Slow Cooker Citrus Lamb Shanks

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Slow Cooker Citrus Lamb Shanks in a delicious red wine & orange sauce – so tender & moist the meat falls off the bone! An easy Crockpot recipe.

Slow Cooker Citrus Lamb Shanks is one of those recipes which has developed over time. Originally this recipe started life as Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks With Seville Oranges and Marmalade – a bit of a mouthful I know but I’ve learnt a lot about blogging over the last year and I’m now trying to choose better recipe names 🙂

I love lamb shanks and although they aren’t as economical as they once were, they still make a delicious meal requiring minimum effort and yet still worthy of a dinner party. Lamb shanks are perfectly suited to low and slow cooking, cooked until they’re just falling apart and have developed the most amazing flavours.

With so many visitors to the Kitchen Shed last year, lamb shanks became a perfect solution for me. I adapted the recipe for the slow cooker by using less liquid, including reducing the wine, as almost all evaporated liquid condenses inside the slow cooker pot and returns to the ingredients. I still wanted to retain the citrus flavour, to add sweetness and cut through the fat, so I kept marmalade in the slow cooker version but left out the Seville orange strips. That said, I have included Seville orange strips in the recipe as an optional extra. I also whizzed up the veggies in the red wine sauce to make a thick and delicious gravy and cooked more vegetables separately.

Luckily, I have two slow cookers, one large one that I’ve had quite a few years and a newer smaller one for when I’m cooking for just the two of us. Both slow cookers earned their keep when I served lamb shanks for eight people, with the meat in one pot and a big helping of fluffy mashed potato (instructions here) kept hot in the other. All I had to do was cook some fresh veggies and et voila, a hastle free meal for eight. A win-win situation giving me time to spend with our guests and enjoy the meal too.

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Only use wine you would drink yourself, the sauce will only be as good as the wine you put in it – a rough red will result in a rough sauce. I’m not a wine conniseur but this cheeky little red from Lidl (see photo) at six euros a bottle is quite quaffable and was used in my lamb shanks.

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Slow Cooker Citrus Lamb Shanks
 
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Slow Cooker Citrus Lamb Shanks in a delicious red wine & orange sauce - so tender & moist the meat falls off the bone. An easy Crockpot recipe.
Author:
Recipe type: Slow Cooker
Cuisine: British
Serves: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
  • 4 lamb shanks
  • 4 tablespoons plain flour with plenty of freshly ground pepper and ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 4 to 6 tablespoons oil
  • 2 onions - sliced
  • 2 or 3 carrots - sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves - crushed
  • A couple of sprigs of thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 tablespoons marmalade
  • Optional: 2 or 3 strips Seville orange peel
  • 250 ml (1 cup) red wine
  • 250 ml (1 cup) chicken or lamb stock
  • Optional: 2 teaspoons cornflour mixed with a little water.
Instructions
  1. Spray the inside of your slow cooker pot with cooking spray or grease lightly.
  2. Coat the lamb shanks with the seasoned flour.
  3. On a medium heat, add oil to a large frying pan and brown the lamb shanks.
  4. Transfer the lamb to the slow cooker pot.
  5. Gently brown the onions and carrots the frying pan.
  6. Add the garlic cloves to your frying pan and cook through for another minute before transferring everything to the slow cooker pot.
  7. Use the frying pan to reduce the wine by half - make sure you get all the residue stirred into the wine.
  8. Add the stock, marmalade (and Seville orange strips if using) to the reduced wine and bring to a simmer before pouring into the slow cooker around the meat.
  9. Cook on Low for 8 to 10 hours or on High for 4 to 6 hours.
  10. Remove the lamb shanks and bay leaves and whizz the vegetables and liquid with a stick blender until you have a lump free sauce.
  11. Serve with creamy mashed potato and vegetables.
Notes
If you prefer an extra thick sauce or gravy add the cornflour water mix after the liquidizing stage. Set your slow cooker to high and leave with the lid off for 15 minutes.

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44 Comments

  1. Thank you for bringing this wonderful and seasonal dish to Fiesta Friday. I haven’t cooked these since acquiring a slow cooker, but it sounds like a great idea. I also love your orange and vegetably gravy.

    Reply

    1. Thanks Hilda, you’ll be busy trying out lots of slow cooker recipes, hope you enjoy your lamb shanks 🙂

    1. Thanks Charlotte, it’s our treat meal. I tend to cook it when we have visitors because it is so easy to do.

  3. The husband walked past as I had this open and is now insisting on getting some lamb shanks for dinner :p They really do look delicious!! my mother-in-law does great lamb, I will have to give this recipe to her to try something new! Thanks so much for linking this week and well done on being featured!

    Reply

    1. Thnaks Charlotte, hope your mother in law likes the recipe. Thanks for featuring my Brioche Chinois & it’s a pleasure to link up with the #YumTum linky x

  4. Ah this sounds like something I’d love. I might sous vide the shanks in the marmalade sauce, then finish everything off in the slow cooker to get the veg softened. Always a fan of wine in food as well! 🙂

    Reply

    1. Thanks Martin, what a great idea to sous vide the lamb shanks, a very cheffy thing to do. Let me know how you get on 🙂

  5. Right – I reeeeeeealy think I need to invest in a slow cooker now! Plus I keep seeing people using it for all kinds of chocolatey naughtiness!! 😉 #BloggerClubUK

    Reply

    1. I’d recommend a slow cooker, you can pick one up quite cheaply, there are lots of bargains around. You can try lamb shanks first and then a chocolate pud for dessert 🙂

  6. This sounds absolutely delicious. I love lamb shank, it’s so good when it’s done well. I’m going to pin this to try at a later date. Maybe one for the Easter weekend?

    Sally @ Life Loving
    #BloggerClubUK

    Reply

    1. Thanks Sally, lamb is the perfect dish to serve for the Easter weekend, let me know how you get on 🙂

  8. I am loving the sound of this. We adore Lamb Shanks done in the slow cooker and I can imagine that the addition of citrus works really well. Have bookmarked the recipe to try.

    Reply

    1. Thanks Claire, the citrus does work really well with the lamb, makes a real change to redcurrant jelly. Thanks for bookmarking.

  9. I adore Lamb Shanks, not sure quite what it is but they have the best lamb taste. The sticky sweetness of the marmalade takes this to a whole new level. Thanks for joining us for the Slow Cooked Challenge.

    Reply

    1. Thanks Janice, lamb shanks do deliver the best lamb flavour, I don’t know why either, maybe the cut or the slow cooking perhaps? A pleasure to link up with the Slow Cooked Challenge.

  10. My mouth is watering looking at this dish! My husband and I love lamb shanks and this slow cooker recipe sounds amazing!! Pinned & Yummed 🙂 Thank you for joining the Sunday Fitness & Food Link-Up!!

    Reply

    1. Thanks Angela and a pleasure to link up with Sunday Fitness & food, looking forward to linking up again soon. 🙂