Sous Vide Lamb Shanks

Lamb shank with mashed potatoes and green beans.

5 from 20 votes

Incredibly tender, fall-off-the-bone lamb shanks made easy with a hands-off sous vide cooking method to transform the tough cut into absolute meltingly tender perfection.

Prep Time15

Cook Time3 25

Resting Time10

Total Time3 50

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: French

Servings:

Calories: 199kcal

Ingredients

3 to 4 lbs Lamb Shanks
1 - 2 tbsp Olive oil
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Fresh Garlic
Fresh Rosemary
Lemon zest

Instructions

Prep the Lamb

Prep your sous vide water bath for 140 degrees F.
Pat the lamb shanks dry with paper towels
Rub the shanks on all slides with oil and season liberally with salt and pepper.
Add the lamb shanks to vacuum-seal bags with whole cloves of garlic and springs of rosemary.
Seal the bags.

Sous Vide the Lamb Shanks

Submerged the sealed bags in the water bath. We use a chain anchor for this.
Sous vide the lamb shanks for 48 hours in the water bath.
After 48 hours carefully remove the bags from the water.
Let the lamb rest, in the bags for 10 minutes.
Remove the lamb shanks from the bags and pat them dry with paper towels. Discard the garlic and rosemary.

Finish the Lamb and Serve

Preheat the broiler to high heat and line a baking sheet with foil.
Arrange the lamb shanks on the baking sheet and place them under the broiler to brown.
Rotate the shanks every 3 to 5 minutes to brown all sides.
Brush the lamb shanks with rosemary herb compound butter and sprinkle with lemon zest to serve.

Notes

Buy one shank per person for serving. Although they look big, after they cook there isn't too much meat on each shank.
For additional flavor, we recommend using a grill instead of the broiler. Drop the lamb shanks right over hot coals and char quickly on all sides for added wood smoke flavor and texture.
Use a vacuum sealer to remove excess air before cooking sous vide. If you don't have a vacuum sealer machine, grab a ziplock bag, place the lamb shanks inside, close the bag, leaving only an inch of space open for air, and submerge the bag until the water pushes the air out of the bag. Seal the bag and use it or your sous vide method.
Make sure you have enough water in your sous vide container to submerge the plastic bag. A water level that is too low can cause inconsistent cooking.

Nutrition