These lamb shanks are cooked low and slow with the complementary flavors of rosemary, Dijon mustard, and garlic. The crock pot is an excellent way to cook lamb shanks to tender melt-in-your-mouth perfection. I like the red wine because it adds to the flavor, but feel free to use beef stock and an extra teaspoon of vinegar if you don’t cook with alcohol.
Crock Pot Lamb Shanks With Rosemary
Red wine, rosemary, garlic, and Dijon mustard flavor these savory slow cooked lamb shanks. Serve the lamb shanks with potatoes or rice. This is a very popular recipe, and one taste will tell you why!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 hours 15 minutes
- Total Time: 7 hours 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Lamb, Slow Cooker
- Method: Slow Cooker
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 carrots
- 2 onions
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 6 lamb shanks (4 to 6 pounds)
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 3 tablespoons grainy Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar*
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 heaping tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary, or about 1 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, or 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
- 4 large cloves garlic, finely minced
- 16 ounces sliced mushrooms
Instructions
- Peel the carrots and cut them into 1/2-inch dice. Peel the onions and cut each onion into four wedges. Set aside. Alternatively, use 2 cups of frozen pearl onions, thawed.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot and shimmering, add the lamb shanks. Cook the shanks turning frequently, until browned on all sides. Place the browned lamb shanks in the slow cooker.
- Add the carrots and onion wedges to the lamb.
- In a bowl, combine the wine with the mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper, rosemary, parsley, and garlic; set aside.
- Add the mushrooms to the hot skillet used for the lamb. Cook the mushrooms about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Spoon the mushrooms over the lamb shanks.
- Pour the wine mixture into the skillet while stirring and scraping up the browned bits. Bring to a simmer; pour over the lamb shanks in the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on high for 2 hours. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook for 5 to 7 hours longer, or until the lamb shanks are very tender.
*If you don’t have balsamic vinegar, substitute with 1 teaspoon of red wine or cider vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon of sugar.
