Braised Lamb shanks in a slow cooker - anyone got a recipe?

[CountessDracula]

thanks

Message withdrawn

yes

obviously

and I want two diff recipes

CD, I have not made this one, but it looks great:

Ingredients:
5 boneless legs of lamb, excess fat removed
1 head garlic, cloves removed
kosher salt
fresh cracked pepper
pinches of: thyme, anise seed, cinnamon
4 large carrots cut up
1 very large onion sliced
4 large stalks of celery cut up
1 cup beef broth
Fresh thyme for garnish

Directions:
Best done in a slow cooker. Placed vegetables in slow cooker. Cut slits in lamb and push in pieces of garlic, as much or as little as you like. Season meat and roll up. Season top of meat with salt and pepper. Place over vegetables. Add the broth. Cover and cook 1 hour on high. Reduce heat to low and keep coved about 8 to 10 hours or until meat is fork tender. To serve: remove meat from cooker to platter. Place vegetables over meat. Skim off excess fat from liquids.. Thicken liquids with gravy flour. Adjust seasoning if needed. Cut lamb ( it will be so tender it will fall in pieces ). Serve with the gravy and vegetables. Serves 10 to 12

Note. can be prepared ahead ahead of time. Chilled , lamb will be easier to slice and then can be reheated.

I've made a Jamie Oliver recipe which I think involved tomatoes, red wine and anchovies. I don't have the recipe to hand, but it's probably archived on the BBC website. I cooked it on the hob, but I'm sure you can put it in a slow cooker

Another, this one has barley in it though:

Braised Lamb Shanks With Barley
CDKitchen www.cdkitchen.com

Category: Lamb Shanks
Serves/Makes: 4 | Difficulty Level: 3 | Ready In: 2-5 hrs

Ingredients:
4 lamb shanks (approx. 8 oz.each)
2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves fresh garlic,
or
1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 medium onion, chopped fine
2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme,
or
2 tsp.fresh thyme

1 pinch of nutmeg (optional)
2 tablespoons salt
3/4 cup pearl barley
1 can chopped tomatoes (14 oz.)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup water
1/2 cup dry red wine such as burgundy (or substitute water)

Directions:
In heavy skillet or dutch oven, brown lamb shanks in hot olive oil. Remove shanks and set aside. Saute onion, garlic and spices in oil until onion is soft. At this point you can transfer the entire dish to the crock pot, or cook it in the dutch oven. Add salt, barley, tomatoes, tomato paste, water (and wine if desired) to shanks. Make sure all the barley is immersed in liquid.

TO BAKE: Cover Dutch oven closely and bake in a 325 degree oven for 3 hours or until shanks are very tender and falling off the bone.

CROCKPOT: Cook the dish on "Low" for at least 8 hours. I found it easiest to assemble the night before and then just plug in the crockpot when I leave for work in the morning.

In either case, turn off the heat and let the dish sit uncovered for 10-20 minutes. Use a tablespoon and skim off any excess fat from the top before serving.

Thanks, that last one sounds good

PMSL @ difficulty level 3 - I would hate to see a level 1 (maybe that is making a piece of toast )

I make a delicious braised lamb shank dish but add cumin seeds, butter beans and dried apricots along with a tin of tomatoes, some wine and stock. It's yum.
I don't have a recipe but you cant really go wrong if you have enough seasoning, enough liquid to cover the lamb and cook it really slowly.

Nigel Slater has one from Appetite:

6 Lamb shanks
olive oil-just enough to cover bottom of roaster
flour- a little for dusting
onions - 6 medium sized red or golden

For Marinade:
a bottle of red wine - Rioja would be appropo
sherry vinegar - about 4 tablespoons
garlic - 2 whole heads
thyme - a small bunch
bay leaves - 3 or 4
black peppercorns - 9 or 10

Place lamb in steel or glass bowl or roaster pan and add the wine, sherry, veinegar, the garlic heads cut in half horizontally, the herbs and their branches and the pepper. Set this aside for a few hours or overnight, turning the meat in the aromatic liquor. Says you must do this step.
Set the oven to 400F (200C)--I guess you modify this for slow cooker. Take the shanks out of the marinade, dust with floour and lay them in the hot oil at the bottom of the roaster, color them "healthy" as he says. If the oil turns dark and miserable, dump and replace it.
While the lamb is browning, peel and roughly chop the onions, remove the lamb and place the onions in the roaster, stirring until they carmelize.
Return the shanks to the pan, pour over the marinade, tuck herbs underneath the lamb, and place in over. Leave unattended for a couple of hours by which time the meat will have shrunkened and the wine and onions thickened enough to a rough sauce.

This one looks excellent. I love his book.

Carmenere--yours sounds really delicious too!

sunchowder, "Says you must do this step" - do you have to set your alarm cloack for 3am to do this if you marinate it overnight?

CSA: Nigel Slater says thatin his book!!! I am never really that firm