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Fall-apart lamb, cooked long and slow in the slow cooker. It’s all served up with a beautiful rich gravy, made with wine, stock and red current jelly (and yes, I’ve got a swap for the wine if you don’t want to use it). A truly comforting Autumn dinner.
“So easy and absolutely delicious! Will definitely do these recipe again. Love the depth of all the flavors combined.”
Nicky’s Notes
The slow cooker is out, and it’s working hard to produce the most tender meaty dinners, and filling up the house with all of those rich, mouth-watering aromas.
I’m excited to share this one you, because:
- It’s so simple to prepare – a bit of up-front prep, then the crockpot does all the work
- It looks and tastes fancy – with fall off the bone tender meat and that rich red wine sauce.
- This lamb shank slow cooker recipe is from my book ‘It’s all about Dinner‘ – which has been out for over a year now!
Table of Contents
📋 Ingredients
***Full recipe with detailed quantities in the recipe card below***
🧑🍳 Abbreviated Recipe
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card below***
Brown the seasoned lamb shanks in hot oil, then pop them in the slow cooker. Soften the onion and carrot in the same pan, add garlic, then stir in the red wine, stock, thyme, tomato purée, sugar and bay leaves and pour over the lamb. Cook on low until beautifully tender, then stir redcurrant jelly into the sauce and thicken with a cornflour slurry if needed then serve.
Pro Tip
- Make sure the liquid is simmering when you add the cornflour (cornstarch for USA) and water mixture. It needs to be very hot for the gravy to thicken. If your slow-cooker can’t get it that hot, transfer the liquid to a pan and bring to a simmer before adding the cornflour mixture in.
Pin this now to find it later
Pin ItI LOVE a good gravy, and this one is so rich and tasty. Also, there’s no skimping on the amount of gravy served with these slow cooked lamb shanks.
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📺 Watch how to make it
Slow Cooker Lamb Shank Recipe
Ingredients
Lamb shanks:
- 2 tbsp oil oil
- 4 lamb shanks
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 large onion peeled and finely chopped
- 2 carrots peeled and chopped into small chunks
- 3 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 240 ml (1 cup) red wine
- 640 ml (2 3/4 cups) lamb stock
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 2 tbsp tomato puree tomato paste in US
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp red current jelly
To thicken the sauce:
- 2 tbsp cornflour mixed with 5 tbsp cold water to form a slurry cornstarch in US
To Serve:
- mashed potatoes
- green vegetables such as asparagus and green beans
- a few sprigs of fresh thyme
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan (skillet) over a high heat.2 tbsp oil oil
- Season the lamb shanks all over with the salt and pepper, then place in the pan and brown on all sides. This should take about 10 minutes.4 lamb shanks, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper
- Remove from the pan and place the lamb in the slow cooker.
- Add the onion and carrot to the frying pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, until softened. Then add the garlic and cook for a further minute, whilst stirring.1 large onion, 2 carrots, 3 cloves garlic
- Add the red wine, stock, thyme, tomato puree, sugar, and bay leaves to the frying pan.240 ml (1 cup) red wine, 640 ml (2 3/4 cups) lamb stock, ½ tsp dried thyme, 2 tbsp tomato puree, 1 tsp sugar, 2 bay leaves
- Bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat and pour the sauce over the lamb shanks in the slow cooker.
- Place the lid on and cook on low for 7-8 hours, until the lamb is very tender.
- Once cooked, remove the lamb shanks from the slow cooker. Remove and discard the bay leaves, and stir the redcurrant jelly into the sauce.2 tbsp red current jelly
- To thicken the sauce, slowly pour in the cornflour slurry, whilst stirring with a whisk, until thickened to your liking. Note: the liquid needs to be simmering hot to thicken, so if your slow cooker can't bring the liquid to a rolling simmer, then transfer the liquid to a pan and heat on the hob/burner. Stir in the cornflour slurry whilst simmering.2 tbsp cornflour mixed with 5 tbsp cold water to form a slurry
- I like to serve my lamb shanks on top of mashed potato, with some green vegetables.mashed potatoes, green vegetables
- Pour the sauce over the lamb shanks, sprinkle on the fresh thyme and serve.a few sprigs of fresh thyme
Video
Notes
Reheat in a pan (with the cooking liquid) with a lid in the oven at 160C/320F for 30-40 minutes, until piping hot throughout. Reheating in the liquid will help keep the meat moist. You may need to add a little more stock to ensure you have enough to make gravy once the meat has heated through.
Once hot, remove the lamb shanks and stir the cornflour slurry into the liquid to make the gravy. Can I freeze it? Yes. Leftovers can be cooled quickly with any leftover gravy, covered and frozen. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat in a pan with a lid in the oven at 160C/320F for 30-40 minutes, until piping hot throughout. You may need to add a splash of hot water or stock so the gravy doesn’t dry out. What can I replace the wine with? Simply replace with the same amount of stock plus a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce or balsamic vinegar. Leftovers Use leftovers to make:
- Crispy lamb salad – by saving any shreds of lamb.
- Alternatively, use the shredded lamb and gravy to make a rich ragu. Heat up the shredded meat and gravy in a pan with a tablespoon of tomato paste, a tin of chopped tomatoes and a half teaspoon of chilli flakes to make a quick ragu, then stir it through cooked pasta and top with parmesan.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This slow cooker lamb shank recipe was first posted in Oct 2023. Updated since with recipe improvements and for housekeeping reasons.
🍽️ What to serve it with
- Creamy, buttery mashed potatoes
- Or if you prefer a crispy potato option, go with sautéed potatoes, smashed potatoes or crunchy roast potatoes (my air fryer chips are always a hit too).
- Green vegetables – such as green beans, asparagus or broccoli
🍲 More fantastic lamb recipes
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The best lamb shank recipe