Instant Port Lamb Shank
This easy recipe shows you how to make Instant Pot lamb shanks to serve with a tasty gravy.
Traditionally lamb shanks are slow-cooked in the oven, but this recipe shows how to pressure-cook lamb shanks in the Instant Pot.
This which significantly reduces the cooking time, and gives the same result, with delicious meat that falls off the bone.
What are lamb shanks?
A shank is the shin part of the animal around the tibia. So it is the part of meat just above the foot of the lamb, which is a fairly cheap cut of meat and quite tough on its own.
This is why it needs to be pressure cooked or slow-cooked to tenderise it. One shank gives enough meat for one person.
In this recipe, I just actually make one lamb shank, but you can use the same recipe if you wish to cook more shanks.
The cooking time remains the same, but you will just need to scale up the recipe on the marinade, vegetables and stock to suit. It may also take a bit longer to brown the meat and get up to pressure.
Lamb shanks Instant Pot
My Instant Pot is fairly new to our kitchen appliances, but we have now discovered its usefulness. It is a remarkable piece of engineering design, and if you are thinking: ‘is it worth getting an Instant Pot ?’ – believe me, it is. If you want to save time and make your life easier.
So if you do not have one already, maybe it is time to treat yourself. They are not that expensive and they make a great birthday present for someone who needs to simplify their life.
I have the Duo version shown below, and the 7 in 1 functions allow you to do pretty much everything with it – sauté, steam, simmer, heat, slow cook, pressure cook etc. But the greatest advantage is that it reduces the cooking time on slow-cooked meals. On this recipe alone it reduces the cooking time by at least half.
And not only that, you can set it to cook while you are away at work and come home to a perfect stew or whatever you have planned. There are some other Instant Pot recipe links at the end of this recipe.
You can of course also cook this recipe in a traditional pressure cooker, crockpot or another slow cooker, but it will either be a bit more hassle (traditional pressure cooker) or it will take longer (slow-cooker). The results should be the same.
What to serve with lamb shanks
Well, we like them served with creamy mashed potatoes (made with lots of butter) and some carrots with the gravy sauce as shown in the photos here.
But you could also add some petit pois (peas) if you want. The meat should be so tender that it falls off the bone and the taste is really exquisite.
Lamb shanks cost about 3 – 4 Euros each where we live, so with this recipe you can have a restaurant-style meal for under 5 Euros which is just absolutely delicious and a little bit special.
I hope you enjoy making this dish. If you do please let me know how you get on in the comments section below.
How to make lamb shanks in the Instant Pot
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Instant Pot Lamb Shanks
This easy recipe will help you make a delicious lamb shank in the Instant Pot, and some tasty gravy to go with it. A restaurant-quality meal for less than 5 Euros per person.
Ingredients
- 1 lamb shank per person (the one I used was 400g)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 300ml red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot or equivalent)
- 1 carrot
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed with a knife
- 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary leaves
- 300ml chicken stock
- 2 sprigs of fresh thyme leaves
- 1 onion
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 tsp cornflour
Marinade
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp paprika
Instructions
- Make a marinade with 1 tbsp of olive oil, tomato puree, paprika and minced garlic. Cover the lamb shank in this marinade and let it absorb while you prepare the remaining vegetables. The longer you marinate the meat, the better.
- Peel and slice the carrot. Slice the onion. Peel the garlic cloves and crush them with the flat side of a knife. Prepare the stock. Strip the rosemary and thyme leaves and chop them.
- Using the sauté setting on the Instant Pot brown the lamb shank(s) for about 10 minutes on all sides, and remove from the pot. Then add the onions and garlic to the pot and cook for another 3 minutes.
- Add the stock and red wine to deglaze the pot. Then add the lamb shank back to the pot and the chopped thyme and rosemary leaves.
- Close the lid of the Instant Pot with the pressure valve in the sealed position and hit the pressure cook button and set for 60 minutes.
- The pot will take a few minutes to get up to pressure, when the float valve will pop up and the timer will start (it took 5 minutes with one shank. If you cook more it may take a bit longer).
- When the 60 minutes is over, carefully release the pressure using the steam release valve until the float valve drops and you can remove the lid.
- Remove the shank(s) and carrots from the pot.
Make the gravy
- Mix the cornflour with a bit of hot water. Then strain the remaining liquid from the Instant Pot through a sieve into a saucepan and heat, stirring in the cornflour to thicken it.
- Add a knob of butter to the gravy and stir in until it has melted and the sauce becomes glossy. Finally, taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
Serve the lamb shank and carrots with some mashed potato, and pour some gravy on top.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 900Total Fat: 43gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 31gCholesterol: 99mgSodium: 842mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 5gSugar: 14gProtein: 35g
This nutrition information was automatically calculated by Nutritionix, but may not be 100% accurate.
And some other slow cooked recipes: