Am doing lamb shanks for the first time tonight - any tips

[takingchances]

Have seen a nice recipe on the BBC Food site slow-cooking them with red wine, garlic etc. I just want them MELTINGLY tender...any success stories for inspiration?

Slow cooking, cover with tin foil for the first 3/4's of cooking time and then take it off to crisp everything up nicely and then send some to me so I can "check" them for you just to make sure they are ok yum yum yum

I cook mine in the slow cooker, just in some stock with a little red wine, herbs and an onion. Then when I am almost ready to cook I strain the stock into a bowl (don't forget the bowl!!) and then make a gravy in the traditional way. I add some more wine (just a smidge) and some redcurrant jelly. Yummy!

OK brilliant. I've only got 2 shanks and a fan assisted oven, what temp do you reckon? 150 for 2 hours? Am doing them in a casserole dish with lid

my fan oven is horribly hot and I'd go for about 150, would have it a tad higher if my oven wasn't such an inferno; and 2 hours sounds about right. Maybe more (allow plenty of time: it won't do them any harm to hang around for a bit before serving them).

I would be very wary of taking the lid off - have been served too many lamb shanks which have dried out around the top where they have poked out of the braising liquid. I leave the lid on all the way through the cooking then if it needs reducing, take the shanks out and finish the sauce separately.

ju7st dont do spud wiht them
you dont need it

Thanks v much everyone. Will keep the lid on and give them a go. Got some mash because DH doesn't think it's a proper dinner if he hasn't had some kind of carb!

Let us know how they were!

Best lambshank recipe? Go to Aldi and buy the frozen lambshanks (2) in rosemary and mint sauce. £4.79! They are fantastic. I've got a recipe which we've liked with apricots, orange peel, cumin, coriander and cinnamon sticks but it isn't a patch on these. Good luck. Don't try the Lidl ones. The box looks almost the same, but the recipe is'nt half as nice.

Sorry, that should, of course, be isn't

Ah well, too late. I've just taken mine out of the oven. Lamb shanks with roasties, garlic and rosemary. Let me at it :o

Mine were disappointing
Browned them in the casserole on the hob then followed the recipe to the letter:
Add roughly chopped carrots & onion, crushed garlic, rosemary and thyme and a bottle of red wine. (I threw in a bottle of claret.)
Did them in the oven per above posts, with lid on on 150 for 2 hours 20 mins.
They turned out v tender, falling off the bone but BITTER. Think it was the claret maybe? They actually did not taste nice at all... v sad. DH hoovered them up anyway, he is like a caveman so loves any hunk of meet with a bone that he can hang on to. But I could barely finish half of mine.

That's v disappointing. It probably was the claret. Maybe just add a glass of a Cab sav or a softer (ribena type blossom hill) wine next time.