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A smoked lamb shank carved on a cutting board and served sliced ona plate with green sauce.
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5 from 1 vote

Smoked Lamb Shanks

Two different ways to smoke lamb shanks: as an entree, or long cured for adding to soups and stews.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time4 hours
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 2 People
Cost: 20

Equipment

  • 1 Smoker
  • Parchment paper
  • 1 meat thermometer optional

Ingredients

Lamb Shanks

  • 2 Lamb shanks either back or foreshanks
  • Kosher salt roughly 1 teaspoon per pound, to taste

Chili Dry Rub (optional-feel free to use your favorite spice blend)

  • ¼ cup Ancho chili powder
  • 3 T onion powder
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions

Dry brine the shanks

  • Season the shanks all over with salt, then the dry rub. If you use my dry rub recipe you may have a little left over.
  • Wrap the shanks in cling film and refrigerate overnight.

Smoke the shanks and bake to finish

  • Preheat a smoker to 225F.
  • Smoke the shanks until they reach 150 F internal temperature, or roughly 1 hour.
  • Remove the shanks, wrap in parchment paper, and bake in a 250 F preheated oven for 2 hours, or until fork tender. Foreshanks will cook faster than backshanks, check on them at the 1.5 hour mark.

Serving

  • Serve the shanks whole as an impressive entree or carve them like a roast. They're delicious served with a tart green sauce, or just a squeeze of lemon.

Video

Notes

To make cured shanks 

Ingredients 
Brine (makes enough to cure about 4 shanks) 
  • 1 gal water
  • 3 oz pink salt (instacure no1) 
  • 3 tablespoons pickling spice 
  • 2 lbs sea salt
  • 4 lbs brown sugar
Method 
Bring the brine ingredients to a boil, then cool. Put the shanks in a container that will fit in the fridge, cover with the brine and refrigerate for 5 days. To smoke the shanks, remove them from the brine and pat dry, then cook in a preheated smoker @ 225 F for 2 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 150 F. Wrap the shanks in cling film and cool. From here they can be frozen or used to make soup.