This dish epitomises good home cooking. Shoulder is one of the cheaper cuts of lamb, yet here it is transformed into a wholesome meal – the long, slow cooking rendering the meat tender, juicy and incredibly tasty. Maman Blanc never used stock – just water, herbs and the occasional splash of wine to create delectable cooking juices. A shoulder of lamb will vary in weight according to the time of year. In spring and early summer, it will be about 1.5kg, while in August it could be 2kg, and in November around 3kg, so you’ll need to adjust the cooking time accordingly: a 2kg shoulder will take 4½ hours; one weighing 3kg will need 5½ hours. Be sure to read my Kitchen Secrets below before starting the recipe.
Serves 4-6
1.5kg new season’s shoulder of lamb, plus 700g lamb bones and trimmings
To prepare the lamb: lightly score the skin of the lamb. Rub all over with the salt, pepper, chopped herbs and olive oil. Set aside to marinate at room temperature for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 230C/210C fan/gas 8. Heat the rapeseed oil in a large heavy-duty roasting pan over a medium heat. Add the lamb bones and meat trimmings and colour, turning from time to time, for 7-10 minutes until lightly golden. Add the garlic and brown for 3 minutes, then take the roasting pan off the heat.
To roast the lamb: sit the seasoned lamb shoulder on top of the bones and roast in the oven for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small pan, bring the wine to the boil and let it bubble for 30 seconds, then add 400ml water, the bay leaf and thyme.
Take the lamb out of the oven and baste the joint with the pan juices, removing any excess fat. Add the wine mixture to the roasting pan, stirring to scrape up the sediment on the base of the pan.
Turn down the oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Cover the meat loosely with a piece of foil and return to the oven. Roast for a further 4 hours, basting every 30 minutes with the pan juices. If, at the end of cooking, the pan juices are reduced right down, stir in about 100ml water to extend the jus.
To serve: remove the lamb from the oven. Strain the juices into a small saucepan and remove the excess fat from the surface. Set the lamb aside to rest. Reheat the juices until bubbling, then taste and adjust the seasoning. Pour into a warmed sauce boat.
Place the lamb on the table so your guests can help themselves. The lamb will be tender enough to be portioned with a spoon, though you can carve it with a knife if you prefer. My braised vegetables (see you.co.uk) and the turnip and potato gratin (see page 61) would be excellent accompaniments here.
VARIATION Flavour the seasoning rub for the lamb with spices rather than herbs – cumin and coriander seeds will give it an Indian flavour.
MY KITCHEN SECRETS Planning ahead The lamb can be scored and marinated several hours ahead. STEP 1 The salt and herb rub will permeate the lamb with a subtle flavour. The meat needs to be out of the fridge for at least an hour before cooking to ensure it reaches room temperature before going into the oven. STEP 2 Do not colour the bones too much, or the resulting jus will taste bitter and astringent. And remember there is 4 hours of slow cooking ahead. STEP 3 The bones serve two purposes. Firstly, they provide a platform for the lamb joint, allowing the heat to circulate all around it, facilitating even cooking. If the joint sits directly on the base of the pan, the meat in direct contact is liable to dry out. Secondly, the caramelised bones provide the basis for a wonderful pan jus. STEP 4 Adding water will lift the caramelised meat juices from the bottom of the pan and the bones, creating a flavourful jus. It will also keep the lamb moist during cooking.
If you are cooking a pork shoulder, lamb shoulder or beef brisket you will want to cook them to about 195 degrees and then let them rest. Typically, they will carry over to about 205. By that time your meat should be tender enough to pull apart with your fingers.
Each slow cooker meal's cooking time differs depending on the meat and its weight. The low setting is important so you don't overcook it, potentially leaving you with a dry or tough meal.
The leg and rack of lamb are perfect for herb-crusting and oven-roasting; since the shank and shoulder are a bit tougher, they fare well in stews or braises—the long cook time allows them to significantly break down and become fork-tender.
Whether boneless or bone-in, the perfect leg of lamb should be either oven-roasted until blushing pink on the inside (with an internal temp around 130°F) or roasted long and slow for several hours until the meat is very tender and falls apart to internal temp around 175°F (I often use the slow cooker for that).
As a rough guide, to roast a lamb joint allow about 45 minutes' cooking time per kilo in weight (or about 25 minutes per pound). Place in a preheated oven at a high temperature initially (230°C/gas mark 8), then after about 15 minutes, lower the temperature (to 200°C/gas mark 6) for the remainder of the cooking time.
it's hard to overcook this meat to the point it dries out. If your shoulder is really small though, say 1.2kg / 2.4lb, then you can probably cut down the cook time by 2 hours, but it should still be succulent even if you stick with the full 12 hours.
Lamb Chops pair extremely well with a number of sauces. Our Top 7 sauces to pair with Lamb Chops are: Garlic and Rosemary, Mustard Thyme, Tzatziki sauce, Balsamic Brown Sugar sauce, Chimichurri , Red Wine Sauce and Lemon Tahini sauce.
No, you don't have to brown lamb before slow cooking. The meat will still become moist and fall-off-the-bone tender. However, the slow cooker will never be hot enough to brown the meat, so if you decide to skip this step be aware that the finished dish may look paler than expected.
For the perfect roast lamb, we recommend seasoning the surface of the meat, and then searing it, especially fat side down in a pan before roasting. Why bother with searing? Contrary to some stories, searing is less about locking in moisture, and all about improving the flavour!
For a lean piece of meat, cook at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) for the first 15 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) to continue roasting — the meat will take about 25 minutes per pound to reach medium rare.
First, we roast the lamb chops on the center rack of the oven at 400°F (204°C) until their internal temperature reaches 110°F (43°C), then remove them from the oven to cool.
Fattier cuts of lamb should be roasted long and slow at a low temperature, while leaner cuts of meat should be cooked at a high temperature for the first several minutes and then at a lower temperature the rest of the time. Braising is a popular technique for cooking less-tender cuts of lamb.
Safest Temperature and Doneness To Eat Lamb. In our experience, we found most lamb cuts, whether a rack of lamb or lamb loin chops, taste best when served medium rare. So, the meat's internal temperature should reach 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54 degrees Celsius).
Introduction: My name is Clemencia Bogisich Ret, I am a super, outstanding, graceful, friendly, vast, comfortable, agreeable person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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