Braised lamb shanks are the best. The meat just falls off the bone. Try one of the recipes. You'll like it. They won't be like stew. More like ribs that have been cooked to a toothy tenderness.

That is how I cook lamb shanks. I cook them quite often as both Moe and I love them.

I usually cook them in a dutch oven with different seasoning. Sometimes Greek style with lots of oregano and lemon.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Place lamb shanks in roasting pan and brown in oven turning a few
times. Takes about 30 minutes.

Add 2 or 3 onions quartered and a dozen or more garlic cloves. Add beef
broth, herbs, salt and pepper and lower temp to 350°F. Cover tightly
and continue cooking for 1 1/2 hours or until lamb is tender. Cut
rutabaga into triangles and potatoes into halves and add to the
roasting pan. Continue to cook for another 25 to 30 minutes or until
vegetables are tender.

Ann - that looks absolutely scrumptious!
Printed it out. Thank you so much!

Ann - do you does the beef broth *cover* the shanks?

Beef or chicken broth. I use one or the other. I don't cover the meat totally with the broth. But you want sufficient so that the meat doesn't dry out while it is cooking.

Ann

I made lamb shanks for the first time a couple of weeks ago - I had ordered them in restaurants, but had never made them at home. They were really delicious, we all enjoyed them. Here's the recipe I used, which made a wonderful broth, but next time I'll cut it in half because it made way more than we needed.

Becky

* Exported from MasterCook *

Rosemary Braised Lamb Shanks

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
3 pounds lamb shanks (6)
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions -- chopped
3 large carrots -- cut into 1/4 inch rounds
10 cloves garlic -- minced
1 bottle red wine (I used Clos du Bois Zinfandel) -- (750 milliliter)
1 can whole peeled tomatoes with juice -- (28 ounce)
1 can chicken broth (condensed) -- (10.5 ounce)
1 can beef broth (condensed) -- (10.5 ounce)
5 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

1 Sprinkle shanks with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, cook shanks until brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer shanks to plate.
2 Add onions, carrots and garlic to pot and saute until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in wine, tomatoes, chicken broth and beef broth. Season with rosemary and thyme. Return shanks to pot, pressing down to submerge. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover, and simmer until meat is tender, about 2 hours.
3 Remove cover from pot. Simmer about 20 minutes longer. Transfer shanks to platter, place in a warm oven. Boil juices in pot until thickened, about 15 minutes. Spoon over shanks.
www.allrecipes.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
NOTES : Lamb shanks that are slowly simmered withe fresh rosemary, garlic, tomatoes, and red wine. Great served with polenta, or my family's favorite roasted garlic mashed potatoes, as you need something to soak up the wonderful sauce that is created with these. A fantastic dish for company, as all the prep work is done at the beginning, and then you just have to wait.

Made 3-3-08 Used dried herbs (half the quantity). Next time use diced tomatoes in sauce or juice instead of whole and dice carrots. Very good, suitable for entertaining, makes a huge pot. Could cut in half for a smaller quantity.

My favorite:

Braised Lamb with Cannellini Beans

Serves 8

4 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
8 lamb shanks, each 1/2 to 3/4 lb.
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
2 stalk celery, finely diced
3 large carrots, peeled and finely diced
12 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 cups white wine
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes
(fresh or canned)
3 Tbs tomato paste
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 whole bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

4 cups canned cannellini beans

In a large roasting pan on the stovetop over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil.

Add the lamb shanks and brown on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes.

Transfer the shanks to a plate.

Add the onion, celery and carrots to the pan and sauté over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, about 10 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Add the wine, broth, tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme, bay leaf and lamb shanks. Bring to a boil over high heat.

Reduce the heat to low, cover and slow-roast in the oven at 375° until the shanks can be easily pierced with a skewer, about 2 to 3 hours.

Add the beans, stir well, cover and continue to cook until the lamb begins to fall from the bone and the beans are tender, about 30 to 60 minutes more.

Season with salt and pepper. Remove and discard the bay leaf.

On each plate, create a bed of beans and sauce and place the shank on top.

Garnish (optional): lemon zest-parsley mixture

Joe

At the restaurant where I used to work, we did a similar recipe to Ann's, but without the rutabagas and potatoes, and with port added to the cooking liquids. About a half-hour before they were finished we added halved fresh tomatoes. This was a very popular dish. It also speeded up the process to cook them in a pressure cooker, took about an hour (then we added the tomatoes and cooked them not uder pressure for half an hour.

I have quite a few recipes for lamb shanks, mostly collected in the 50s and 60s. In the good old days of my youth, if you weren't quick enough to catch the butcher in time, lamb shanks were tossed into the Pet Food Bucket. The butchers would give them away to anyone who asked for them - free! Now, they're a luxury item, with a price tag to match.

Braised Lamb Shanks
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 small meaty lamb shanks, trimmed of fat
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
4 carrots, peeled and finely diced
3 small sprigs fresh rosemary
2 bay leaves
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups red wine
2 medium turnips, peeled and cut into 1cm dice
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh orange rind
1 small garlic clove, minced

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Heat the olive oil in a large, deep Dutch oven with a tight fitting lid over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Season the shanks with salt and pepper and cook, in batches if necessary, turning with tongs, until well browned, about 10 minutes each batch. Remove the shanks with tongs to a plate and set aside. Stir the onions, carrots, rosemary, bay leaves, and garlic into the Dutch oven and cook, stirring, until the onions are very soft, about 5 minutes. Add 2 1/2 cups of the wine and stir in well. Bring the mixture to the boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning.

