Braised lamb shanks require patience and a few tips to achieve that tender, fall-apart texture, and there is no shortcut to cooking it. It’s a tougher piece of meat that needs some long-term gentle roasting or braising to break down the protein.
However, prepping it is easy and requires very little effort to reward you with an exquisite melt-in-your-mouth, succulent lamb that just falls off the bone. What you need to do is to sear the meat in a large casserole pot or Dutch oven before popping it into the oven. The end result is a flavoursome dish with an amazing sauce! Simple sides like steamed greens, mash potatoes or creamy polenta will complement it well.
Here’s a delicious tomato braised lamb shank recipe you can try.
Ingredients:
● 6 lamb shanks
● 2 yellow onions, diced
● 4 carrots, diced
● 4 cloves garlic, sliced
● 2 tins of chopped tomatoes
● 1 tin tomato puree
● 3 cups lamb / beef stock
● 3 teaspoon sugar
● ½ teaspoon dried mint
● 1 teaspoon dried parsley
● Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 200oC.
- In a large casserole pot or Dutch oven, brown the lamb shanks and then set aside.
- In the same pot, add some oil and fry the onions and carrots until the onions are translucent. Then add the garlic and sauté.
- Add in the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree and lamb shanks.
- Combine the lamb or beef stock with sugar and herbs. Pour the mixture into the pot.
- Cover your pot and place it into the oven.
- Braise the lamb shanks for an hour at 200oC and then lower the temperature to 160 oC. Continue to braise for another hour or two until the meat comes off the bone easily.
- Serve with your favourite side dishes.