Slow-Cooker Lamb Shanks

Hi there! So back during the holidays, my birth dad bought some lamb shanks. Unfortunately, we ran out of time to cook them, so they've sat in our freezer for about a month before I realized we should probably use them up. I have never made lamb before, as it always seemed like something that would be way out of my skill range. However, I was completely wrong! It was actually pretty easy and time efficient to make! These were actually really good, and fell right off the bone. I used to not be a lamb fan, but ever since going to Ireland and having their lamb soup, I absolutely love it now. I looked up a recipe on Pinterest, but modified it a little bit as I didn't have all of the ingredients and was being lazy and didn't want to run to the store.

For the lamb shanks:

2 lamb shanks, bone in

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tbl. EVOO

For the sauce:

1 can unsalted diced tomatoes

1 medium yellow onion; diced

4 large carrots; sliced and chopped

5 large celery stalks; chopped

6 large garlic cloves; minced

1/4 c. red wine

1 tbl. tapioca starch

1 tbl. dried oregano

1 tbl. dried thyme

3 fresh rosemary branches (1 tbl. dried rosemary)

Salt and pepper to taste

Parsley for garnish

Salt and pepper lamb shanks evenly. In a large skillet, heat EVOO. Sear all sides of lamb shanks, until golden brown and crispy (about 5 minutes on each side). Remove from heat. In a slow-cooker, add all the sauce ingredients except for tapioca starch. Mix together well. Add lamb shanks to slow-cooker and cover with sauce. Set to high and cover for about 5 hours.

When your timer goes off for 5 hours, remove about 2 c. of the sauce from the slow-cooker and add to a large skillet, over medium-high heat. Add tapioca starch to thicken, whisking together well until at desired thickness (add more starch if you'd like). Serve shanks over rice or potatoes, and drizzle with sauce. Top with parsley, and serve.

If taking on a trip, I made the leftovers into more of a stew but cutting the meat into bite-sized pieces. I added more of the sauce from the slow-cooker (not the thickened sauce) and put it over rice to make more of a stew. Enjoy!