Return the shanks to the pot and braise the mixture, tightly covered, in the oven for 90 minutes, turning the shanks once. Stir in the turnips and the remaining 1/2 cup of the wine, and continue to braise, covered, in the oven for 30 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chop together the rosemary, orange rind, and garlic. Place each shank on a serving plate, top with the vegetables, sprinkle with rosemary mixture, and serve immediately.

Braised Lamb Shanks with Caramel Onions and Shallots
4 tablespoons olive oil
500g onions, sliced
5 large shallots, sliced [you can use the onion-shaped shallots, or the things you probably call Spring Onions, which we also call shallots]
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
6 lamb shanks
flour
2 1/2 cups dry red wine
2 1/2 cups beef broth
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 bay leaves

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add sliced onions and shallots and saute until brown, about 20 minutes. Mix in rosemary. Remove from heat. Sprinkle lamb with salt and pepper; coat with flour. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in heavy large frypan over high heat. Working in batches, add lamb shanks to pan and cook until brown on both sides, about 10 minutes per side. Using tongs, transfer lamb shanks to plate. Add 1 cup red wine to same pan and bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Pour into Dutch oven with onion mixture. Add remaining 1 1/2 cups wine, beef broth, tomato paste, and bay leaves to Dutch oven. Bring to boil, stirring until tomato paste dissolves. Add lamb shanks, turning to coat with liquid. Bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until lamb in almost tender, turning shanks occasionally, about 1 1/2 hours. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Uncover Dutch oven. Skim visible fat off the surface. Boil until liquid is reduced to sauce consistency, stirring and turning shanks occasionally, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with polenta or mashed potatoes, bread, and a simple salad.

Lamb Shanks, Greek Style
4 lamb shanks
3 garlic, cloves, slivered
salt and pepper to taste
2 onions, sliced
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
pinch cinnamon, optional
3/4 cup dry white wine
2 cups chicken stock
500g tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 cup orzo rice shaped pasta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 240°C. Remove as much of the fat, sinew and translucent membrane as possible from the lamb shanks. Insert garlic slivers into the shanks. Salt and pepper generously. Arrange shanks in roasting pan, strew on onion slices, and drizzle olive oil over all. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle with oregano, and cinnamon then spoon tomatoes onto the lamb, mounding up the tomatoes on each shank. Pour the white wine around the meat and return the pan to the oven. Roast for an additional 45 minutes. Remove shanks from the pan and set aside. Add chicken stock to the pan, stirring. Stir in the orzo. Arrange the shanks on top of the orzo and baste them with some of the stock. Return the pan to the oven. Cook until pasta is just tender and nearly all of the liquid has been absorbed (about 15 minutes). Remove from the oven, cover pan tightly with aluminium foil, and let stand about 5 minutes. Serve hot with grated cheese.

Lamb Shanks with Barbecue Sauce
4 lamb shanks
2 rashers bacon, chopped
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon mustard
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
1 onion, sliced
salt to taste

Fry bacon for a minute or two, roll the shanks in flour. Place shanks and bacon in a casserole dish. Mix together the tomato puree, water, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, mustard and onion, add the remaining flour and pour over the shanks. Cover and cook in a moderate oven until tender, approximately 2 hours.

Lamb Shanks in Orange Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
2 lamb shanks
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped roughly
2 tablespoons flour
300ml stock or water
1 dessertspoon tomato paste
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup orange juice
1 dessertspoon finely grated orange rind

Melt butter and brown shanks well all over, remove. Add vegetables and cook in butter until well browned. Add flour, and brown. Remove pan from heat and stir in stock or water and tomato paste. Season with salt and pepper, bring to the boil, stirring constantly, and add shanks. Cover and simmer about an hour or until tender. Remove shanks to a serving dish, strain sauce and reheat with orange juice and rind. Spoon sauce over shanks and serve immediately with buttered rice or noodles. Serves 2. Quantity may be doubled.

Pineapple Lamb Shanks
5 lamb shanks
slivers of garlic
425g can pineapple pieces
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3/4 cup beef stock
salt, pepper
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/4 cup beef stock, extra
2 teaspoons cornflour
boiled rice

Make slits over shanks, insert a sliver of garlic into each, put into a shallow dish. Drain syrup from pineapple pieces, mix together syrup, lemon juice, soy sauce, the 3/4 cup stock, salt pepper and ginger. Pour over shanks and marinate for 4 hours, turning occasionally. Drain shanks, pat dry and quickly brown all over in oil, reduce heat and fry gently for about 1 hour. Pour off oil, add the marinade, cover and continue cooking gently another 45-60 minutes, or until tender, basting frequently. Drain shanks, keep hot. Pour pan juices into a saucepan, add rest of stock and reheat. Mix cornflour with a little water, add to pan and stir until boiling, add pineapple pieces, simmer until reheated. Arrange shanks of a bed of rice, spoon the sauce over.

Tarragon Lamb Shanks [my favourite]
6 large lamb shanks
fresh tarragon
seasoned flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried tarragon, extra
1 1/4 cups mixture dry white wine and chicken stock

Make slits over each shank and fill with fresh tarragon. Coat shanks with seasoned flour and slowly brown all over in oil. Pour off oil, add salt, pepper and tarragon to pan. Pour in the wine and stock, cover and cook gently for 1 3/4-2 hours until shanks are tender, adding more wine or stock if necessary. Serve with juices poured over.

You can make the BEST stock, soups and stews with lamb shanks. Just simmer in water with whatever veges and flavourings you like, and the meat falls away from the bone in easy-to-flake bits that are melt-in-the-mouth tender. I fed them a lot to my babies when were really babies. Then they got to chew on the bones!