Slow Cooker Lamb Shanks in Red Wine

Slow cooker lamb shanks in a bold red wine sauce with garlic, red pepper & rosemary, a perfect “Sunday” lunch that goes nowhere near an oven.

Cooking this treat of a dish takes around 20-30 minutes of your time before it drops into the crockpot. Then a final 10 minutes or so to finish the sauce before dinner is served!

Crock Pot Braised Lamb Shanks in Red Wine

Someone once described my food as ‘dude food’, I think that is a bit of a generalisation. But let’s face it this beast of a hunk of meat is pure caveman fodder!

Lamb is a meat that just begs for big flavours, the rich oily meat can stand up to so much flavour and still shine through. This recipe takes advantage of that fact!

It is great in spicy dishes like my lamb rogan josh or in a nice Moroccan lamb tagine. However, here it is very much rooted in simple European cooking, in much the same way as my Barnsley chop recipe.

I begin this lamb shank recipe by browning the meat and softening and browning our vegetables.

This colouration adds so much flavour to the final recipe then we braise them in red wine.

Red peppers are added close to the end of cooking so that they keep their structure rather than melting into the sauce.

Finally, we finish off our sauce with a heavy reduction to turn that flavour up to 11.

This recipe is full-on Mediterranean comfort food and is very different from the sort of lamb recipes I was raised on.

If you wanted to try something with a little more spice, check out my lamb shank curry and if you want something a little more “British” check out my roasted minted lamb shanks!

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I cook this in the oven or on the stovetop?

Yes, you can, of course, cook this conventionally if you don’t want to use a slow cooker. Simply cook in a dutch oven 150°C or 300°F for 4-5 hours in the oven.

On the stovetop cook it in a dutch oven on very low for 4 hours or so!

Do I really have to reduce the sauce?

If you want this recipe to be the best that it can be then yes!

What wine should I use?

I am completely on board with Keith Floyd’s thoughts on cooking with wine… If you ain’t prepared to drink it then don’t cook with it!

I usually use a bold merlot or syrah when I am making this.

Can I use dried herbs?

Yes, use 1-2 teaspoons of dried rosemary and 1 teaspoon of dried thyme.

A word of caution!

When I say that these slow-cooked lamb shanks fall off the bone I mean it.

If you want to serve them on the bone as I do in this recipe then take care when removing them. Use a large slotted spoon and gently ease it out of the slow cooker.

On the herb front, I use a combination of fresh rosemary and thyme. You can use dried herbs if you want, add a teaspoon of each to the slow cooker.

Serving Suggestions

These slow-cooker lamb shanks are large and I do not think that they need a side dish.

However, you could take them off the bone and serve them for four.

I would then add a mash, mashed potatoes would be wonderful! But something like celeriac mash or swede and carrot mash would also work really well.

Of course, other potato options would work wonderfully too!

You could add roast potatoes, serve it with some Parmentier potatoes, Hasselback potatoes or if you wanted to go insanely indulgent, you could make some fondant potatoes!

Equipment Used

I only recommend specific brands of equipment if I think that they may make a material difference to a recipe. If you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

• Slow cooker, I use a 3.5L slow cooker made by Crockpot.
• Stovetop.
• 28cm or 11″ frying pan or skillet.
• Sharp kitchen knife.
• Chopping board.
• Sieve.