Maple syrup lamb shanks are one of my favourite winter dishes. There is nothing like the rich flavour of lamb with a side serving of silky mashed potato to warm the belly during winter.
I have been making this dish for so long! It's always been a family favourite. The smell of the dish cooking and warming the house makes me happy. Initially, I used to make the recipe in the slow cooker but I've found that cooking it in the Thermomix Varoma is quicker and gives all the same slow cooked, melt in the mouth magic as more traditional cooking methods.
When you get the shanks out of the Varoma you may be concerned that they don't have that gorgeous glazed look. Don't worry, once the sauce goes over the top you would never guess they weren't oven-cooked.
Simple Sauce Ingredients
This dish is so easy to cook and the ingredients are minimal. You may even have all of them in the pantry! The key is to put the lamb shanks on to cook around 4 pm so you can have dinner by 6.30pm.
Varoma Cooking
Whenever you use the Varoma take advantage of the opportunity to throw in a few baby potatoes or some other vegetable to serve as a side dish. In the picture below you will see I have some smashed baked potatoes. To make these I placed the baby potatoes in the Varoma 50 minutes before the end of the cooking time. After 30 minutes I removed the potatoes and smashed them on a baking tray. I added plenty of salt and oil and baked them at 210 degrees Celsius until they were crunchy and golden. They finished cooking at the same time as the lamb shanks.
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During winter I always enjoy warming, cosy comfort foods. These are usually covered in a silky mashed potato and a rich gravy. Another favourite winter recipe is Swedish meatballs. The rich gravy has such a lovely homely flavour, so they also tick my comfort food box.
My favourite comfort foods tend to be quite meaty? I also love a Guinness Pie or a melt in the mouth piece of Corn Beef which has been cooked in the Varoma and served with a mustard sauce.
Even the smell of these comfort foods cooking is warming and nourishing on a cold day. I usually serve the lamb shanks with mashed potato and green beans but today I feel like changing things up, and I've decided to prepare a homemade coleslaw.
FAQ Maple Syrup Lamb Shank Questions
Add a little extra water before blending to bring the quantity in the Thermomix up to about 300ml.
Remove the Varoma and place the lamb shanks in a ThermoServer. Continue to cook the sauce for another 15 minutes with the MC out.
No, you can choose to use verjuice or just add more stock. The taste will be different but it will still be delicious.
Always try to get lamb shanks that are a similar size, if you can't avoid this problem place the meatier shanks at the bottom of the Varoma and the smaller ones on top. Halfway through cooking turn the lamb shanks, still leaving the meatier ones on top.
It is best to cook the lamb shanks with a trivet in place as the Varoma is going to be very full! This means the steam holes could easily become covered by the meat and the dish may not cook properly.
Yes! Don't change any other part of the recipe, just put 2 lamb shanks in the Varoma. You will find you will have a little less sauce due to more steam escaping so you may need to add 50g of water before blitzing the sauce at the end.
Thermomix Slow Cooked Maple Syrup Lamb Shanks
Ingredients
- 1400 gm lamb shanks 4-5 shanks
- 220 gm onion quartered
- 10 gm garlic
- 250 gm beef stock campbells real stock
- 250 gm red wine
- 130 gm maple syrup
- 4 star anise
- 1 shallot sliced finely to garnish
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 600 gm water added to replenish cooking liquid
Instructions
- Place the onion & garlic in TM bowl. Chop 5sec/Speed 9.220 gm onion, 10 gm garlic
- Scrape down the bowl.250 gm beef stock, 250 gm red wine, 130 gm maple syrup, 4 star anise, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Add stock, red wine, maple syrup, salt and star anise to the onion.
- Place the lid on the TM bowl(MC OUT) and stack the deep Varoma dish on top of the lid.
- Add the trivet to the Varoma.
- Arrange the lamb shanks in the Varoma dish on top of the trivet and cover with the lid.1400 gm lamb shanks
- Cook 60 min/Varoma/Speed 2.
