Michelin Lamb Shank at Home

In this video, we’re showing you how to recreate that Michelin-style braised lamb shank using professional chef techniques that you can actually cook at home.

This dish was famously served at Le Gavroche, the legendary Mayfair restaurant founded by Michel and Albert Roux — pioneers of French fine dining in Britain and the first restaurant in the UK to be awarded three Michelin stars.

You’ll learn how Michelin chefs build flavour step by step — from brining the lamb for tenderness, to searing for maximum Maillard flavour, to slowly braising the shanks until perfectly tender. We’ll also show you how to create a deep, restaurant-quality lamb sauce using roasted bones, anchovies for umami, Madeira reduction, and finishing with lamb fat for incredible richness.

If you’ve ever wondered how chefs turn humble cuts like lamb shank into Michelin-level dishes, this is the recipe.

Chapters;
00:00 – Intro
01:09 – Prepping shanks
01:29 – Brine
03:04 – Bones and fat
3:28 – Browning the shanks
4:40 – Browning miropoix
5:00 – Building the braise
6:17 – Braising
6:40 – Straining
7:29 – Sauce
10:05 – Carrots
10:46 – Glaze
11:15 – Finishing Carrots
11:34 – Plating/Tasting

*Brine*
3 Litres Water
150g Salt
A few sprigs of thyme
A few springs of rosemary
2 bay leaves
1 tsp black peppercorns

*Braise*
6 Lamb Shanks
1.8kg Lamb bones
1 Large Onion
2 Carrot
2 Stick Celery
2 Cloves Garlic
2 Sprigs Rosemary
2 Bay leaves
2 Litres of Chicken Stock
2 Anchovies
1 tsp Black Peppercorns

*For the Sauce*
3 Shallots
50g Butter
1 tsp Red Wine Vinegar
150ml Madeira
150ml White wine
1L of the Lamb cooking stock
40g Lamb fat
5g Rosemary, picked
5g Thyme
2g Black peppercorns

*For the glaze*
2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

*Carrots*
6 Carrots
60g Butter
6 Star anise

*Recipe*

1. Bring 1 litre of the water and all the salt to the boil, stirring to dissolve.
2. Drop in the aromats, remove from the heat and add the remaining water, leaving to cool to room temperature
3. Trim the thin ends of the lamb shanks to expose the bone of each one, scraping about 1 inch of each bone
4. Add the shanks and the brine to a large bowl or tub, cover and transfer to the fridge and leave for at least 8 hours or up to 24.
5. Remove the shanks, pat dry and discard the brine.
6. Set an oven to 180C
7. Tip your lamb bones and lamb fat into a roasting tray, toss them in 2 tbsp of olive oil and a pinch of salt and roast for 30 mins or until a deep gold.
8. Once done, remove, transfer the bones to a deep casserole dish, keeping the rendered fat to one side for later
9. Turn the oven down to 140C ready for braising
10. Add a good splash of oil to a frying pan or skillet and on a medium heat, brown the shanks well on all sides. Transfer to the casserole dish.
11. Chop the vegetables into large chunks and bash the garlic cloves.
12. Add them to the frying pan and saute on a medium high heat until starting to colour but not soft
13. Transfer to the deep casserole dish along with, rosemary, bay leaves, peppercorns and chicken stock, topping up with water if necessary to cover everything
14. Cover with a cartouche and a lid and transfer to the oven for 2 hours or until the meat is tender but not falling apart completely.
15. Leave to cool in the stock before gently lifting out the shanks, leaving them in a warm place.
16. Strain the stock into a bowl and discard the bones and vegetables.
17. Remove the lamb fat and strain through a fine sieve. Set aside.

**For the Sauce**

1. Finely slice the shallots
2. Add the butter to a saute pan and fry the shallots on a medium high heat until golden
3. Deglaze with the sherry vinegar, madeira and white wine, reducing to a syrup consistency
4. Add the stock to the pan and reduce to a light sauce consistency
5. Pass through a fine sieve into a clean pan
6. Set aside about 200ml of the sauce for the glaze
7. On a medium-low heat, whisk in the lamb fat until it is completely emulsified
8. Drop in the aromats, turn off the heat, cover and leave to infuse for 10 mins
– Pass through a fine sieve and keep warm

**For the glaze**

1. On a medium high heat, start to reduce the 200ml of sauce with the Worcestershire sauce until you have a syrupy consistency
2. Add the lamb shanks and start to turn in the glaze
3. Once fully coated, set aside and keep warm

**Braised carrots**

1. Peel and slice the carrots in half, lengthways
2. Add the butter to a saute pan and melt on a medium heat
3. Add the carrots, star anise and sugar, topping the pan up with enough water to just cover the carrots.
4. Cover with a cartouche and gently simmer until the carrots are tender
5. Remove the carrots from the pan and turn the heat up to medium-high until the carrot stock has reduced to a light syrup.
6. Return the carrots to the pan and move around to coat in the glaze.