isithalal.food

Halal-conscious recipe

Lamb shanks without wine

Halal lamb shanks browned and braised in the oven with onion, carrot, rosemary, bay and garlic in stock instead of white wine, then the sauce reduced until glossy.

  • Cuisine British
  • Meal Main
  • Difficulty Easy
  • Yield 8 lamb shanks with sauce
  • Time 2h 40m
  • Last updated

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

Printable view
Lamb chops searing over flames on a charcoal grill, with metal tongs
Photograph from our ingredient library: lamb chops on a grill, not the finished dish from this recipe.

Photo: domdomegg · CC BY 4.0

Why Halal checks matter here

Lamb is a Halal meat only from Halal slaughter, and the classic braise pours 350 ml of white wine over the shanks with lamb or chicken stock.

Lamb comes from a Halal species, but the meat is only Halal when the animal is slaughtered to the standard you follow, so start with shanks from a Halal butcher or a certified pack.

This version follows the Good Food team's braised lamb shanks for BBC Good Food. The source pours 350 ml of white wine over the shanks; this site does not treat wine cooked into food as Halal, so the braise here uses the same amount of extra stock. Use a Halal lamb or chicken stock or a vegetable stock (see stock cubes).

The shanks braise for 1½ to 2 hours until tender, then the sauce is reduced on the hob for about 15 minutes and sieved.

Halal-critical ingredients

  • Lamb shanks Sheep are a Halal species, but the meat is only Halal when slaughtered to the standard you follow, and certifiers differ on stunning. Buy shanks from a Halal butcher or in a certified pack. See Lamb.
  • White wine The published recipe pours 350 ml of white wine over the shanks. Wine is the khamr the Qur'an forbids, and on this site that includes wine cooked into food. Use the same amount of extra stock, as here. See Wine.
  • Stock Lamb and chicken stock cubes and pots contain meat fat or extract that is not shown to be Halal. Use a Halal-certified stock or a vegetable stock labelled vegan or vegetarian. See Stock cubes.

Safe substitutes

  • 350 ml white wine → 350 ml extra Halal or vegetable stock
  • Lamb or chicken stock of unknown source → Halal-certified stock or a vegetable stock

Allergens

gluten (flour)

Ingredients

Shanks

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 8 Halal lamb shanks
  • 1 onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 carrots, roughly chopped
  • a few sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 3 fresh bay leaves
  • 4 garlic cloves, left whole
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée
  • 350 ml Halal lamb or chicken stock, or vegetable stock (instead of 350 ml white wine)
  • 500 ml Halal lamb or chicken stock, or vegetable stock

Method

  1. Brown the lamb. Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Heat the oil in a casserole dish or roasting tray large enough to fit all the shanks, set over a high heat on the hob, and spend a good 10 minutes browning the lamb all over.
  2. Cook the vegetables. Lift out the lamb, add the onion and carrot and cook for 10 minutes until starting to brown. Stir in the rosemary, bay and garlic and cook for a few minutes more.
  3. Add the liquid. Stir in the flour and tomato purée and season well, then pour over all the stock. Return the shanks to the pan and bring to a simmer.
  4. Braise. Cover with a lid or tightly with foil and cook in the oven, undisturbed, for 1½ to 2 hours until the lamb is tender. Lift out the shanks and set aside.
  5. Reduce the sauce. Put the pan back on the hob and bubble the sauce for about 15 minutes until rich and glossy, then pass it through a sieve into a jug. Reheat the lamb in the sauce to serve, adding a splash of water if it is too thick. The lamb and sauce keep in the fridge for two days or frozen for a month.

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Braised lamb shanks' by the Good Food team (serves 8: 8 lamb shanks browned all over for a good 10 minutes in a casserole at 200C/fan 180C/gas 6; onion and carrot cooked 10 minutes, then rosemary, bay and whole garlic; 2 tbsp flour and 1 tbsp tomato purée stirred in; 350 ml white wine and 500 ml lamb or chicken stock poured over; covered and cooked in the oven 1½ to 2 hours; shanks lifted out and the sauce bubbled down about 15 minutes, then sieved). We specified Halal lamb and a Halal or vegetable stock, and replaced the wine with the same amount of extra stock. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Technique and ingredient sources

  1. Braised lamb shanks — BBC Good Food Retrieved:

    By the Good Food team. Serves 8, prep 10 minutes, cook 2 hours 30 minutes: 8 lamb shanks browned, onion, carrot, rosemary, bay, garlic, flour and tomato purée, 350 ml white wine and 500 ml lamb or chicken stock, braised at 200C/fan 180C/gas 6 for 1½ to 2 hours, sauce reduced about 15 minutes and sieved. We replaced the wine with extra stock.

  2. Lamb analysis — isithalal.food Retrieved:

    Why lamb is a Halal meat only from Halal slaughter, and where certifiers differ on stunning.

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