Recipe : Lamb Shanks with red wine

I just had lamb shanks two nights ago. But I watch Nigella Bites on TV today and she makes stewing lamb shanks like child’s play.  So, I decided to try it myself.  Went to the supermarket and looked around.  Do you know that air flown meats are very expensive compared to frozen ones?

Well, at first, I saw airflown (i.e. not frozen) leg of lamb and upon enquiring, it costs RM60 per leg (i.e. RM43 per kg).  So, I browsed in the frozen section and found  lamb shanks going very cheap at only RM25 per kg.   Bought two and they are about 1+kg in total.

Lamb shanks

This is before I removed some of the skin and fats.  Lamb shank is actually the end of the lamb leg, very, very tough and only suitable for stewing.

Did a bit of googling and found so many recipes, all different.  So, I decided to make my own.  Here’s my recipe:

RECIPE : STEW LAMB SHANK IN RED WINE & MARMALADE

  • 2 lamb shanks about 1KG
  • A bit of olive oil
  • 1 large onion – chop
  • 1 bulb garlic – chop
  • 1 piece ginger – chop
  • Dash of pepper, black pepper, salt
  • Some brown sauce (i use Maggi seasoning, you can use dark soya sauce too)
  • 2 tablespoon of marmalade (this is to give it a zesty taste and sweetness, replace with 1 tablespoon sugar if you like)
  • 2 cups of red wine (omit and use water if you don’t have)
  • herbs (whatever you can find, anything as long as it provides some fragrance, I used fresh oregano and nutmeg powder)
  • 1 tablespoon cornflour for thickening

Method:

  1. Remove sinewy parts and visible fats from lamb shanks and wash clean
  2. Heat olive oil in pan and fry the lamb shanks so that it is brown and turned colour.  This is to seal the juices from flowing out.
  3. Add garlic, ginger and onion and fry further
  4. Add in all the rest and stew for hours and hours till soft.
  5. I used the pressure cooker and it takes about 30 minutes after the 3rd ring appears.
  6. Add cornflour mixed with water to thicken the sauce.


After the lamb shank is ready, i.e. the meat separates from the bones, I added in some swiss brown mushroom.  If you intend to have a hearty stew, you can add carrots, potatoes, celery to provide bigger portion.

Mashed potatoes

Since my kids are into mashed potatoes, I made Mr. Mash (i.e. a brand of ready-mix mashed potato powder which just need to add hot boiling water.  I sprinkled some cheese on top on the potato and bake for 15 minutes on high heat (200deg. C).

Another son wanted pasta so I boiled some penne, put them at the bottom of my baking tray, pour in some cream, top it with mashed potato and bake.  *roll eyes*

So, here’s my estimated RM35 meal which serves the whole family and still have some leftovers.  I served it with some butterhead (green vege)  salad but forget to take a pic of that.   It is very easy to stew lamb shanks.  The taste is out of this world.  In fact, it is tastier than the one I got from Mr. Ho’s or Secret Recipe.  The taste is much simpler and the red wine took away some of the heavy, flavouful, oily taste of the lamb shanks.

Have a nice Labour Day weekend to all!  No posts until next week.  Ta ta!

Post Author: lilian

Used to be PenangFaces, now known as Food Haven, for all oink-oink foods

9 thoughts on “Recipe : Lamb Shanks with red wine

    boo_licious

    (April 28, 2006 - 10:58 pm)

    Lilian – frozen lamb shanks are cheaper hence it’s always used by most restaurants. In KL not many places sell it though but I found a frozen place that does. Not sure how much I got my lamb shanks but I think they’re cheaper here – mine were two for abt RM10 but much smaller than yours.

    soleilina

    (April 29, 2006 - 10:34 am)

    went to have the lamb shank at Mr. Ho’s last night.. semua tak sedap! only the cream puff there is nice…

    kampungboycitygal

    (April 29, 2006 - 1:04 pm)

    I love pasta, mashed potato and lamb shank..Oh My..Ur recipe sounds so easy..Thanks for sharing

    babe_kl

    (April 29, 2006 - 3:51 pm)

    *drool* and *drool* and *drool*

    maR

    (April 29, 2006 - 6:08 pm)

    Oh. My. God.
    It’s almost lunchtime kak lilian. Why do you torture me so???

    flower

    (May 2, 2006 - 10:05 am)

    Your lamb shank nampak yummy. Maybe I will try. Kat Perth, lamb shank ni murah and easily obtainable. Maybe next week I’ll try and suprise my hubby….

    Athene

    (May 16, 2006 - 11:44 am)

    now I know what inspired me to those lamb shank last week! ’twas the picture of the lamb shank you had at uncle ho’s. nanti i check if i managed to take any photo of it. got my shanks for about RM17 for two medium sized – larger than those served at secret recipe.

    peanutking242

    (May 20, 2006 - 5:38 am)

    try adding rosemary and some bay leaves. it brings out more flavour

    toxicle

    (July 14, 2006 - 8:34 pm)

    Don’t forgot celery. Add natural sweetness after a long stew. Thyme helps to bring out flavor too.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *