Persian Lamb Shanks Recipe

Overview

Lamb shanks can come across as an intimidating recipe but once you make it you will see how it will be superior to those bought in restaurants.

I remember having lamb shanks at a Mediterranean restaurant and thinking this is really good and I wish I could make something like it at home. It seemed like an impossible task at first since it seems like a very complex recipe – spoiler alert, its not!

After some experimentation, I came up with the below recipe that is a hugely improved version which renders the lamb fat, balances the spices, and cooks to a dark brown rather than a dull brownish white that’s served in restaurants.

Finally, this recipe is great for when you have a small group over and want to do other prep work while the lamb is cooking. It can be paired with things like hummus, rice, grilled vegetables, and a salad which will make this a memorable weekend get together meal.

Ingredients

4-5 Lamb Shanks

1/2 tbsp. Kosher Salt per Shank

1/2 tsp. Black Pepper per Shank

5 Garlic Cloves (crushed and pressed)

2 tsp. Whole Cinnamon (cut into small pieces)

Juice of 2 Small Limes

Saffron Water (1/2 – 1 tsp. of saffron along with 4 ice cubes that will melt and turn into saffron water) Link for the saffron: https://amzn.to/4lk64jW

4 tbsp. Olive Oil

1/2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper (optional if you like spicy)

1 Onion

Directions

1. Wash and pat dry the lamb shanks by running them under cold water. Trim any excess fat if there is any.
2. Use an oven safe dish that can hold all of the lamb shanks – a casserole dish works well here.
3. Create a bed of onions on the casserole dish where the lamb shanks will rest.
4. Combine the ingredients above and mix well. Massage the spices, saffron, and olive oil into the lamb well making sure to distribute across all the pieces.
5. Refrigerate the lamb in the casserole dish overnight. This is needed to fully absorb the ingredients into the meat and allow time for the saffron and cinnamon to develop the flavors properly.
6. Cover the dish with a aluminum foil.
7. Pre-heat oven to 350F and place in the casserole dish with the aluminum covering still on.
8. Set the timer or 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Halfway during the cook, remove the foil, adjust the temperature up to 400F, and let the lamb cook uncovered the rest of the way. The total cook time will be around 3 hours, but you might need to go slightly higher if the lamb doesn’t achieve a dark brown color and the bones are not peeled back from the meat.
9. Serve the dish with basmati rice, grilled tomatoes/peppers, and hummus.

Tips 

• Use high quality saffron. Most of the ones sold are either fake or are low quality grading. Negin Saffron is the standard in premium saffron and should be used.
• This is a good time to roast any vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, and whole garlic bulbs to go as accompaniments to the lamb. Letting them cook in the lamb fat and spices will give an out of this world flavor profile.
• Reserve or make some extra saffron water to flavor the rice and add a dash to the completed dish. If you want more details on the saffron water you can use the details from this recipe as well: https://crumbsandchaos.com/persian-chicken-thighs/