Easy slow cooker lamb shanks cooked all day long in a big bold red wine which is then reduced down to create a rich sauce!

Red Wine Lamb Shank Recipe.
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.
We 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 is in much the same way as I finish my beef bourguignon in the instant pot.
This recipe is full-on Mediterranean comfort food and is very different from the sort of lamb recipes I was raised on.
This Crockpot affair could not be further removed from my lamb hotpot or shepherds pie recipes if it tried.

Recipe Notes, Hints and Tips.
When I say that these slow cooked lamb shanks are 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.
You can, of course, cook this conventionally if you don’t want to use a slow cooker. Simply cook in a dutch oven in the oven at 150°C or 350°F for 4-5 hours.
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.
Finally, do not skip the reduction process with the sauce, failure to do so will disappoint.
These Crockpot lamb shanks are large and I do not think that they need a side dish.
However, if 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.

What Wine to Use for This Recipe?
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!
This recipe calls for a big and bold wine, but also something a little fruity.
I used a Hungarian Red called Egri Bikaver, a much famed Hungarian wine that is made about an hour from home.
But something like a merlot, syrah or even a chianti would work just as well.

Slow Cooker Lamb Shanks Recipe
These Slow Cooker Lamb Shanks are simply braised for 8 hours in wine. We reduce down the braising liquid to a rich fully flavoured sauce to serve with the soft and tender lamb.
Ingredients
- 2 Lamb Shanks
- 1/2 Tsp Salt
- 1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 200 g (1 1/3 Cups) Onion
- 10 Garlic Cloves
- 75g (3/4 Cup) Celery
- 400 g (3 Medium-Large) Tomatoes
- 750ml (1 Bottle) Red Wine
- 4 Sprigs Rosemary
- 4 Sprigs Thyme
- 250 ml (1 Cup) Lamb or Beef Stock
- 1 Red Pepper
- 50 g (3 Tbsp +1 Tsp) Butter
- Handful Chopped Parsley
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a pan over a medium high heat.
- Season the lamb shanks with the salt and pepper.
- When hot brown the lamb all over and set aside.
- Cut the onion into 5mm wide half/moon shapes.
- Finely slice the garlic and celery.
- Add the onions and celery to the pan we cooked the lamb in and cook for 10 minutes on medium high.
- Roughly chop the tomatoes.
- When the onions have started to brown add the sliced garlic and cook for another 1 minute.
- Pour over the wine and reduce it by a third.
- Pour the reduced mix into the slow cooker.
- Add the tomatoes, stock, thyme, and rosemary, and then stir.
- Drop in the lamb shanks and push to submerge.
- Taste and add salt if required and cook for 6 hours on low or 4 hours on high.
- An hour before the lamb is done slice the red pepper and throw it into the slow cooker and push it down to moisten.
- After the cooking time is complete carefully remove the shanks and tent with foil.
- Skim the fat from the top of the cooking liquid, there will likely be around 5-10mm.
- Remove the solids from the braising liquid discarding the stems from the herbs and set aside.
- Strain the remaining cooking liquid into a wide-based pan over a high heat.
- Reduce this by two thirds to create a rich sauce.
- Whisk in the butter to enrich the sauce.
- Return the vegetables to the sauce and reheat before serving as a base to the shanks.
Notes
This recipe is designed for a 3.5 litre slow cooker.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 890Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 90mgSodium: 1545mgCarbohydrates: 62gFiber: 8gSugar: 17gProtein: 35g
Calorific details are provided by a third-party application and are to be used as indicative figures only.
Rhonda
Friday 21st of February 2020
Not happy with the European measurements.
Holly
Sunday 28th of June 2020
@Brian Jones, But you could convert for us folks that aren’t familiar. 😊 While I am a Canuck, I was brot up with ‘normal’ measurements and find metres and such a bit of a nuisance.
Brian Jones
Saturday 22nd of February 2020
I'm really not in a position to change the fact that us Europeans use, and are comfortable with metric measurements!
A decent set of scales will set you back maybe $10 and will allow you to switch between metric and imperial at will.
Ann
Wednesday 4th of September 2019
Just found your site and your recipes look so good - am going to try this tomorrow. I would like to know if I can subscribe to your site to receive emails - I am not on facebook etc
Brian Jones
Thursday 5th of September 2019
Hi Ann, I hope you enjoy them, this is a long tie favourite recipe of mine, although one that does not get a regular outing due to lamb being hard to find here in Hungary. You can get a weekly round up from my site by signing up here http://eepurl.com/bpqebH
Beth Neels
Tuesday 3rd of September 2019
My family and I loved this lamb! But, you're right! It was hard smelling it cook all day without devouring it!!
Brian Jones
Thursday 5th of September 2019
lol, yes that really is the downside of slow cooking, the drip drip drip torture of those lovely aromas!
Jeff the Chef
Thursday 29th of August 2019
These lamb shanks sound wonderful and look absolutely delectable.
Brian Jones
Thursday 5th of September 2019
Cheers Jeff :)
Chef Mireille
Thursday 29th of August 2019
It looks so homey and hearty. The perfect wintertime comfort food. Lamb is one of my fave meats and I can definitely dig into this one!
Brian Jones
Thursday 5th of September 2019
Thank you, I love lamb too!