These Moroccan Lamb Shanks are slow cooked in moroccan spices until the meat just falls away from the bone. Soft and tender, with a sauce that you could drink by itself!
This is my recipe for moroccan lamb shanks. They are slow cooked in a combination of easy to find spices (which you will probably have in the cupboard already) until they are so tender the meat will literally fall away from the bone...So. Good. If you are a lamb lover like me, then this lamb shank recipe is definitely a keeper!
***If you are looking for more lamb recipes for your dinner rotation, then check out my guide to all things lamb - Lamb For Dinner. Packed with tips and ideas, plus my complete collection of lamb dinner recipes.***
Table of Contents
Ingredients you will need for this lamb shank recipe
- lamb shanks
- olive oil
- brown onions
- plain/all purpose flour
- garlic cloves
- beef stock
- sweet paprika
- ground cumin
- ground coriander
- ground cloves
- cinnamon
- tomato paste
- an orange (zest and juice)
- fine salt
*Please see the recipe card below for exact quantities and detailed instructions
How to cook moroccan lamb shanks
- Heat olive oil in a heavy based pot/dutch oven (with lid) over medium high heat, brown the shanks well all over and then remove to a plate. Carefully drain most of the remaining oil from the pot.
- Add onions to the same pot.
- Fry onions over medium low heat until they start to soften.
- Sprinkle plain flour over softened onions, and stir over medium low heat for a minute.
- Add crushed garlic, paprika, cumin, ground coriander, ground cloves and cinnamon to onions, and continue to fry for another minute.
- Add tomato paste to onions, and fry for another minute.
- Add stock and orange juice to onion and mix well, scraping up any flavour spots from the bottom of the pot.
- Return shanks to pot and bring to a simmer, place the lid on and transfer to the oven to bake.
My top tips for making this lamb recipe
- The more colour you get on your shanks when you brown them off, the better the flavour will be at the end.
- Your oven cook time may vary depending on the size of the shanks.
- You could serve these shanks whole, or pull the lamb from the bones and shred it.
Other lamb recipes you make like
Minced Lamb Pie - this is a rich and hearty, family style pie made with lamb mince (ground lamb). Super easy, the whole family will love this rustic lamb pie!
Lamb Lollipop Chops - tender, juicy lamb cutlets with a simple fresh herb and garlic crust grilled to perfection.
Moroccan Lamb Mince with Hummus - spiced ground lamb with smooth creamy hummus, topped with fresh herbs. Dinner is done in 30 minutes!
📖 Recipe
Moroccan Lamb Shanks
Moroccan Lamb Shanks - soft, tender lamb shanks, slow cooked in moroccan spices until the meat just falls away from the bone!
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Serving:
Calories: 303kcal
Ingredients
- 4 lamb shanks trimmed
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 medium brown onions sliced
- 1½ tablespoon plain/all purpose flour
- 3 fresh garlic cloves crushed
- 1½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3 cups beef stock
- 1 orange, juice & zest approx ⅓ cup juice
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 150c/300f.
- Heat olive oil in a heavy based pot/dutch oven (with lid) over medium high heat, brown the shanks (4) well all over and then remove to a plate.
- Carefully drain excess oil from the pot leaving about 1 tbsp, then add sliced onions (2 medium) to the same pot and fry onions over medium low heat until they start to soften.
- Sprinkle plain flour (1½ tbsp) over softened onions, and stir over medium low heat for a minute.
- Add crushed garlic (3 cloves), sweet paprika (1½ tsp), ground cumin (1½ tsp), ground coriander (1½ tsp), ground cloves (¼ tsp) and cinnamon (⅛ tsp) to onions, and continue to fry for another minute.
- Then add tomato paste to onions, and fry for another minute. Add beef stock (3 cups) and orange juice (from 1 orange - approx ⅓ cup) and salt (½ tsp) to onion mixture and mix well, scraping up any flavour spots from the bottom of the pot.
- Return shanks to pot (see my notes) and bring to a simmer, place the lid on and transfer to the oven to bake for 3 hours or until cooked through and falling away from the bone. Stir orange zest (from 1 orange) through sauce and serve.
Notes
- Once you have added the stock and juice to the pot, the liquid should almost cover the shanks. If it doesn't, just add a circle of baking paper (a cartouche - see how to make one here) on top of the shanks to keep them moist as they cook.
- The more colour you get on your shanks when you brown them off, the better the flavour will be at the end.
- Your oven cook time may vary depending on the size of the shanks.
- If you would like a thicker sauce, just remove the shanks once they are cooked and simmer the sauce on the stove to thicken.
- You could serve these shanks whole, or pull the lamb from the bones and shred it.
This recipe sounds amazing. I have all ingredients and I’m about to start!
Just wondering, could I achieve the results in a slow cooker at all?
What mode (low/medium/high)? And how many hours?
Hi Nakita! You could totally use your slow cooker - for the best results flavour-wise I would do everything up to the end of step 6 in a pot on the stove and then transfer everything to the bowl of the slow cooker (if you have a slow cooker with a good "sear" function you could use that instead of the pot on the stove). As for time, I would check the manufacturer's instructions for guidelines. And I always like to go for the lowest setting too, for maximum fall-apart-ness haha 🙂 I'd love to hear how you go!
Simmering in the oven on Palm Sunday.
Smells delicious. The aroma is driving my family crazy.
Can't wait to sit down, Thanks
That's great Barbara, hope they enjoy the taste as much as the smell! Happy Easter to you and your family,
L x
What would you replace orange juice and zest with? Do you think Meyer lemons would be ok?
Hi Jytte! I haven’t used Meyer lemons at all to cook with (I haven’t seen them here in Australia to buy) having said that, the flavour profile would be very different if you used lemon in place of orange.
Hope this helps, L x
Ok - we have them in our garden here in Devonport on Tasmania, and since preserved lemon is used in Moroccan cooking, I thought it might be an option. I might mix it with some mandarin since I haven’t got any oranges. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Sounds good Jytte. Always nice to meet another Aussie on the interwebs 🙂
I had clementine on hand and used that. I also added grated ginger and leek tops to give flavor omitted the beef stock just added water. Put a couple of bayleaves in plus a can of chickpeas. Honestly anything you cook use what you have on hand be it grapefruit juice or lemon just add a little brown sugar like 1tbsp to balance the sour. Its a play with flavors, - enjoy the game 🌟
Loved it! Made it in my slow cooker
Pleasure Sue, glad you enjoyed them!
Did you cook the onions in oil or just add to the slow cooker?
The onions are fried off in the same pot that you browned the shanks in (after the shanks have been removed) Nancy.
This came out great!! I also added sun dried tomatoes with the oil/red wine and cherries to the mix. This was perfect for Easter. My family and I tore through these
Awesome Rosalyn! So glad everyone enjoyed them L x