SERVES: 6-8
PREPARATION TIME: 45 minutes - 1 hour, plus cooling and chilling (allow at least an hour for chilling)
COOK TIME: Approximately 3.5 hours for the lamb shanks, 1.5 hours to make the filling, and 1 hour to bake the pie
DIFFICULTY: Medium
DIET: Main course
SERVES: 6-8
PREPARATION TIME: 45 minutes - 1 hour, plus cooling and chilling (allow at least an hour for chilling)
COOK TIME: Approximately 3.5 hours for the lamb shanks, 1.5 hours to make the filling, and 1 hour to bake the pie
DIFFICULTY: Medium
DIET: Main course
This impressive lamb shank pie created for us by Ed Cudlipp makes a memorable centrepiece for relaxed gatherings, Sunday lunches or special occasions throughout the year.
Lamb shanks are slowly braised with red wine, rosemary and thyme until tender, then pulled from the bone and folded through mushrooms and carrots in a rich gravy. Encased in crisp shortcrust pastry and finished with a golden puff pastry lid, the pie delivers comforting flavour in every slice.
A lamb shank bone placed through the centre adds a distinctive finishing touch and a sense of theatre at the table.
For the lamb
• 4 lamb shanks, approximately 400-500g each
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 large onions, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 celery sticks, diced
• 1 whole garlic bulb, halved horizontally
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 500ml dry red wine, such as Côtes-du-Rhône or Syrah
• 750ml good-quality beef or lamb stock
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp redcurrant jelly
• Small handful of black peppercorns
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
For the finished filling
• 250g chestnut mushrooms, quartered
• 2 carrots, cut into small chunks
• 30g unsalted butter
• Small handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 15g butter for greasing the tin
For the pastry
• 500g shortcrust pastry
• 400–500g all-butter puff pastry
• 1 egg
• Splash of milk
• Flaky sea salt
Braise the lamb
1. Preheat the oven to 160°C fan.
2. Pat the lamb shanks dry and season generously with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
3. Heat the oil in a 316 Series Low Casserole over a medium-high heat. Add the lamb shanks and brown deeply on all sides for 8-10 minutes, then remove and set aside.
4. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions, carrots and celery with a pinch of salt. Cook for 8-10 minutes until softened and beginning to caramelise.
5. Add the tomato purée and cook for 2-3 minutes until it darkens slightly.
6. Pour in the red wine, scraping any caramelised pieces from the base of the casserole. Bring to a vigorous simmer and reduce by at least half.
7. Add the stock, Worcestershire sauce and redcurrant jelly and return the lamb shanks to the casserole.
8. Add the halved garlic bulb, rosemary, thyme, peppercorns, and bay leaves.
9. Cover and transfer to the oven for 3-3.5 hours, turning the lamb halfway through, until extremely tender and easily pulling away from the bone.
Make the gravy and filling
1. Carefully remove the lamb shanks from the low casserole and set aside to cool slightly.
2. Strain the braising liquid through a fine sieve into a new pan, discarding the vegetables and herbs.
3. Skim away any excess fat, then simmer the liquid until reduced to a rich, glossy gravy that coats the back of a spoon (also, if you want lots of extra gravy, you can reduce the sauce less and then thicken using cornflour, but seasoning may need to be adjusted)
4. Fry the mushrooms quickly in a hot frying pan until golden, adding the butter towards the end.
5. Blanch the additional carrots in salted water until tender, then drain.
6. Pull the lamb from the bones and shred using two forks. Reserve the best-looking lamb shank bone and clean the exposed section thoroughly.
7. Combine the lamb, mushrooms, carrots and chopped flat-leaf parsley with enough gravy to generously coat the filling. Reserve approximately 150-200ml gravy for serving.
8. Allow the filling to cool completely.
TIP: Allow the filling to cool completely before assembling the pie (even better if overnight). Adding a warm filling to the pastry will soften the butter in the pastry and make it more difficult to achieve a crisp finish.
TIP: Don't add too much gravy to the pie filling. The lamb should be generously coated rather than swimming in sauce; reserve the remaining gravy and serve it alongside the finished pie.
Assemble the pie
1. Increase the oven temperature to 190°C fan.
2. Roll the shortcrust pastry to approximately 4mm thick and use it to line a buttered, deep 25cm pie tin.
3. Prick the base, line with baking paper and fill with baking beans. Blind bake for 15-30 minutes (check after 15 minutes).
