Slow Cooker Lamb Shanks
Low and slow if definitely the way to cook lamb shanks. This brings all sorts of memories back to me. My dad loved lamb shanks. I can smell them now.... we didn't have a slow cooker growing up so in the bottom oven cooking for the day. When Dad was sick and had lost his appetite this was one of the things he asked for to savour and entice the taste buds and it worked. Try Jemmas quick and straight forward method below or find the other lamb shank recipe on the website for a special occassion. Just try it...
Slow Cooker Lamb Shanks
Serves 4
• 4 lamb shanks
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp. tomato purée
• 250ml light red wine
• 2 tbsp. plain spelt/wheat flour
• 500ml stock, vegetable, chicken or lamb
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 bay leaves
• Any other fresh/dried herbs you like – thyme or rosemary work well
Method:
Preheat your slow cooker. In a large pan add 1 tbsp. of the butter and brown the lamb shanks all over for approx. 10 minutes, then transfer them to the slow cooker. Add the remaining butter to the frying pan and fry the onion gently until it starts to soften, then stir in the tomato purée and flour and cook for one minute.
Add the red wine and bring it to a boil, stirring the flour and purée into the wine until you have a smooth sauce around the onion pieces and add to the slow cooker. Pour the stock into the same pan and bring it to a boil, then tip into the slow cooker. Add the carrots garlic, bay leaves and herbs to the slow cooker and put the lid on. Cook on low for eight hours or on high for four hours. Turn the shanks over at some point during the cooking. After eight hours the lamb should be tender and starting to fall off the bone.
Let’s Nutrify – Jemma’s tip
Slow cooked meats are just the best, in every sense! Nutritionally and on the taste buds too. Slow cooking meats in this way preserves more of the delicate healthy fats such as omega 3 fatty acids which are beneficial for immune and cardiovascular health. Lamb is a wonderfully rich source of these amazing fatty acids as well as minerals such as zinc and selenium. This dish is also packs a useful iron and B vitamins punch which help to lift flailing energy levels. Including some of the therapeutic herbs such as rosemary or thyme also increases the antioxidant compounds beneficial to immune health. Feel free to add in some extra veggies such as celery or red pepper 1-2 hours before the end of the cooking time to make sure you get your 7-a-day in!
Tips from the butcher’s wife.
This so tasty. With lamb shanks on offer this week, try this or try the other lamb shanks recipe on the website www.molloysbutchersardkeen.com. It's a bit more faffing about but is really really tasty. You can also modify for the slow cooker. Just put it on low. I just love when the lamb is falling off the bone. Hearty and wholesome - ideal for this time of year. Yum x
Shane Dineen Fitness
A recent convert to the slow cooker thing – Shane is loving the advantage of a hot meal ready when he finishes training. This is what he had to say about this week’s dish.
Lamb shank is one of my new favourite dishes as I only tried it recently and I love it. I popped it in the slow cooker on top of vegetables along with pepper, ginger and garlic.
This meal is a perfect dinner as it contains all essential amino acids along with a high percentage of protein. Would defiantly recommend trying this one out”
