Braised Lamb Shanks

Braised lamb shanks are definitely not a traditionally South African dish – but it’s what we put in the dish that gives it that authentic South African flavour.

This is also not a dish to be made when you are in a hurry. It takes time for the meat to soften and for the flavours to blend together. This is one of Berto’s specialty dishes and he usually makes it during the weekend when we are not pressed for time and are in a relaxing mood. Oh, and it’s not as hard as you might think because the oven does all the work!

Put it on the table:

This may seem like a lot of ingredients, but you probably have most of these in your pantry (except maybe for those lovely lamb shanks).

Ingredients

2 lamb shanks

1 big onion, chopped

2 big carrots, chopped

½ cup celery, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 spoons flour

1 spoon tomato paste

250ml (1 cup) lamb stock

250ml (1 cup) red wine

1 spoon Worcestershire sauce

salt & pepper

2 bay leaves

4 whole cloves

1 teaspoon fine coriander

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

2 sprigs fresh thyme

oil (for fry)

Chopped vegetables and garlic

Start with the lamb shanks:

Season the lamb shanks with salt and pepper and then brown them in a little heated oil. After about 5 minutes on each side, it is time to take the lamb shanks out and place them in an oven dish. (We used our ‘braai’ dish – it’s deep enough for both the lamb shanks and the sauce). Place the sprigs of rosemary and thyme together with the lamb shanks in the oven dish.

Browned lamb shanks

Now for the last ingredients:

Fry the onion, carrots and celery until soft. Add the garlic and all the other spices and mix well. Then stir in the flour until it disappears.

Chopped veggies, spices and flour

It is time to add the last ingredients, namely the tomato paste, lamb stock, red wine and Worcestershire sauce. Let it cook, while stirring, for 3 minutes.

Fragrant sauce for the lamb shanks

Pour the sauce over the shanks, cover and roast at a low temperature of 160°C (320°F) oven for 2-3 hours until super soft.

Ready for the oven

What to do while you wait?

It is true that 2-3 hours can be a very long time to wait for food to be cooked in the oven. But not necessarily when you have a bottle (or two) of good wine at your disposal.

Time to relax

After we peeked into the oven a few times (and the smell almost drove us crazy), it was time to take out the lamb shanks. It literally fell off the bone.

Cooked lamb shanks

Finishing touch:

Berto poured the sauce through a sieve and then placed it in a pot with a little butter. After cooking for a few minutes, it became thick and glossy. Now it was ideal for pouring over our lamb shank.

Sauce

Side dishes:

I was responsible for the side dishes. Fluffy mash is always a winner with lamb shanks. And I also discovered a pot of homemade quince in a syrup in the pantry (one has to be smart).

Homemade quince in syrup

It was such a great lunch. We shared one lamb shank, which meant we could enjoy this delicious dish for a second time the next day!

Braised lamb shanks, mash and quince