Lamb Shanks in Guinness
Lamb shanks fall off the bone tender, full of rich flavour.
Prep Time20 minutes mins
Cook Time2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
Total Time2 hours hrs 50 minutes mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Irish
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 508kcal
- 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
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.
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.
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