Sous Vide Lamb Shanks

A top down picture of cooked lamb shanks with mushroom sauce on mashed potatoes with collard greens on the side.

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5 from 1 vote

Spoon-tender braised lamb shanks sous vide come out perfect every time without falling apart.

Prep Time15

Cook Time3

Brining time8

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Goat Shanks, Lamb Shanks

Servings: servings

Calories: 466kcal

Cost: 30

Equipment

Sous vide machine (I use the Annova brand)
Stock pot or polycarbonate container, for the water bath
Wide 10 inch pan, for finishing
1 gal size vacuum bag.

Ingredients

2 lamb shanks

Brine

2 quarts water
1 tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons cooking oil

Sous Vide

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Small handful fresh thyme leaves
1 small crushed clove of garlic
Sauce

Serving as pictured

1 cup lamb stock
1/2 cup red wine
5 grams dried mushrooms
2 teaspoon cornstarch
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Brine the lamb shanks

Mix the water and salt for the brine until dissolved. Soak the lamb shanks in brine overnight.

Brown the lamb shanks

Remove the shanks from the brine and dry with paper towels. Rub with light olive oil or cooking oil. Brown the shanks on a grill, in a heavy cast iron pan, or by roasting in the oven for 30-45 minutes at 450 F.
When the shanks are browned, cool them, cover the end of the bone with a piece of parchment and tie to prevent ripping the bag. Add the garlic, thyme and butter, then vacuum seal the bags.

Sous vide the lamb shanks

Meanwhile preheat the water bath to 195 F. You'll want a pot or container that can hold two gallons of water. Add the vacuum sealed lamb and cook the lamb shanks for 3 hours, or until the shanks are tender and yield when pressed through the bag.
From here the shanks can be chilled in cold water and refrigerated overnight for the best texture and flavor, or served right away.

To serve as pictured with a simple pan sauce

Soak the dried mushrooms if using in the stock and wine for 10 minutes. Agitate the mushrooms to remove grit, remove, squeeze dry, and chop fine.
Strain the liquid, add the cornstarch to it and beat with a fork to dissolve.
Add the wine-stock mixture to a wide (10 inch) pan with a lid, making sure to avoid any grit left at the bottom. Finely chop the mushrooms and add to the pan.
Add the shanks and cook on medium-high heat until hot throughout, covered. Double check the seasoning of the sauce for salt and pepper, remove the lid and reduce the sauce until it looks and tastes good to you.
Spoon the sauce over the shanks as they cook. then serve with something soft for soaking up the juices like mashed potatoes, rice, or bread.

Notes

Some recipes may call for cooking times as long as 48 hours. This is unnecessary and will result in soft, mushy meat. Depending on your personal preference for how tender you like your slow cooked meat, anywhere from 3-5 hours at 195 F is plenty of time.

Nutrition