Last Updated on 22nd April 2022 by
When prepared properly, lamb shanks should be so tender and juicy that they fall right off the bone. These tasty morsels of lamb meat can be cooked in a few different ways, and your preference may be based on the cooking setup you have available at home or how you want the lamb shanks to turn out.
The methods I’ll show you for how to cook lamb shanks give you a few different options. Whether you’re making them in the oven, in a pressure cooker, or on the stovetop, I think you’re going to love how they turn out.
How to Cook Lamb Shanks in Oven
Let’s start with the oven roasting method, as this is pretty simple, so it’ll be difficult to mess up, and the lamb shanks turn out so wonderfully this way.
Ingredients:
- 4 lamb shanks
- 8 tomatoes, chopped, peeled, and seated
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground allspice
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 medium sliced onions
- 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
- 1 teaspoon of oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
- 1 cup of drained and rinsed chickpeas
- 2 cups of hot water
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Add your olive oil to a baking dish and then the lamp shanks. Coat them with oil and bake for 30 minutes. Turn them over one time during the baking process.
- Mix together nutmeg, black pepper, salt, allspice, and onions. Cover the lamb shanks with this mixture and then add tomatoes and oregano as well to coat the shanks. Finally, pour the hot water around the edges of the shanks in the baking dish.
- Decrease the heat to 400 degrees and take the shanks for an hour and a half. You may need to add water if the meat starts to dry out. About 10 minutes before the cooking time has ended, you can add the chickpeas.
How Long to Cook Lamb Shanks in Oven?
The recipe I gave you calls for 30 minutes of baking the shanks on their own and then another hour and a half for everything else. You may need to adjust the time, because you only want to cook the shanks until they’re tender. Be sure to add liquid as needed during the cooking process so that everything doesn’t dry out. You may also want to spoon your sauce over the shanks to keep them moist as they cook.
How long to cook lamb shanks in oven will depend on how many you’re cooking at once and the temperature you’re using as well. You may also have a preference as to how done you would like the shanks to be.
You can use a slow cooking oven method, if you like. How long do lamb shanks take to cook if you’re braising them? They can take around 2 hours and 40 minutes, cooking at a lower temperature, however. What temperature do you cook lamb shanks in the oven for this method? 200 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal if you are using the braising method, and you won’t need to adjust the temperature at all, so it does keep things simpler.
How to Cook Lamb Shanks in Slow Cooker
If you have plenty of time on your hands, you can try slow cooking the lamb shanks. This will take somewhere around 5 1/2 hours, but it gives you really soft and tender lamb meat. How to slow cook lamb shanks?
Let me give you a recipe that’s really flavorful and ensures that they come out tasting lovely.
Ingredients:
- 4 lamb shanks
- 2 tablespoons of flour
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 chopped carrots
- 2 tablespoons of tomato puree
- 150ml of apple cider vinegar
- 2 peeled garlic cloves
- 2 thyme sprigs
- 2 bay leaves
- 500ml of vegetable stock (or meat stock, if preferred)
- 1 parsley bunch, chopped
Directions:
- Begin by preheating the slow cooker and then prepare your lamb shanks in a frying pan on the stovetop. Heat up half of your oil and cook the lamb shanks until they look brown all over. This should take around 10 minutes, and you may not be able to cook all your lamb at once like this.
- Add in the rest of the oil and cook your onions in the same pan until they soften. Then, add in flour and tomato puree and cook these for a minute.
- Next, add the vinegar and bring your mixture to a boil, creating a smooth mixture as you stir everything together. Add everything you have cooked so far to the slow cooker, as well as the stock.
Then, add in bay leaves, thyme, garlic, carrots, and parsley. Cover the slow cooker with a lid and cook for eight hours on low. You can cook for four hours on high instead, if you prefer. Partway through the cooking, you should turn the shanks over once.
This is a great method for how to cook lamb shanks without wine. You’re using apple cider vinegar instead of wine in this recipe, so if you’re looking for a substitute, that works well.
How to Cook Minted Lamb Shanks
One final method for cooking lamb shanks that I want to share with you is making what are called minted lamb shanks. This is essentially braised, oven roasted lamb cooked in a mint sauce.
Ingredients:
- 2 lamb shanks
- 1 cup of beef stock
- 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of honey
- 1/3 of a cup plus one tablespoon of mint sauce
- 2/3 of a cup of sliced onion
- 1 tablespoon of oil
- 1 sprig of rosemary
- 1 teaspoon of water
- 1 teaspoon of corn flour
- Salt
- Pepper
Directions:
- In a frying pan on high heat, cook the onion and lamb shanks, seasoning the shanks with salt and pepper. Cook until the lamb shank sear on all sides.
- Add the shanks and onions to a roasting tin, pouring in the vinegar, honey, beef stock, and 75 milliliters of mint sauce. Sprinkle with rosemary and put the tin in the oven, covered with foil, and cook for two hours at 340 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Take the foil off and increase the heat to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
- Combine corn flour and water and whisk into the sauce you already have and serve.
I'm Pauline, a mother of four grown children, my passion for cooking stemmed from the joy i get cooking for my family. I love to try new dishes, especially when dining out but creating and sharing my own recipes is my favourite thing to do!