4. Remove the baking beans and paper and return the pastry case to the oven for 3-5 minutes.
5. Beat the egg with a splash of milk. Brush a thin layer over the inside of the pastry and bake for a further 2 minutes to help seal the pastry.
6. Allow the pastry case to cool before spooning in the completely cooled lamb filling.
7. Position the cleaned lamb shank bone upright in the centre.
8. Roll out the puff pastry and cut a small cross in the centre. Carefully feed the bone through the pastry and lower the lid over the pie.
9. Press the puff pastry onto the shortcrust rim, trim and crimp the edges. Decorate with additional puff pastry if desired.
10. Brush with egg wash and chill for at least 20 minutes before giving the pastry a final light egg wash.
Bake and serve
1. Increase the oven temperature to 200°C fan.
2. Bake the chilled pie for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 180°C fan.
3. Continue baking for approximately 40-50 minutes, or until the pastry is deeply golden and the filling is piping hot throughout.
4. If the pastry is sufficiently browned before the centre is hot, loosely cover the top with foil and continue baking.
5. Leave the pie to rest for 20 minutes before carefully removing it from the tin and slicing.
6. Reheat the reserved red wine gravy, adding a splash of stock if required, and serve alongside the pie.
Browning the lamb shanks properly at the beginning is important. The caramelisation left in the casserole forms the foundation of the finished gravy.
A dry, full-bodied red wine such as Syrah or Côtes-du-Rhône works particularly well with lamb, rosemary and the rich braising sauce.
Blind baking the pastry is important, as this protects it from moisture. Equally, you could just use a puff pastry (or mash) topping and serve in a pie dish.
The vegetables used for the braise are strained out after cooking. Fresh mushrooms and carrots are added to the finished filling, so they retain their texture and flavour.
The pie can be assembled in advance and refrigerated overnight before baking, with a loose covering on the pastry. Keep it refrigerated and bake until the filling is piping hot throughout.
Browning the lamb shanks properly at the beginning is important. The caramelisation left in the casserole forms the foundation of the finished gravy.
A dry, full-bodied red wine such as Syrah or Côtes-du-Rhône works particularly well with lamb, rosemary and the rich braising sauce.
Blind baking the pastry is important, as this protects it from moisture. Equally, you could just use a puff pastry (or mash) topping and serve in a pie dish.
The vegetables used for the braise are strained out after cooking. Fresh mushrooms and carrots are added to the finished filling, so they retain their texture and flavour.
The pie can be assembled in advance and refrigerated overnight before baking, with a loose covering on the pastry. Keep it refrigerated and bake until the filling is piping hot throughout.
Browning the lamb shanks properly at the beginning is important. The caramelisation left in the casserole forms the foundation of the finished gravy.
A dry, full-bodied red wine such as Syrah or Côtes-du-Rhône works particularly well with lamb, rosemary and the rich braising sauce.
Blind baking the pastry is important, as this protects it from moisture. Equally, you could just use a puff pastry (or mash) topping and serve in a pie dish.
The vegetables used for the braise are strained out after cooking. Fresh mushrooms and carrots are added to the finished filling, so they retain their texture and flavour.
The pie can be assembled in advance and refrigerated overnight before baking, with a loose covering on the pastry. Keep it refrigerated and bake until the filling is piping hot throughout.
Yes. The lamb filling can be made in advance and refrigerated once completely cool. The entire pie can also be assembled and refrigerated overnight before baking, as long as it has a loose covering of cling film.
A cold filling helps keep the butter in the pastry firm before baking, giving the shortcrust and puff pastry a better texture and helping prevent a soggy base.
Yes. Any dry red wine with good body will work. Syrah, Côtes-du-Rhône, Rioja or Malbec are all good options.
No. The bone is primarily there for presentation. The filling can be made exactly the same way without it.
The pastry should be deeply golden and crisp, and the filling should be piping hot throughout. If using a food thermometer, check the centre of the filling is around 75C.
The braised lamb filling freezes well on its own. For the best pastry texture, I would recommend freezing the filling separately and assembling the pie after defrosting.
The pie is rich, so simple sides work best. I served this with mashed potatoes, but other sides could be buttered peas, steamed greens or a lightly dressed green vegetables. Remember to serve the reserved red wine gravy alongside!
