The richest mouthfeel and most tender texture are obtained by slow-cooking very tough meats, such as lamb shanks, at very low temperatures — either dry or in a flavorful liquid. However, the most savory flavors come from high-temperature cooking methods, such as grilling.
The straightforward solution is to slow-cook your shanks first, either through braising or low-temperature grilling, and then quickly grill them at the very end.
The overnight rest also allows the fat in your cooking juices to rise to the top and harden, so it can be easily removed for a leaner, lighter sauce. If at all possible, braise your lamb shanks a day ahead and refrigerate them overnight. Their flesh becomes firm again in the refrigerator and they’re less likely to fall apart on the grill as you turn them.
Preheat grill for medium heat and lightly oil the grate. Stir lemon juice and honey together in a small bowl until smooth. Cook lamb
- Combine lamb shanks, Port or wine, and garlic in a skillet just large enough to hold shanks. …
- Remove shanks and strain the sauce. …
- Grill or broil shanks until nicely browned all over, sprinkling them with salt and pepper and turning as necessary; total cooking time will be about 15 minutes.
MothersBBQ | Smoked Lamb Shanks on the Weber Grill
Grilling Lamb Shanks, the Recipe with Smoking in the Oven 🔗
I show you how to grill and smoke lamb shanks in this post with exact photo instructions and cooking video.
Prep: 30min
Total: 150min
Nutrition Facts: calories 296.225, Carbohydrate 16.46, Cholesterol 90.1, Fat 14.45, Fiber 4.630000000000001, Protein 27.249999999999996, Saturated Fat 5.22, Sodium 657.085, Sugar 7.835
Ingredients:
- lamb shank 2 pc
- glove of garlic 4 pc
- fresh lemon 1 pc
- primal salt 1/2 tsp
- black ground pepper 6 pinches
- chili flakes 4 pinches
- fresh thyme 1 bunch
- leaves of sage 1 bunch
- Bay leaf 1 bunch
- Olive oil 1 tsp
- brown sugar 2 pinches
- tomato 4 pc
Instruction:
- Put all the ingredients in the kitchen already. You will also need a roaster with a lid, a blender and a mortar.
Preheat oven at 220°C hot air and insert a grid in the middle. - Wash the lamb shanks, dry them and get them ready on the cutting board.
- Season the shanks with finely grated lemon peel.
- Season the shanks with salt, pepper and chili flakes.
I like to do this on a baking paper. - Cover one side of the roaster with half of the fresh herbs.
- Place the seasoned lamb shanks on top of the herbs in the roaster.
- Cut off tomato lids and place tomatoes in roasting pan.
Season tomato cut surfaces generously with salt, pepper, chili and sugar.
Replace tomato lids, preferably with panicle.
Peel the garlic or place the cloves halved with peel in the roaster.
Put the rest of the herbs on the axes and put the roaster in the oven.
Set the kitchen alarm clock for 45 minutes. - After about 45 minutes, check the hachs, if necessary reduce the temperature slightly.
Leave the hachs in the oven for another 45 minutes and grill until crispy. - Remove roaster from oven and place smoker charcoal in a clear spot on a strip of aluminum foil in roaster.
- Ignite the smoking charcoal and let it glow for about 4 minutes, then put on the spruce needles.
- Wait for the smoke to develop, then place the lid on the roaster, leaving a gap open.
Put the roaster in the oven again for 15 minutes. - Remove the roaster from the oven again and remove the lid.
Put the tomatoes and garlic in the blender with the resulting juices.
In the meantime, keep the shanks warm in the oven.
Heat plates for serving. - Blend the sauce ingredients, season with salt, pepper, sugar.
- Pass the sauce through a fine hair sieve. Pour smoked tomato sauce into a saucepan and reduce to taste, thicken or leave.
- Place the grilled lamb shanks on a cutting board and carve.
- Arrange the lamb in the center of plates. I cooked simple parsley potatoes as a side dish and put them with it.
Pour the hot sauce on the plate and serve quickly.
I wish you a good appetite!
FAQ
What is the best method of cooking a lamb shank?
Braising, which is essentially browning the meat in a pan to caramelize the outside and then adding it to a covered pot with braising liquid to slowly cook the meat to perfection, is a great way to concentrate flavors and make those lamb shanks really tender.
How should shanks be cooked?
350-400g shanks should be “fall apart tender” but still holding onto the bone in 2.5 hours at 180°C/350°F, but it can take up to 3 hours, so give yourself 3 hours in the oven to be safe.
Should lamb shanks be covered in liquid?
Lamb shanks don’t have to be completely submerged in liquid while slow cooking, but they also can’t be dry roasted either. In a slow cooker, the steam trapped inside from any additional liquids will be enough to cook the shanks.