Tested and Perfected by Food and Wine
Food & Wine Recipe

Braised Lamb Shanks

Contributed by
  • ACTIVE:
  • TOTAL TIME:
  • SERVINGS: 4
  • MAKE-AHEAD

Lamb shanks—which the French call "souris"—are the shin portion of the legs. The foreshanks are the meatiest and the easiest to find. The shank contains a good deal of connective tissue that produces a smooth, luxurious sauce when cooked in the very slow...

  1. 4 teaspoons quatre épices
  2. 4 meaty 1-pound lamb shanks (do not trim the external fat)
  3. Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
  4. 1 cup Banyuls wine, vin doux naturel from Provence or Port
  5. 1 quart homemade chicken stock
  1. Preheat the oven to 450° F. Rub the quatre épices all over the lamb shanks and season them generously with salt and white pepper.
  2. Stand the lamb shanks in a heavy roasting pan. Roast in the center of the oven, uncovered, for 1 hour. Remove from the oven. Add the wine and the stock and cover. Return the lamb shanks to the oven and braise—without intervening—until the meat is very tender and just beginning to fall off the bone, about 1 1/2 hours.
  3. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the lamb shanks to a warmed platter. Season generously with salt and white pepper. Cover the lamb shanks with foil and let rest for 10 minutes. Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve and serve.

Suggested Pairing

This simple, meaty dish calls out for one of your best reds.Try a Cairanne or a Gigondas . Alternatively, try one of the wines from the Languedoc-Roussillon, such as a Corbières or Minervois.