Braised Lamb Shank in Red Wine Sauce

Easy, flavorful and incredibly tender lamb shank recipe, braised in a miso red wine sauce. A comforting and cozy dish that can be served with mashed potatoes, noodles or rice.

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5 from 12 votes

Table of Contents

• Why You’ll Love This Recipe 
• Ingredients for Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks
• How to Make Braised Lamb Shanks
• Joyce's Tips For Making the Best Miso Red Wine Lamb Shanks
• Serving Suggestions
• Recipe Variations Ideas
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Storing and Reheating
• Looking for More Comfort Foods?
• More Braised Recipes You May Like
• Recipe Card

If you're craving a hearty, comforting meal that's a cut above the usual, then my braised lamb shanks in red wine sauce are a must-try.

This dish features succulent lamb shanks slow-cooked to perfection, infused with rich, savory flavors of a red wine sauce infused with miso and beef broth. The result is a tender, melt-in-your-mouth experience that's both easy to prepare and incredibly delicious, and loaded with lots of umami flavor.

The best part is that this is a 'set it and forget it' type of meal, so it's incredibly easy to put together as well! Perfect for a special dinner or any occasion where you want to impress, these braised lamb shanks will surely become a favorite in your recipe collection!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe 

• Lots of Umami Flavor - By using miso, I add extra umami to the braising liquid which makes the braising liquid and red wine sauce in credibly flavorful.
• Cozy Dish, Without Much Effort - The hardest part about this dish is waiting. The steps are very streamlined and easy.
• Great Dish to Entertain With - Whether it's date night, a family or friends get together, this dish sounds and tastes complex and indulgent but is incredibly easy.

Ingredients for Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks

• Lamb Shanks - Lamb shanks are the main ingredient in this recipe, but if you don't like lamb you can substitute it with beef ribs as well.
• Beef Broth or Stock - For a heartier and full-bodied sauce, I like to use beef broth or stock for this recipe, but you can also use chicken broth or stock as well.
• Miso - For this recipe, I like using red miso because it is the most full-flavored and robust miso. If you are new to miso, you can try using the light miso (white and yellow miso) which have a more delicate and lighter in flavor.
• Red Wine -  You can use any type of dry wine for this. I like to use dry red wine (like merlot, pinot noir or cabernet sauvignon) for a bit more flavor and tang. My rule of thumb with cooking with wine is, if you enjoy drinking it, it will probably work well for cooking too but don't waste money and save the expensive wines for drinking only.
• Aromatics - To give this braised dish a bit more flavor, I like to use bay leaves, garlic, ginger and an yellow onion as well.

How to Make Braised Lamb Shanks

Preparation

1. Peel and slice the garlic  and set aside for later. Then slice the ginger and onions and set them aside for later.

Prepare the Lamb Shanks

1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, add oil and butter and set the stove to medium heat. Once the butter has melted and the oil is hot, sear the lamb on all sides until it turns a bit brown (approximately 7-10 minutes, 2 minutes per side.)
2. Once the lamb shanks has been browned, add the onion, ginger, and garlic into the pot and brown it (approximately 5-7 minutes)
3. Once the onions have been browned, add 2 cups red wine, 900 ml low sodium beef broth, 3 tablespoons red miso, and 3 bay leaves to the pot. Stir the liquid to mix the miso around until it has dissolved into the liquid.

Braise the Lamb

1. Adjust the stove to high heat until the broth starts to boil.
2. Once the broth is boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low to low. (Adjust the heat until you get a low, gentle rolling boil.) Cover the pot with a lid and braise it for 1 hour and 30 minutes.** Important - Check every 30 minutes to make sure there is still enough braising liquid in the pot to cover the lamb shanks halfway. Add more beef broth if the braising liquid is less than halfway on the lamb shanks, until it is at the halfway mark again.
3. At the 1 hour and 30 mark, the lamb shank should be tender, use a fork to check. If you are using larger lamb shanks, you may need to cook them for 30 minutes longer, before reducing the liquid.
4. If your lamb is tender, and the sauce has not thickened, continue to cook it for another 30 minutes to reduce the liquid.
5. If the sauce still hasn't thickened to a silky gravy-like consistency after 2 hours, in a small bowl, mix 2½ tablespoons cornstarch with 3 tablespoons cold water to make a cornstarch slurry. Mix it into the broth a little bit at a time (keep stirring while you add it in) until it has thickened the gravy.
6. Remove the ginger and bay leaves and taste the sauce. If you prefer it saltier, adjust the saltiness by adding some salt.
7. Serve with rice, mashed potatoes, or noodles. Enjoy!

Serving Suggestions

• I love to serve this with the garlic mashed potatoes that I use in my bangers and mash recipe. It absorbs all the sauce and makes the meal incredibly cozy. Alternatively, you can also serve this with sweet potatoes as well.
• To keep things simple, I also love to have this with plain steamed rice as well. Alternatively, you can also serve this with garlic fried rice (sinangag), or a simple egg fried rice.
• The red wine sauce is absolutely delicious with noodles, you can go as simple as a spaghettini or a chewy udon noodle!
• To include a vegetable side, I serve this with pan-fried honey soy brussel sprouts or ginger soy cabbage stir fry.

Recipe Variations Ideas

• Fresh Herbs - I kept this simple and didn't add any fresh herbs but you definitely can add some for some more flavor! Fresh rosemary, and fresh thyme work beautifully in this dish.
• Add Vegetables - You can also add carrots, and celery to make this to a more traditional lamb braise, similar to a beef stew!
• White Wine - For a less intense flavor, you can also switch up your red wine for white wine! I like to use dry white wines like Sauvignon Blanc.
• Middle Eastern Style- You can also braise these lamb shanks with preserved lemons, pomegranate molasses, and spices like cumin, cinnamon, and coriander!

Storing and Reheating

• Refrigerating: Whenever I have leftovers of lamb shank, I like to store this in an airtight container. It will keep for up to 5 days.
• Reheating: To reheat this, you can microwave it or you can reheat it again over the stovetop simply by adding it back into a pot with a splash of broth reheat it on low heat.
• Freezing: You can freeze this braised lamb shanks for up to 4-6 months. To reheat from frozen, defrost it in the fridge overnight and reheat it using the microwave or stovetop.

Looking for More Comfort Foods?

More Braised Recipes You May Like

Recipe Card

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