Eight untouched hours between you and the best gravy in the house

Some dinners want your attention. This one wants you to leave the house. Two grass-fed lamb shanks go into the slow cooker in the morning with an onion, a couple of carrots and a proper gravy base — no packets, no browning, nothing fussed over — and by six o'clock the meat is waving at the bone and the kitchen smells like a Sunday. Ten minutes of gravy-thickening at the end is the only job left, and mash is not optional. This is the dinner the slow cooker was invented for.

8 hrs 30 mins 2 servings Prep 15 minsCook 8 hrs 15 minsMain CourseAustralian

Ingredients

  • 2 Your Farmer grass-fed lamb shanks
  • 1 brown onion, thickly sliced
  • 2 carrots, cut into chunks
  • 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp dried rosemary
  • 500ml beef stock
  • Salt and pepper to season
  • 2 tbsp cornflour, mixed with 2 tbsp cold water
  • Mashed potato, to serve

Instructions

Put the onion, carrot and garlic in the base of the slow cooker.

1 onion2 carrots3 cloves garlic

Season the shanks well all over and sit them on top of the vegetables.

2 lamb shanks

Add the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and rosemary, then pour the stock around the shanks. No stirring needed.

2 tbsp tomato paste1 tbsp Worcestershire1 tsp dried rosemary500ml beef stock

Lid on. Cook on low for 8 hours, until the meat is starting to fall from the bone. Don't lift the lid along the way — every peek lets the heat out.

Lift the shanks out and keep them warm under foil. Stir the cornflour mixture into the cooking liquid, turn the cooker to high and leave the lid off for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring once or twice, until it thickens to a proper gravy.

2 tbsp cornflour

Season the gravy to taste. Serve the shanks over mashed potato with the gravy and vegetables ladled generously over the top.

mashed potato

Appears in

Lamb Share B only — Shanks (2 pack)

Your Farmer CSA grass-fed lamb share — Pack B selection of pasture-raised lamb cuts, vacuum-sealed, NSW & ACT delivery
CSA Pastured Lamb Share
From $183.33

Why Shanks Were Built for the Slow Cooker

The shank is the lamb's lower leg — the hardest-working muscle on the animal. All that work fills the cut with connective tissue, and connective tissue is a one-way bet: cook it fast and it's shoe leather, cook it low and slow and it melts into gelatine, which is what turns the cooking liquid silky and makes the meat slip off the bone. That's why no shank recipe worth having is a quick one, and why the slow cooker — steady, gentle, sealed — suits it better than almost any other appliance in the house. Your Farmer® shanks come two to the pack in the Share B lamb pack, from lambs raised on pasture their whole lives, and there's an extra two-pack of shanks for the weeks one pack isn't enough. If they're not in your share yet, that's what our pasture-raised lamb share is for.

Swaps and Variations

Swap 125ml of the stock for red wine and it drifts towards the bistro version. A 400g tin of crushed tomatoes instead of the paste makes a redder, heartier gravy that's very good on pasta. Thyme stands in for rosemary, and a handful of button mushrooms in the base with the carrots earns its place. The same dump-and-go method works on grass-fed beef short ribs with the times unchanged. No slow cooker? A covered casserole in a 160C oven for about 3 hours gets you to the same dinner.

Storage and Leftovers

Like most braises, this is better the next day — the gravy deepens overnight. Keep the meat submerged in its gravy and it holds 3 to 4 days in the fridge, or freezes for up to 3 months. Reheat gently, covered, on the stove or in a 160C oven until piping hot. The leftover move: strip the meat from the bones, fold it back through the gravy and you've got a ready-made pie filling or a sauce for pappardelle that tastes like it took two days.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to brown the shanks first?

No — this recipe is built to go straight in raw, and the long cook plus the tomato paste and Worcestershire build plenty of depth. If you have ten spare minutes, browning them in a hot pan adds extra colour and flavour, but the dinner works without it.

Can I cook it on high instead of low?

Yes — about 4 to 5 hours on high gets the meat tender. Low for 8 hours gives a slightly silkier result and suits a workday better, but both finish the job.

My shanks don't fit lying flat. Does that matter?

Not at all. Stand them bone-end up, leaning against each other, and tuck them down into the liquid as far as they'll go. They shrink as they cook and settle in within the first couple of hours.

How do I know they're done?

Grab the bone with tongs and give it a gentle twist — it should move freely and the meat should be ready to fall away. If it still grips, put the lid back on and give it another 30 to 60 minutes.

Can I use forequarter chops instead?

Yes — forequarter chops take to the same treatment. Cut the cooking time back to about 6 hours on low and check them from there.

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Vendor:Savill Family Pastoral

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