Lamb Breast and Shank: The Underrated Cuts for Slow Cooking

The breast and the shanks are the cheap, rich, deeply flavored cuts that reward patience more than any others on the lamb. They come from the hardest-working parts of the animal, the belly and the lower legs, so they are dense with fat and connective tissue that turn silky over a long, slow braise. Skip them and you miss some of the best value and best eating lamb has to offer. This primal covers both, and how to turn tough into tender.

Where they come from

The breast is the underside of the lamb, below the ribs, the equivalent of a beef plate or a pork belly, a thin, fatty slab layered with meat and connective tissue. The shanks are the lower legs, both fore and hind, each a single bone wrapped in a collar of muscle and collagen. Both are sold within this primal: the lamb breast as a slab or riblets, and the lamb shanks whole. Both are inexpensive, because they take time and know-how to cook well.

What they taste like

Rich and deeply lamb, more so than the leaner cuts, since both carry plenty of fat and connective tissue. Slow cooking renders that fat and melts the collagen into gelatin, giving you meat that pulls apart in soft strands and a sauce with real body and shine. The shank in particular is prized for how meltingly tender it becomes, while the breast turns unctuous and takes beautifully to stuffing and bold spice.

How to cook lamb breast and shank

Low, slow, and moist for both. Shanks are made to braise: brown them hard, then cook them covered in a Dutch oven with wine, stock, and aromatics at a bare simmer for a couple of hours until the meat pulls from the bone, osso buco style. The breast can be braised the same way, cut into riblets or squares, or it can be stuffed, rolled, and slow roasted until tender with a crisp exterior. Either way, time is the ingredient, since the connective tissue only softens over hours of gentle heat. We braise and roast in metal or enameled cast iron, never plastic, and keep the liquid at a bare simmer rather than a hard boil. Our braising and roasting guides cover both, and our braised lamb shanks put it into practice.

Neither cut is a medium-rare cut. Both are done when they are soft and giving, well past the temperature where a tender cut would be ruined, so cook to texture, not to a low internal number.

Classic dishes to make

Braised lamb shanks with red wine and rosemary, or with Moroccan spices and dried fruit, are a restaurant favorite you can master at home. Shanks also shine in a rich ragu over polenta. Stuffed lamb breast, rolled with breadcrumbs and herbs, is an old-fashioned Sunday roast worth reviving, and lamb riblets, cut from the breast, are a fun slow-roasted snack, sometimes sold as Denver ribs. Both cuts suit the bold, aromatic traditions of the Mediterranean and Middle East.

Common mistakes

Cooking them fast is the big error, since high heat toughens the meat and renders the fat before the collagen breaks down. Give them time. Boiling instead of simmering squeezes the meat and clouds the sauce, so keep it gentle. And undercooking, pulling a shank while it is still firm, leaves it chewy, so wait until the meat gives way and pulls easily from the bone.

How to buy them

For shanks, look for meaty pieces with a good collar of muscle around the bone, hind shanks being meatier than fore. For breast, look for even layers of meat and fat and clean, white fat, bone-in if you want riblets. Both are among the cheapest lamb cuts, which is part of their appeal. Grass-fed lamb from a local farm gives the cleanest flavor, so ask your butcher or use our Find a Farmer directory.

Good substitutes

Lamb shoulder braises and pulls much like these cuts, meatier and larger. Lamb neck is another cheap, collagen-rich braising cut. Beef or veal shanks stand in for lamb shanks in another animal, and pork belly or beef short ribs give the same slow-cooked richness as the breast. For any of them, the low, slow method carries over unchanged.

Storage and make-ahead

Braised shanks and breast are excellent make-ahead dishes. They keep four days sealed in the fridge, taste better the next day, and freeze for a couple of months in their sauce, with the firmed fat easy to lift off. Reheat gently so the meat stays moist and does not fall apart. Raw shanks and breast keep two to three days refrigerated and freeze well wrapped.

Nutrition

Both cuts are high in protein and fatty, with iron, zinc, and B vitamins, and both deliver collagen once slow-cooked. Much of the fat renders off during a long braise, and skimming the sauce or lifting the firmed fat from a chilled braise lightens the finished dish. The rich flavor means modest portions with plenty of vegetables or a grain keep the plate in balance.

Frequently asked questions

Are lamb breast and shank tender?

Not raw. Both are tough, collagen-rich cuts that become very tender only after a long, slow, moist cook like braising or slow roasting.

What is the best way to cook lamb shanks?

Braise them. Brown them, then cook them covered with liquid and aromatics at a bare simmer for a couple of hours until the meat pulls from the bone.

What can I do with lamb breast?

Braise it into riblets or squares, or stuff, roll, and slow roast it. It is fatty and forgiving and takes bold spice well.

Why are these cuts so cheap?

They take time and technique to cook well, so they are less in demand, which makes them some of the best value lamb you can buy.

What to serve with it

Braised shanks and breast want sides that soak up the sauce and cut the richness: mashed potatoes, soft polenta, couscous, or flatbread, with a sharp gremolata, mint, or yogurt. A crisp salad or quick-pickled onions balances the fat, and a bold red wine suits the deep flavor.

Learn more

Back to the Lamb Meat Wiki and the full lamb primals guide. For the other great slow-cooking cut, see the lamb shoulder, or find good lamb through Find a Farmer.