try next time. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
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Always happy to share. The lemon adds a lovely freshness to richness of the sauce.
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OK, this is what I am talking about!!! I love, love, love braised lamb shanks. Baby Lady doesn’t eat lamb so I hardly ever make it but I do have 1 lonely lamb shank in the freezer just for me to braise. I may have to thaw it out this weekend. Great flavor profile on your dish and the photo is lovely. Now, I’m hungry and it’s a long way to lunch. 😦
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Thank you and enjoy the lonely shank!
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Just divine – love winter food 🙂
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Thanks, I love slow cooked meat!
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What a bargain I am jealous! have you ever made shanks with anchovies..it is really good!
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Never tried anchovies with shanks but I’m sure it’s good!
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What a beautiful and delicious dish. What a great deal on the lamb! 😀 )))
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Yep win – win!
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Oh yum! I’m going to make this tonight for dinner. Of course I’m going to have to make a couple of changes due to what I call the “Jordanian factor”. I can’t get lamb shanks as all the meat we get comes in chunks from some unrecognisable part of the beast as it’s cut off the carcass, but I’m hoping that any piece of meat on the bone will achieve the same results. Bit more stock instead of the wine, throw in a few black olives and serve with rice instead of potatoes and I’m positive that my husband will enjoy this! Here’s hoping anyway as I know that I’m going to love it.
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Enjoy!
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