- Add 600gm water to the TM bowl. Repeat the cooking. 90 min/Varoma/Speed 2.600 gm water
- Remove the lamb from the TM and place into a serving dish.
- Blend the sauce 1min - Start at speed 5 then gradually increase to speed 9.
- Pour the sauce over the lamb shanks, garnish with shallot, and serve with vegetables.1 shallot
Notes
Nutrition
I hope you have enjoyed this story. Feel free to leave a comment or start a discussion. If you have made a dish from this site I would love to know what you thought!
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Thank you for stopping by,
Happy Cooking
j xx
So what are your favourite winter warming recipes? Do you have any vegetarian comfort foods to share?
I hope you have enjoyed this story. Feel free to leave a comment or start a discussion. If you have made a dish from this site I would love to know what you thought!
Leaving a comment and a star rating helps others decide if they should try my recipe. Plus if you hit the social media share buttons, your friends may find a delicious new recipe or Thermomix Tip too!
If you want to be notified when a new recipe is released sign up for my monthly newsletter. The form is also in the footer!
Thank you for stopping by,
Happy Cooking
j xx
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ROSALINA TAN says
Just made this today: the meat was very tender & falling off the bones!
Unfortunately the sauce came out too thick & sticky…. Just wondering, In step 9 of the recipe am I supposed to add 100g of water before blending? Someone in the comments above mentioned that she added cranberry juice & water in step 9.
Julie Carlyle says
Hi Rosalina
I am pleased the meat was tender and falling off the bone.
If you think it needs more water you can definately add it. Each time its made will be a little different depending on how exact the measurements have been with all the ingredients and how much oil is in the lamb shanks. It's best to judge at the end of the cook, sometimes you may find you need to cook the sauce down for a little longer after taking the shanks out.
Julie
Megan says
This looks delicious! Sadly my husband can't stand lamb, so wondering if this recipe could be frozen in portions for myself?
Julie Carlyle says
Hi Megan
Thank you for your question.
This recipe will freeze very well. I hope you enjoy the dish.
Happy cooking
J xx
Julie says
As good as promised
Tanya wilson says
Omg this lamb shank recipient was so easy. Them meat was so moist and juicy.and the maple syrup sauce was to die for.well done.
Trina says
I made this today and it was so easy. Thank you for the simple yet tasty lamb shank recipe. I substituted red wine with cranberry juice. Also added 50 grams cranberry juice + 50 grams water instead of 100 grams water in step 9. Meat was tender and maple syrup sauce was delicious.
Julie Carlyle says
Fabulous!! This is one of my favorite recipes on the site too! The lamb just melts in your mouth 🙂
CHERIE says
Could this be done with a boneless leg of lamb in the varoma?
Julie Carlyle says
Cherie, yes the recipe could be altered for boneless leg of lamb. Its best to keep the lamb around the 2kg in size and it will take between 3-4 hours to get to that beautiful, falling apart meat stage. Happy Cooking J
Vanessa Nevjestic says
Well, I just tried this - easy and by far the best recipe of lamb shanks I ever did! The maple sirup sauce is to die for - my husband wiped his plate in 1 minute ?
Julie Carlyle says
That is somfabulous to hear Vanessa! I’m so pleased you liked it 🙂 Thanks for sharing 🙂
J
Kerry Whiteside says
Thank you for this recipe. Wow.. amazing.
It took 3 hours to cook to falling of the bone, but the gravy was superb.
Kath Bateman says
These were amazing! My husband hasn't stopped raving about them and has requested them for his birthday dinner in a couple of weeks. I always used to do lamb shanks in the slow cooker, but there is no way I could get them like this in two hours. I was able to fit six lamb shanks in the varoma. Awesome. Thank you.
Julie Carlyle says
I am so pleased you enjoyed the shanks! I will have to come up with some new lamb shank recipes for winter. Thanks so much for coming back and saying hi 🙂