Lamb Shanks in Guinness

Lamb Shanks in Guinness are the epitome of Irish cooking. And nobody does comfort food better than the Irish!

Lamb shanks are fall off the bone tender when braised this way. The addition of some root vegetables and Guinness makes a sweetish, hearty meal in a pot. The prunes add an extra flavour hit but you wouldn't know that they were prunes so don't let the idea of them scare you off.

Honestly, if you don't have prunes on hand I am sure it would be delicious without them too.

I served it with these Champ Potatoes but if you want a one pot dinner you could include some potatoes in the vegetables you add to the pot.

I will warn you - you need a big Dutch oven for this recipe to fit all the vegetables and liquid.

I have added 2 notes to the instructions suggesting if your Dutch oven does not accommodate all the ingredients then consider using a roasting pan to either straddle 2 burners on your stove top or alternatively how to braise in the oven at 350 degrees.

Lamb Shanks in Guinness

Lamb shanks fall off the bone tender, full of rich flavour.

Author: Carolyn Hetke

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Irish

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 2 hours hrs 50 minutes mins

Servings: 6 servings

Equipment

• ▢
  Large Dutch oven or roasting pan°

Ingredients

• ▢ 6 lamb shanks
• ▢ salt and pepper for seasoning
• ▢ 3 Tbsps vegetable oil
• ▢ ½ cup flour
• ▢ 5 cups yellow onions chopped
• ▢ 4 cups beef stock
• ▢ 2 12 oz Guinness beer
• ▢ 4 carrots
• ▢ 2 parsnips
• ▢ 2 small rutabaga
• ▢ ½ cup pitted prunes

Instructions

• Peel and chop the vegetables into 1 inch chunks.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat.
• Pat the shanks dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss the shanks with the flour in a bag to coat. Shake off any excess flour and reserve remaining flour.
• Brown the lamb shanks well on all sides (3-4 minutes per side). Work in batches so shanks are in a single layer while browning. Transfer browned shanks to a platter and set aside.
• Add the onions to the pan and cook about 7 minutes. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the Dutch oven. Sprinkle remaining flour over the onions and stir to mix. Cook about 2 minutes.
• Return the shanks and any juices to the Dutch oven. Add the beef stock and the Guinness.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered about 1 hour.
• Add the carrots, parsnips and rutabaga and simmer uncovered another 40 minutes until vegetables are tender.
• Add the prunes and simmer another 20 minutes. If you want a thicker sauce dissolve 2 Tbsps flour in 2 Tbsps water and add to the stew at this point, stirring well.
• You can easily make this a day ahead and refrigerate. Reheat gently over medium low heat and serve.

Notes

Note 1 :  You need a large Dutch oven to hold the shanks and all the vegetables and liquid.  If you don't have one big enough then consider using a roasting pan.  Cook shanks, covered,  1 hour at 350 degrees, add vegetables and cook another 40 minutes uncovered. Add prunes and cook another 20 minutes.

Note 2 :  Depending on your stove top, I am able to straddle my roasting pan over a front and back burner and cook on the stove top. In this case you would need to stir occasionally to ensure even distribution of the ingredients and heat.

Nutrition

Calories: 508kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 47g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 127mg | Sodium: 509mg | Potassium: 1564mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 6911IU | Vitamin C: 37mg | Calcium: 127mg | Iron: 5mg

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