Red Wine, Garlic and Rosemary Lamb Shanks

Lamb shanks only make their way around here on a regular basis in the Spring – at Easter time – and I  treat them like gold!  These are marinated overnight, then braised in a savoury, rich tomato based sauce. Because of the marinating, it takes a couple of days to make these, and the braising takes some time, but the reward is a melt-in-your-mouth, deeply flavored meat that has no substitute.  

Over the years I’ve learned a few important things about cooking lamb shanks, and I  take my time to prepare them for the optimal result:

1. Always trim the outer membrane (silver skin) from the shanks before marinating. This is not difficult and goes a long way to making them easy to eat and tender.

Just slip a very sharp paring knife just under the tough membrane, then gently peel and pull away.

2.  Marinate the shanks! It not only helps to tenderize the meat as braising alone can’t, but adds wonderful flavor as well. 

The marinade, enough for 4 pounds of lamb shanks, is:

• 1/2 cup full body red wine, such as a Cabernet
• 1/2 cup good quality olive oil
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large stem of fresh rosemary, leaves removed and minced
• Salt and pepper

Combine the first four marinade ingredients, liberally salt and pepper the trimmed shanks and put into a heavy duty, gallon sized ziploc bag. Mix around and put in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, allow the lamb shanks to come to room temperature, wipe off excess marinade and reserve the marinade to add to the braising sauce.

3. The third critical step for excellent lamb shanks is careful browning. This can take up to 1/2 hour, with careful turning to brown on all sides. This is important because of the flavor it adds, and a step that should not be skipped!

To Brown Lamb Shanks:  Heat one tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat in a very heavy, large skillet. Add the shanks, and lightly brown on all sides. Take your time, pour off excess oil when done  and deglaze the pan with water, scraping up all the little bits. Add this to the reserved marinade in a large pot with the other ingredients for the braising sauce:

Braising Ingredients: (for four pounds of lamb shanks)

• 28 ounces crushed tomatoes, canned or peeled fresh
• 1 cup full-bodied red wine
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced
• Reserved marinade and pan drippings
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, or 1 teaspoon minced fresh
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• Zest from 1/2 lemon
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• Several grinds fresh black pepper

Combine all the braising ingredients, stir and add the browned lamb shanks. Cover with a vented top, bring to a simmer and maintain at a simmer for 1 hour. Turn the shanks over, stir the sauce and continue to simmer for another hour. Remove the cover and continue to simmer for another half hour.* The sauce should be nicely thickened, but if you’d like it even more concentrated, remove the shanks and keep warm in the oven and reduce the sauce further, stirring often.  Taste for salt and pepper only when you are finished reducing the sauce!

A final tip regarding lamb shanks:   Look for meaty ones – some have so much bone and so little meat they can be disappointing after all your hard work!   At least one pound each is usually O.K.

*For the final half hour of cooking, I like to drop some small whole potatoes into the liquid and let them cook in the sauce for the remaining half hour of cooking time. I also take a couple of ladles of the sauce and stew some fresh green beans in a covered skillet on low in that for the last half hour of cooking time. They are perfect as sides for this dish!